Corfu stone, cutand laid by hand.

CorfuStone is a stone masonry and building studio working across north-east Corfu, Kassiopi, Sinies, Agni, Kalami, Kouloura, Barbati, Nissaki and Avlaki, and into Paleokastritsa, Liapades and Corfu Town. We build load-bearing stone villas, dry-stone and structural retaining walls, paving and courtyards, pools and steps, and the restoration of Venetian-era stonework. We work for estate owners, architects and developers, in English.

We build load-bearing stone. The wall itself carries the structure, coursed, hand-pointed and tied, rather than a thin stone face glued to a concrete block shell. Cladding is faster and cheaper, and it has its place, but it is not what we do; over time a genuine stone wall weathers, breathes and can be repaired one stone at a time. If a project calls for stone facing on a framed structure we will say so honestly and explain the trade-offs before any work begins.

By preference we build in stone from the island, but we are not limited to it. Our principal building stone is Sinies limestone from Mount Pantokrator in the north-east, the same carved stone that has clad Corfu's Lodge of the Nobles, now the Town Hall, since the 1660s. For walls and terraces we sort fieldstone gathered on the plot itself, and for courtyards we relay reclaimed island cobble salvaged from old Corfiot yards. We also build in stone you specify or supply, whether that is imported marble or granite, a particular quarried stone, or material reclaimed from your own site. We bed and point in breathable lime mortar rather than cement, and confirm exact sourcing at survey.

On most north-east Corfu slopes, yes, and often the retaining wall is the structure that makes building possible, not a finish added at the end. A battered, well-drained stone retaining wall holds the ground, creates the level platform a house or garden needs, and manages the rainwater that would otherwise push a wall out. On steep clifftop plots around Barbati, Nissaki and Paleokastritsa the retaining and the house are best planned together. The right approach for your plot is set by a site survey.

Xerolithia is dry-stone walling, stone laid without mortar, held by careful selection and interlock alone. It is the traditional way Corfu's olive terraces were built, and the craft is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. A dry-stone terrace holds soil on a slope, lets rainwater pass slowly through rather than wash the hillside away, and leaves gaps that shelter wildlife. We rebuild collapsed terraces stone on stone, usually reusing the grove's own fallen stone.

Lime, in almost every case. Old Corfiot walls were built to breathe: moisture moves through soft lime joints and dries out. Hard cement pointing traps that damp inside the wall and, because it is more rigid than the stone, tends to crack the original fabric over time. Repointing in a breathable lime mortar lets the wall dry and carry on for another century. Corfu Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and within conservation areas the materials and method may also be specified, we work the old way as standard.

Yes. A good share of our work is architect-led, and we are used to building to drawings and detailing for owners managing a project from abroad. Bring us the design and we will tell you honestly what the stone wants to do, where a detail will hold and where it will fight the material, and how to execute it faithfully. We are comfortable as the stone and masonry specialist within a larger build team for a villa development.

We are based in Corfu and focus on the north-east coast, Kassiopi, Sinies and Mount Pantokrator, Agni, Kalami, Kouloura, Kentroma, Gimari, Barbati, Nissaki, Avlaki, Acharavi and Roda. We also build on the west coast around Paleokastritsa and Liapades, and carry out heritage stonework in Corfu Town. We can discuss work elsewhere on Corfu and across the Ionian; travel and logistics are confirmed per project.

Our main on-site building season runs roughly May to October, when the weather suits stone, lime and outdoor work. Surveys, design conversations, quotations and project planning happen year-round, so the best time to make contact about next season is over the winter. Capacity is limited because the work is done by hand by a small team, so early enquiries help us plan. Timelines and availability for your specific project are confirmed in writing before we commit.