The line
What This Is Not To Be Used For
A catalogue of what walls are made of is a short step from a trade that repairs them, and a reader has every right to know which side of that step this publication stands on. This page is the answer, at length, in plain terms.
The single sentence
Nothing on this site is advice about any particular building, and nothing on it should be acted on without somebody qualified who has looked at the thing itself.
Everything below is that sentence applied to the cases where it matters.
Not a survey, and not an assessment
No page here assesses the condition of anything. There is no opinion on this site about whether a wall is sound, whether a foundation is settling, whether a brick face is failing, whether a cornice is safely fixed, or whether any structure is safe to be near or to be in.
Where an entry describes how a material fails, it is describing the material in general. It is not describing anybody's wall, and it cannot be, because nobody here has seen it.
Not a price, an estimate or a specification
No figure on this site is a price for anything. No page specifies a mortar, a mix, a unit, a coating, a fixing or a method for any work. No page says what work should be done, in what order, or by whom.
This publication has no such information to give. It takes nothing from anybody in the trade and holds no arrangement with one, which is stated in full in how this is paid for.
Not a recommendation of anybody
No mason, contractor, supplier, quarry, yard, mill, manufacturer, consultant, engineer or architect is named anywhere on this site, and none is recommended. That is not modesty about a shortlist. There is no shortlist.
Not a permission, and not a heritage opinion
Nothing here says what may lawfully be done to any building. Rules about alteration, demolition, historic designation and permits are matters for the authority that administers them and for whoever is advising an owner.
Where a National Register nomination is used as a source, it is used for what it describes about fabric. Nothing on this site confers, implies or interprets any protected status for any property, and nothing here should be read as saying whether a building is listed, eligible or otherwise.
Not an invitation to go anywhere
Every material in this catalogue is described from what can be seen from a public sidewalk and from the published record. Nothing here invites a reader onto private property, into a vacant building, onto a working site, or up to anything at height.
Nothing here should be understood as suggesting that any place is open, safe, or acceptable to enter.
About the fare lookup
The one form on this site belongs to an outside booking service. Tallyhouse LLC does not sell travel, does not hold a booking, takes no payment, and cannot change or refund anything. No fare shown by that service is claimed here to be the lowest available anywhere, and no carrier is named or recommended.
About the images
Every image on this site is generated rather than photographed. Each one illustrates a material described in the text and none is a record of a particular building, address or property. A caption that describes a wall is describing the kind of wall in the picture, not one that stands somewhere.
And a plain closing statement
Tallyhouse is a publication. It does not sell, quote, price, survey or repair anything, does not supply building material, does not recommend a trade, and arranges no travel of any kind.
Reviewed August 9, 2026.