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[HatfieldCW]

I cannot tell you how many times I've wished there was a distinction between the "mason" job that has your guys in a shop making cabinets and the "mason" job that has them out building the walls and floors of the ziggurat.  I'd support this idea just for that.  What we call a "mason's workshop" is more of a stonewright's shop, just as the "carpenter's workshop" is a woodwright's shop.  I'd like to see different skills and task designations for these jobs that let me make a clear distinction between the highly skilled producers of goods and the labor force.

[tsen]

I like the idea of adding in soil based jobs as a separate preference and giving it to humans in the unmodded game. 8"}

[Dakk]

Indeed, since humans aren't used to living underground and building things out of solid rock, maybe using soil to make cement and related goods should be  exclusively human skill.

[Aldaris]

Speaking of human only skills, while I don't know what it's called in english, most heavy buildings built on non-sand soil need some kind of underground suports reaching either to the bedrock or to a depth where to soil is compact enough to support the building, in order not to slowly sink into the ground. meaning that dwarven construction probably wouldn't be nearly as effective on those kinds of soil.

[Pilsu]

I cannot tell you how many times I've wished there was a distinction between the "mason" job that has your guys in a shop making cabinets and the "mason" job that has them out building the walls and floors of the ziggurat.  I'd support this idea just for that.  What we call a "mason's workshop" is more of a stonewright's shop, just as the "carpenter's workshop" is a woodwright's shop.  I'd like to see different skills and task designations for these jobs that let me make a clear distinction between the highly skilled producers of goods and the labor force.

Personally I'd combine stonecrafting and masonry into Stoneworking and leave Masonry as a no skill building labor

[Footkerchief]

Speaking of human only skills, while I don't know what it's called in english, most heavy buildings built on non-sand soil need some kind of underground suports reaching either to the bedrock or to a depth where to soil is compact enough to support the building, in order not to slowly sink into the ground. meaning that dwarven construction probably wouldn't be nearly as effective on those kinds of soil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(engineering)

[BlckKnght]

I cannot tell you how many times I've wished there was a distinction between the "mason" job that has your guys in a shop making cabinets and the "mason" job that has them out building the walls and floors of the ziggurat.  I'd support this idea just for that.  What we call a "mason's workshop" is more of a stonewright's shop, just as the "carpenter's workshop" is a woodwright's shop.  I'd like to see different skills and task designations for these jobs that let me make a clear distinction between the highly skilled producers of goods and the labor force.

Personally I'd combine stonecrafting and masonry into Stoneworking and leave Masonry as a no skill building labor

Though the current system does not apply any sort of quality to constructions, I hope that if there is a significant expansion to construction technology construction quality will be added at the same time. That would make it useful to have skilled masons building any walls you need in important areas. I agree with you both that the work currently performed in the Mason's workshop should be given a different name, leaving masons to be construction specialists.

One area that I mentioned only briefly in my original post is that I think the way walls can be built out of raw stone in the current game is a bit unrealistic.  It is possible to build a wall without mortar, but the result is usually not very sturdy (requiring regular maintenance, such as what is described in the poem Mending Wall). This may become more important if besieging enemies gain the ability to knock walls down in a future release.

Building out of cut stone blocks is a slightly different case. If you cut blocks carefully it is possible to dry set the stones to build structures that are just as strong as if they had been mortared. The Inca, for example, built many walls with joints so precise that a knife blade can't be slipped between the stones. That sort of building should be much slower than regular masonry since each block must be precisely cut to fit with its neighbors.

Mortared stone is really the best way to go if you want strong walls that will last for a long time. If water needs to be kept in or out, hydraulic concrete or stones mortared with hydraulic cement are really the only options. I think that mortared stone should be the standard form of masonry for dwarves, with some cut block construction being used where labor is plentiful or where lime is completely unavailable. Brick making should be possible, but most forts would probably do without unless they were forced to build structures on the surface before getting through an aquifer to the stone below.

While I'm bumping this thread, I figure I should again encourage people to vote for this idea if you'd like to see it implemented. Surely I'm not the only one who likes it enough to give a vote?

[fibojo]

Hi there, first time player, here!
I started two nights ago, and, thinking that having some water nearby was a requirement of any new settlement, decided that this little river by the gently sloped hill would do just fine.
To my great dismay I discovered how bloody annoying piercing an aquifer can be.
To cut the story short, I did get through, and upon piercing into solid rock, my first encounter was with a patch of kaolinite.

My first thought on hitting those was: "great! I'll be able to make some precious china bowls, maybe glaze them with glass powders and inlay them with jewels!".
But alas, no such luck.
Now I'm not whining, here. I'm just surprised that, given the impressive amount of existing materials, and their overwhelming presence and importance in real life, they are being compleltely ignored!

For building materials, clay based products offer up a whole new industry. Whether it be in the form of cement, mortar, plaster, adobe, bricks, etc.
For crafting, clay will make many low level utilitarian containers, but has possibilities for high quality goods: high quality china, glazed containers, statues. Ceramics could also be used for creating high temperature resistant mechanisms.

Another interesting bit is the alimentary use of clays, and how in some cases it provides a welcome addition of calcium in anotherwise poor diet.
No need to drink milk anymore if you can just add some powdered clay to your dishes, and why not make some of that famous Dwarven Bread, with real chunks of stone in it

Anywya, I realise this is far from a priority in the grand scheme of things, but hopefully it gets taken in consideration. I think it's a shame not to use all the diversity of the existing rocks, especially if it could provide new game play possibilities.

I'm very surprised this has only 3 (now 4) votes!