Cabin Update
Sunday, October 28th, 2007
We haven’t made much progress on the cabin lately, as the weather took a nasty turn against us. It was a week ago Friday that we rigged up a gin pole to raise and set the lintel stones. That Friday, and every working day since, has been too rainy to mix mortar and set stone. Some time this week we will set at least the first two lintels.
We have removed the first window bucks to make room for the lintels. With the windows open to the sky like this, the cabin feels like a beautfiul ruin, a bombed out shell in the European countryside.
Despite the weather, we have made progress on the fireplace. The long slices that we made from the remnants of the hearthstone were shortened with feathers and wedges.
The grain of the stone was such that we didn’t risk drilling and splitting the top angles needed to establish the arch over the fireplace. We made a series of cuts along the top of the stone.
We chiselled away the excess stone in lifts, using finer and finer chisels as we got closer to the desired angle.
Scott leans on the fireplace uprights just before they were set.
This past week, we retreated under the cover of a canopy and shaped the arch stones. Here it sits on the form in Scott’s driveway. Though we don’t have exact weights on the stones, since they’ve been trimmed and we bought a few extras on our last run to the stoneyard, it’s a safe guess that the arch weighs in excess of a half a ton.
For the last few months, the trail crew has been working on a four mile loop at the 
The summit of Stone Mountain is a dome of weathered granite. Here a set of timber steps disappears into and the reappears beyond a small outcropping of live rock. Note the joinery used to tie the steps together. Creating the notches for the overlapping joints takes more time, but is sturdier and longer lasting than cutting forty-five degree angles . In most cases the timbers being used are 8″ by 8″ and double-dipped pressure treated.
The top of the dome offers stunning panoramas of the surrounding forests. The next phase of the project includes constructing cable rails and suspended walkways to make it easier for people to enjoy the view. Islands of vegetation atop the dome will be connected by the walkway system.
A small stack of steps under construction and awaiting fill. To the right of the steps you can see several sticks of rebar used to pin the timbers together.
We are sad to report the passing of friend and patron Vickie Begley. The Unturned family sends their sincere condolences to Vickie’s family and friends.
The right angles around the inside of the window bucks have taken more time than anticipated to complete. The exterior walls are rounded between windows; they make me feel like I’m building a castle.
The view from underneath the scaffolding, looking up at the exterior walls where the rounded pillars wrap the windows.
Dave , a trail crew leader, joined us for two weeks. On his last afternoon, he preceisely cut these two long, narrow stones with feathers and wedges. They are sliced from the leftovers of the 5,000 pound behemoth Ian cut for the hearthstone. We plan to shape matching angles into the tops and then stand them upright, supporting the arch over the fireplace.
This picture is a couple of weeks old. This is looking over the exterior of the south wall, to the interior of the north wall.
The biggest grasshopper I’ve ever seen.
