As an update from my last post, I poured concrete for my new workshop last Thursday. My prep work of the footings, forms, rebar and remesh all passed the county inspection. I had pumped the water out of the hole for the last time, lined up the concrete finishers and ordered the concrete. I was [...]
Standing on the third section of scaffold, I’m within about two feet of the top of the chimney and just past the 90% mark on the project. I’m well over the hump of disillusionment that usually creeps in around the 50% point where it feels like I have been working forever on something and as far [...]
The stonework I once thought could be done in 30 days is now at something like day 415 largely as a result of demands on my time from my day job, other obligations, and a healthy dose of procrastination.
The fireplace and chimney has slowly gathered aesthetic appeal and visual mass as the work progresses, and now passing the 80% [...]
This time last year, I started work on my 21 foot high, 6 foot wide fireplace and chimney that I’m doing in “Buck’s County” drystack ledgestone. At the time I began, I thought perhaps this project would take a month, two at the outside. Back in July, I provided the last update on the project and was only [...]
Saturday, Tim and I set out in my rollback truck, for what turned out to be an abortive trip to Charlotte to pick up a salvage vehicle. A little over an hour into the trip, disaster befell us, with some transmission bearing troubles. That story will be held until all is made well and we [...]
Once a site foundation has been graded to within an acceptable tolerance, the footing layout and excavation can begin. Footings are the building equivalent of snow shoes - they carry the foundation, and spread the load out so the building doesn’t sink. Footings are typically made of concrete, often reinforced with rebar to control cracking, and [...]
Watch this space. If all goes well, over the next four months, a 2400 square foot workshop will emerge from these very unassuming beginings. Last weekend, I performed the rough excavation and grading of this area, compensating for the slope, some 15″ difference in height from the left side to the right side. If you [...]
