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Chris Mellor lays out the St Bees stone for Holy Trinity Church, Blackpool, in his new workshop.
At 29, stonemason Chris Mellor has taken the plunge and established his own workshop at Church Broughton near Derby from which he aims to supply specialist contractors with the stonework required for both restoration and quality new build work.
With sawing capability and a banker shop he intends to produce quality masonry for others but does not want to fix it himself. “We want to make use of what we’ve set up here. Sending people out on site defeats the object.”
He says his aim is to make the life of the fixers easy by working the stone so accurately on the banker that the fixer does not have to do any dressing on site.
“At the start you have no advantage over someone who isn’t very good because neither of you have a reputation. But I hope that starting with a project like the windows as Holy Trinity Church will help establish that reputation.”
The project he is talking about is the supply of St Bees sandstone masonry for the restoration of Holy Trinity Church in Blackpool, where Craig Liddle’s stone and conservation company, Aura Conservation, based in Stockport, Cheshire, are the contractors. In particular they needed to replace two massive windows, 10m high by 4m wide, that have the mouldings on the outside repeated inside.
And Chris says he has learnt something from the original masonry about jointing the stone. “It’s the cleverest piece of jointing I have ever seen,” he says.
“I don’t think you’re going to get much more advanced stonemasonry than this,” Chris told NSS. “It sets you apart from other companies that you can do it – and do it in a reasonable time scale, as well.”
It was John Mellor, Chris’s dad, who set Chris on a career in stonemasonry in the first place. John is a stonemason and took his son on as an apprentice when Chris left school at 16.
Chris went on to work with Natural Stone Sales in Matlock for a year and then Ranco in Uttoxeter for 21/2 years, where he says he really honed his skills under the expert eye of Tim Page. “He taught me a lot,” says Chris.
Four years ago he decided to start freelancing, working from the back of a van as both a banker and site mason as the work dictated for companies including Realstone, Tudor Stone and Lumshill Stone.
But he was already dreaming of setting up his own workshop.
As a freelance, Chris had already worked for Aura on a number of projects, including the restoration and extension of Weston Park Museum in Sheffield featured in Natural Stone Specialist in February last year.
Aura’s requirement for stonework for windows at Holy Trinity gave Chris several months of work – which is just coming to an end now. That gave him the confidence to set up his own workshop.
Finding suitable premises posed some problems, although in the end was solved by the National Farmers Union (NFU). Chris had his public liability insurance through the NFU and asked them if they knew of any of their members who were diversifying into industrial units. They came back with the name of Colin Prince at Church Broughton, who was doing just that. “He’s been a great landlord,” says Chris.
One of the important aspects of the unit was its location, providing easy access on to the A50 and from there north and south on the M6 and the rest of the UK’s motorway system. “Being able to get stone in and finished work out quickly and efficiently is an essential aspect of the business,” says Chris.
The unit, at more than 300m2, has not only given Chris the room he needed to establish his business, which he calls Dimension Stone, but also leaves him plenty of room to expand.
They had to dig a hole in the existing concrete floor to create a slurry pit 3.5m deep and 2m in diameter, lined with concrete and sealed, to keep the saw supplied with fresh water.
“I know if I get another saw I’ll have to get a water treatment plant, but the slurry pit is pumping clean water. It’s a starting point. When you start up you have to get everything you need without overstretching yourself,” says Chris.
He also had to strengthen the floor to create foundations for the reinforced block walls to support the bridge of the refurbished Minali saw supplied by Cumbrian machinery company Accurite.
In what was to become the masonry shop, a dust extraction system had to be installed. At first a water wall was used, but as Chris is very much hands on and spends a lot of his time in the masonry shop he quickly discovered the water wall on its own did not keep the air clear of dust and a dust extraction fan was added. It is used in conjunction with the water wall.
He has established the business with the intention of producing high quality masonry in the time scales required. The windows at Holy Trinity are a prime example of the kind of work he hopes to make a living from.
Not that Chris has carried out all the work himself. “I’ve been lucky enough to come across two really decent guys who are willing to learn and take on board what I’ve learnt in the past four years working for myself and nine years before that in stonemasonry.”
One of them is Andrew Oakden, who has experience of sawing at Ranco, which is where Chris met him. The other is Mark Wakeley, who Chris met through a shared associate. “He really is a grafter,” says Chris.
Chris also has the help of Colin Richardson, who is destined to become his father-in-law, in running the business. Colin is a manufacturer’s agent, working for HSK and selling shower enclosures and radiators for seven distributors in the UK. “He liked the journey I have been on leading to this workshop,” says Chris.
Colin adds: “I never noticed how much stone there is. It’s all over the place. I’m getting to know more and more about it.”
Colin’s influence has already introduced a new element to the business in bespoke fireplaces. A design company in Cheshire, primarily producing bathrooms, noticed the increase in the use of stone and wanted to branch out into stone fireplaces, which Dimension Stone will make for them.
They expect to be making on average one a week to the specific requirements of the customer. They will sell for around £5,000 a piece.
Colin also believes there is potential for bespoke stonework from the period property sector. “We’re planning strategically, making sure any developments fit in with what Chris wants to do,” Colin told NSS.
With talk of recession in the air and the Government already having diverted lottery money from the heritage sector to pay for the 2012 Olympics, this may, in retrospect, not look to be the best time to establish a business – although many of today’s strongest businesses have their foundations in previous recessions and it is yet to be seen whether the current downturn will, in fact, become recession.
Certainly Chris has his sights set on the future. “It’s probably a good idea to get a frame saw in so we can process block,” he says, although adding: “We have taken one big step, so for now we’ve got to consolidate what we have and evolve gradually.
“The main thing now is to find out how much work’s out there and forge new relationships. Our growth will be controlled by how successful we are, but I’m determined to keep knocking on the door to get the message out that we are offering outstanding quality.
“That’s the main thing for me: that when it goes out the door it’s right. Once people take us on for a small job they will see the difference; they will see their fixing times coming down. I have been on site and I know the trouble that not being scrupulous in manufacture can make.”
There is one other person who has helped Chris start up his business and that is his father, John, whose footsteps Chris is now following.
John Mellor was also a stonemason who started up his own business, with a partner. It was called B&M Masonry. It was bought by Cameron UK, the business previously run by Craig Liddle. John is semi-retired, but has been happy to encourage his son in his enterprise.
Tel: 01283 584870
