Walling 101: mortared cope stones

It is thought by some that it is good to secure cope stones with mortar. There may be occasions when this is desirable, but in general it is not – in our humble opinion!

All the stones in a wall work together, each supporting, and being supported by, its neighbour. Because dry stone walls are not mortared, they can cope (excuse the pun) with the slight changes in the environment around them by slightly moving. If stones below the cope stones move, even a tiny amount, the cope stones can’t move with them, if they are stuck together. The building stones then lose the support of the cope states above and the wall becomes weak…… as illustrated on this page!