Getting Boulder by the Day

Some folks go up GA 400 to hit the outlet malls. Others of us are drawn by the siren song of Pyramid Stone. Just as the controlled access ends, if you have to stop at the light, you can’t help but notice the rock yard off to the right. The boulders beckon.

No?

Boulders don’t beckon you? Hmmm. To each his own.

This one used to be next to the gate at Pyramid Stone. Actually, it used to be the gate, as evidenced by the screw eye in the top.

It was just what I needed. It had the straight side and stackable shape that would fit perfectly at the end of the retaining wall.

I also envisioned some steps going up there to get from the back yard up on top of the retaining wall, so I rounded up a few nice, flat boulders,

had them weighed,

made sure they didn’t have the tractor on the scale,

and arranged to have them delivered.

When I arrived down at the house in the morning, Builder Gary was already hard at work, making a spot for the boulders.

Soon the truck with the boulders arrived and the driver brought them around to the back.

It was like Rock City – complete with Fat Man’s Squeeze.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t driving!

Builder Gary and his mighty bobcat struggled to pick up the boulder and place it. Luckily, the driver was the sort who can’t stand to see someone else struggle, so he gallantly, scooped it up on his forks

and deposited it where we needed it.

See? It’ s almost a perfect fit. All we need to do is prop it up a bit. So, Builder Gary climbs the hill and gets to work on it.

With the weight of the rock pulling him down the hill, he lifted.

At this point, I was sure he was saying, “Hold my beer and watch this!” but I think he was actually beckoning Nathan to put more rocks underneath.

We got that one set, added another,

a few more,

and before long we had a staircase going up.

It was looking pretty good, but we needed a few more steps.

So, three rock yards later, we had what we needed and got back to work.

With the last step placed, we put the last big rock to finish off the boulder wall.

A little smoothing, and fluffing, and voila!

Now if we can just get some suitable weather for planting.

What do you think? Bold, boulder, bouldest?

Fixing Grades

In honor of the Atlanta Public Schools, we had our very own grade changing party in the middle of July.

We didn’t do any drastic grade changes.  We just back filled around the brick foundation and cut in the loop driveway in front.

As you can see, Jason the Grader (or should I say, Grade Changer) played a joke on me.  After he had the driveway all shaped up and the planting area in the middle all covered in mulch, he got Jason the Mason’s mortar mixer and left me a little yard art.

I was upstairs checking out the paint progress, but I looked out the window and caught him in the act.

I don’t know.  Maybe with a few pansies and some ferns, it could become an attractive focal point.

Meanwhile, Jason and his crew slipped around back to shape things up.

They got everything all nice and tidy, but…

I had asked them to sift through the vast quantities of wasted sand from the brick job and spread it over the back yard.  All that red clay needs a little something to lighten it up.

Well, they got the spreading part right, but not the sifting, as you can see here.  So, I ran home and got my handy dandy screen for sifting compost and my matching saw horses.

It was better than panning for gold in Dahlonega! 

…and more tedious…

So, I figured that 2 sifters would be double the fun.  I remembered a piece of hardware cloth up front that the geothermal well drillers had used to sift the sand for their grout.  We pulled a few boards out of the dumpster and knocked together another sifter.

By the end of the day, the sand was all sifted and spread and we were looking pretty good.

Except for the dirt at the  far end of the retaining wall.  Something must be done.  I think I hear the siren song of the rock yard…

Shabby Chic or Just Shabby?

It all started with this:

I wanted a simple mantel for the living room that wouldn’t compete with the bookshelves.  Most folks might want something a little more ornate  and formal in the living room, but I thought this one would be just right.

So, my crew and I put our heads together, measured the photo, measured the fireplace, calculated the proportions,  and dug through the trim pile.

Alan and Nathan pieced it together.

And added some trim.

and…

We weren’t quite there. 

It was too leggy and the stair tread that we had tried for the top was too thin. 

So, I grabbed a piece of 1x4 and poked it in between the legs. 

Now there’s a sentence that is a perfect example of the dangers of using a pronoun too loosely.  But what English teacher would dare use it as an example in class?

Maybe we’d better just move on.

That was better.  Now we just needed a thicker top.  So, while Israel caulked and primed.  I went to visit the Yoda of woodworking. 

First he showed me the mantels he had designed.

Very nice.  I have to admit, though, that heart pine around a wood burning fireplace gives me pause.

Then I showed him my inspiration picture.  I expected him to say.

“very nice.”

After all, I liked it and we’re related.  Do you know what he said?  He said, “ Are you serious? 

It looks like something out of a tenant house.”

Look again.

Well, I guess maybe it does.  But I still like it.  Is that a bad thing?

Anyway, because he is Yoda and a natural mentor, he took me to a magical place in the mountains and helped me sort through a pile of 8/4 poplar.  We were about to give up, when I spied a good one about 10 boards down in the stack.  We pulled out board after board and finally found “the one.”

I stuffed all 9 feet of it into the Suburban and we went to his shop.  Only a Yoda of woodworking would have an octagonal shop.  Only a Yoda of woodworking who laid out his shop with a pair of dowsing rods, but that’s a story for another day.

We ran the board through the planer and got it smooth as silk.  Except for the one place where I didn’t hold my end correctly. Then we cut the one rough edge off of all 9 feet of it.  Then I stuffed it back in my Suburban and hauled all 9 feet of it back to the house.

Alan and Nathan treated it reverently.  They bought a special router bit to put just a small radius into the top and bottom edge.  I wasn’t there, but the magic was, so they knew just the look I was aiming for:

There you have it, gentle reader: Tenant House Chic.

A Home Coming

Back in early July, we were getting ready for a home coming.  We had the guys from Premier Heating & Air come out and fire up the geothermal system and get the air conditioning going.

I’m glad they know where all those wires go!

And then on the Tuesday after Independence Day, our trees

came home as floor boards.

With the green paraffin sealed ends still in place.

I think they are going to be beautiful.

Some boards have more of the flakes than others.

 

Some are positively rustic.

And some are so clean they look store bought.

We tested the moisture content. The boards were between 12 and 16%. They need to be below 10% before we lay them. So the air conditioning continues to cool and dry the house and the flooring.

I’m so happy that we were able to make this happen. Using the trees we had to remove to build for flooring was really important to me. It’s kind of like The Giving Tree only with a whole family of trees.

Like families, though, I’m sure some of the trees are more giving than others.  Some are undoubtedly unhappy about the way things turned out and will complain when we step on them.  Some will glow with serene beauty, some will be attention getting, and some will go dark and brood in a corner. 

We’ll be delighted to have them all back home.