The Unturned Stone

Spring is upon us and our busy season is here. The home show went well. Thanks to everyone who visited our booth and talked stonework with us. I saw a “We rock old school.” bumper sticker on a random car the other day, which made me feel good. Thanks also to everyone at TUSI who took part and made the whole thing go off so well: Jill, Jody, Jesse, Scott, Dave, Greg, Mike and Ian. Here’s a quick look at what we’ve all been up to lately.

Stone Mountain
We have opened a trail rehab project in Stone Mountain State Park in Roaring Gap, North Carolina. The remote location of the trails under construction required a helicopter to move materials. The National Guard offered the services of a Blackhawk helicopter. Photo by Fred.

The Blackhawk flew in bundled timbers to build this sweeping set of steps through a blown-out gully.

Pilot Mountain
We are closing out the Pilot Mountain State Park project. The final timber steps are being built, leading to this overlook, which will be the last part of the year long project finished. The stunning view available at the overlook is hinted at on this cold morning.

Stone Crew
We will finish the Waynesville garden project in the next two weeks, before going to Pilot Mountain to work on the overlook seen above. In late February, Ian took this picture of a small boulder wall under construction.

We added a creatures page to the website just before the home show. We found this eastern fence lizard on a recent site visit to a potential project. Always a good sign.

Fred staffs our Home Show booth at the Asheville Civic Center last night during the Home Builder’s Association meeting. It was a thin crowd for us, as the beer and barbecue were on the floor above ours. Come find us on the bottom floor, near the tractors from now until Sunday evening. Just follow the blasting sounds of Fleetwood Mac and Jimmy Buffett courtesy of the home theater folks next door. It has to be the biggest TV ever.

Getting this thing together has been very punk rock/DIY- all the way down to the stickers. Jill is shown here helping out assembling the postcard portfolios. We learned that the technical term for schwag is collaterals. Our schwag-o-lateral includes stickers, postcards, brand new business cards and three different portfolio books.

Abe models some of our wearable schwag.

After a winter hiatus, we have returned to Waynesville to finish dry stacked walls and steps around a mountaintop home. Three retaining walls- fingers that reach out of a single, massive wall- wrap cozy beds for future gardens. A flight of steps, broken by landings that lead onto each bed, grows out of the retaining wall.

Lengthwise down the wall, the step treads stand out. They are also the cap of the wall.

This is another view of the same steps. From above, the tight sweep of the wall’s curve is visible.

Here’s as assortment of leftover pictures as work is closing up on the Ledge Spring Trail in Pilot Mountain State Park. We will have a smaller crew out there for the next four to six weeks, finishing the timber terraces and the scenic overlook at the head of the trail. In this pciture, taken by Will, Dave, Mike and Carmen are setting the base for a timber retaining wall that will support the platform for the overlook.

The name Ledge Spring is well deserved. Two weeks after the last rainfall, this sheer stone cliff is still weeping. Fred stands at the base of the cliff on a large stone bridging a culvert that diverts drainage under and away from the trail.

This is a shot of Asa in the middle of Three Bears Gulch, a very steep, climber access trail. The gulch was so steep and cramped, only one person could really work in the area safely. A winch was used to lower material as needed.