Old stone foundations and steep steps in Stillwater

A river town built on bluffs

Stillwater grew up on the St. Croix as an old river town, and it is the seat of Washington County. Downtown is down by the river under steep bluffs, with old brick and stone buildings along its streets, and the older houses are up on the hills above it.

In places, stairs climb between the two. The public Stillwater Stairs off St. Croix Trail North are one set. A lot of the hillside houses stand on stone foundations.

Water coming down the hill

On a slope, water does not soak in and stay put. It runs downhill under the surface and presses on whatever is in its way. On a Stillwater hillside that is often a stone foundation wall, or the uphill side of a stone step.

In spring the melt from the whole lot above comes down at once. The joints on the uphill side of the house stay wet longer than the rest, and wet joints are the ones frost works hardest. Over enough winters the mortar washes out, the stones lose their bed and some start to shift.

Steps cut into a hill get it from two sides. Frost lifts them from below while water running down the slope eats at the ground underneath.

Old stone foundations and what Don looks at

Before he talks about a fix, Don looks at where the water is coming from. New joints on a wall that keeps taking water off the hill above will not hold as long as they should.

On an old stone foundation the usual work is cutting out joints that have gone soft, cleaning them and packing them with a new mortar matched to the old stone. Loose stones get reset. A stone that has split may be swapped for one that matches as close as can be found.

A wall that bulges, or has a crack that keeps opening, is a different matter. That calls for a structural engineer before any repointing, and Don will say so if that is what he sees.

Steps and walls on steep lots

Hillside lots often have stone steps up from the street to the door, and some have stone walls holding back the slope. Putting loose or tipped stone steps back where they belong is part of Don's stone repair work.

For a wall that holds back a hillside, ask Don first. A wall holding back a lot of ground may call for a permit, an engineer or both, and the city of Stillwater can tell you what applies to yours.