using timber and stone from our farm,
and living off the grid.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Stonework: my first original video
After a 6 month hiatus from house blogging, I'm back in the game. The good news is that I defeated the incumbent County Judge Executive in a political race, and the candidate for US senate (Rand Paul) that I was promoting won his primary election against an establishment politician as well. The bad news (for blog followers!) is that I'll be super busy starting this January, assuming I win the general election. (My chances look good in the general election.)
For the past few weeks, I've been cutting stones for the front of the house. Here's a video showing how I make the window sills from stones that I find in the creek. (My daughter recorded the video with her digital camera. Please accept our apologies for the poor audio... we'll do better next time!) I hope you enjoy the video. None of the stones I'm using are perfect, so it takes a lot of patience to achieve a particular result.
This picture shows two of the window sills (3+" thick) as well as a bunch of the capstone (1.75" thick) that I have prepared. It's actually harder to face the thinner stones without breaking them. I tried using a torch to "thermal" the surface in order to remove the saw marks, but it didn't work too well and it burned a lot of gas. I think I'll stick with the chisel method I know.
I, for one, am glad you're back. Your work is amazing and I love seeing it all come together. The amount of technical knowledge, as well as the artistry, that you have put into your house is fantastic. Thanks for sharing it, and good luck in the upcoming election.
Great house! You're making pretty good progress for not having an army there to work.
I was wondering why you "faced" the ends of the window sills. Don't they have to be flat so the fit nice and snug in the opening? I understand that they get mortared into place, but I just can't see the purpose. I can see the asthetic of having the portion of the end that is proud of the wall surface be faced, but the whole thing? What am I missing here?
Good question about facing the ends. The window sills protrude out from the wall about 1.5", so only that much of the ends needs to be faced. It was not necessary to face the entire 10" end though - just habit I guess. Later on, with subsequent window sills, I didn't bother to remove the saw marks from the remaining 8.5" of the ends.
Should we call you Fred Flintstone? But seriously, where's your dust mask and earplugs young man! Great to see you making some progress. I always feel better when I do. I went the appeal hearing today for Cedra Crenshaw, tea party supported republican candidate for state senate in my district. The Chicago machine played dirty tricks to get her thrown off the ballot by dirty election board judges. They don't have a leg to stand on though and we should get the decision soon from appeals court. We expect her to be reinstated on the ballot. The good part is it backfired on the dirty dems. She's received national coverage over this, including discussion on Sean Hannity, and an intervew on Fox and Friends, and it's made her far more well known than if they hadn't messed with her. I collected over 150 of her petition signatures. Thought you might have even heard about this down in KY, that is if you're not too busy fighting your own battles. Brad
In my next blog post, you can see my ear-protection... Maybe I was wearing earplugs that fit very deep into the ear canal in that video. LOL. Usually, I use water with the saw too, but that slab was too far for my water source to reach. Fortunately there was a stiff breeze to carry away the dust. But yeah... a dust mask is a good idea.
Good luck getting your candidate reinstated on the ballot! It's hard to change the (messed-up) system.
Thomas, I see you're getting about as much done as I am. Well about 2 weeks ago, the Cedra Crenshaw campaign asked me to come aboard as their Campaign Coordinator. Having gotten to know me, the campaign manager knew I was a good egg, and asked me to replace the previous girl who got a permanent job offer. Being unemployed I had the time, and since I was volunteering anyway...little did i know it would be 10+ hours a day plus Saturday, and special events. I am getting $190 a week Stipen(sp?)...so I'm obviously not doing it for the money. I just keep telling myself, It will all be over Nov 3, and then I can catch up on my sleep. Brad
Dude, safety equipment is not an option with a blade that can cut stone attached to an engine. How about steel capped boots, dust mask and good hearing protection (not just ear plugs)? If you are aren't going to wear it, I don't care, but don't post videos showing bad practices as if it was ok, "just this once"!
Good point on the safety equipment. Usually I use water to eliminate the dust but the hose wouldn't reach that huge stone. At least the breeze was blowing ::shrugs::
9 Comments:
I, for one, am glad you're back. Your work is amazing and I love seeing it all come together. The amount of technical knowledge, as well as the artistry, that you have put into your house is fantastic. Thanks for sharing it, and good luck in the upcoming election.
Great house! You're making pretty good progress for not having an army there to work.
I was wondering why you "faced" the ends of the window sills. Don't they have to be flat so the fit nice and snug in the opening? I understand that they get mortared into place, but I just can't see the purpose. I can see the asthetic of having the portion of the end that is proud of the wall surface be faced, but the whole thing? What am I missing here?
Cheers!
John
John,
Good question about facing the ends. The window sills protrude out from the wall about 1.5", so only that much of the ends needs to be faced. It was not necessary to face the entire 10" end though - just habit I guess. Later on, with subsequent window sills, I didn't bother to remove the saw marks from the remaining 8.5" of the ends.
Glad to see more posts! Your front door looks really nice, was that a recent add?
I am finally starting a small frame this summer, will even start a blog soon...
Should we call you Fred Flintstone?
But seriously, where's your dust mask and earplugs young man!
Great to see you making some progress. I always feel better when I do. I went the appeal hearing today for Cedra Crenshaw, tea party supported republican candidate for state senate in my district. The Chicago machine played dirty tricks to get her thrown off the ballot by dirty election board judges. They don't have a leg to stand on though and we should get the decision soon from appeals court. We expect her to be reinstated on the ballot. The good part is it backfired on the dirty dems. She's received national coverage over this, including discussion on Sean Hannity, and an intervew on Fox and Friends, and it's made her far more well known than if they hadn't messed with her. I collected over 150 of her petition signatures. Thought you might have even heard about this down in KY, that is if you're not too busy fighting your own battles. Brad
In my next blog post, you can see my ear-protection... Maybe I was wearing earplugs that fit very deep into the ear canal in that video. LOL. Usually, I use water with the saw too, but that slab was too far for my water source to reach. Fortunately there was a stiff breeze to carry away the dust. But yeah... a dust mask is a good idea.
Good luck getting your candidate reinstated on the ballot! It's hard to change the (messed-up) system.
Thomas, I see you're getting about as much done as I am. Well about 2 weeks ago, the Cedra Crenshaw campaign asked me to come aboard as their Campaign Coordinator. Having gotten to know me, the campaign manager knew I was a good egg, and asked me to replace the previous girl who got a permanent job offer. Being unemployed I had the time, and since I was volunteering anyway...little did i know it would be 10+ hours a day plus Saturday, and special events. I am getting $190 a week Stipen(sp?)...so I'm obviously not doing it for the money. I just keep telling myself, It will all be over Nov 3, and then I can catch up on my sleep. Brad
Dude, safety equipment is not an option with a blade that can cut stone attached to an engine. How about steel capped boots, dust mask and good hearing protection (not just ear plugs)? If you are aren't going to wear it, I don't care, but don't post videos showing bad practices as if it was ok, "just this once"!
Good point on the safety equipment. Usually I use water to eliminate the dust but the hose wouldn't reach that huge stone. At least the breeze was blowing ::shrugs::
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