Miquel Busquets has 30 years’ experience of working with stone, especially in the Esporles area of Mallorca. He specialises in building dry-stone walls, arches and pebbled paving and in the restoration of old walls.

The stone that Miquel normally works with is dolomitic limestone of various… colours and textures.

The first step in making a wall is to select the materials. Larger stones are used to from the bottom courses and medium ones higher up, and hearting stones are put in behind to brace the structure. First a trench is dug for the footing and then the wall is built in courses. The hearting must be tightly packed, and the wall may be capped with a layer of stones cut flush or with squared capstones 28-30cm high.

The tools he uses are hammers of various sizes, punches, cold chisels, round mallets, protractors, batter frames, stone splitter wedges, tooth chisels, a parpal pry bar for leverage when laying the base blocks of higher walls, etc.

Miquel holds a Master Artisan’s certificate and is a founder member, with four other master artisans, of the Mallorca Gremi de Margers dry-stone terrace-wallers’ association.