The Unturned Stone

Today we installed the limestone lintel across the oven door frame. This side wall is at height, minus the roof of course. This might be the last oven photo for a while where it’s not entirely bedecked in scaffolds. The chimney and mosaic roof will require us to be higher up, now that the lintel is placed.

This is a view of the back of the oven, showing roughly half of the curve. The front of the oven will have the same arched shape, except for where the chimney juts through.

A view of the joinery.

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Mike sent me these images of progress at Stone Mountain. The trail crew ran into weather too, as the end of the week got snowed out. This set of timber steps was recently completed. The steps turn a sharp corner and maintain a comfortable pace as they make a steep ascent to the dome.

The cable rails are mounted directly into the mountain. A single hole is drilled into the rock. A threaded bolt is glued in place with epoxy before the posts are screwed into place. They are extremely sturdy and safe and have minimal impact on the environment.

The snow and cold temperatures made for a slow week of stonework in town, though the oven is now ready for a lintel to go over the door. The small, gray limestone square sitting on the top left corner is final height for the side walls, though the back and front faces of the oven will have an arch that follows the concrete roof line.

A close up of the corbeling underneath the countertop.

The cold weather brings portfolio season. The bitter days afford time to visit old projects and take pictures. The downside of my fall and winter picture taking is that few of our portfolio images show landscapes in their full glory and color. But if you want to know what your stone work will look like with dead leaves on it, we got you covered.

Steps with landings that lead down to a garden. A low crib wall holds the steps and walkway above the grade on the downhill side of the steps, letting the path wander more gently along the hillside.

A top view of the long landing. Notice the difference in grades between the two sides of the paving.

Another view of the bench we completed this fall.

A close-up of the bench back as built by Jesse.

A walkway of Hooper’s Creek stone, mixed with some rustic fieldstone. And toes.

This acrobatic gorilla duo were hanging out at the bench when I visited. They are visible in the larger bench photo above, standing triumphantly on the left arm of the ‘couch’.

Here are some recent photos taken at our trail project in Stone Mountain State Park. The worm fence seen above is made of split locust logs. It lines the wide switchback sections of the trail that allow vehicular access for the park personnel to the top of the dome.

Another view of the fence. It is designed to keep people on the trail, minimizing the environmental damage caused by short-cutting through the woods. The fence proved necessary because the switchback is designed for vehicles; it’s width, visibility and slope make it very enticing for hikers to bypass each corner and cut through the woods. The trail has already done its main job though. Even before this section was completed, park rangers used it to evacuate an injured hiker from the top of the dome using an all-terrain vehicle.

On top of the dome we are installing steps and walkways that connect a series of islands of vegetation. The steps are a safety feature. Even on nice days the granite dome can be slick. On rainy or icy days, it’s extremely treacherous. This set of steps awaits a hand rail.

Jody drills the end of a pressure treated timber that will brace the rail system. Note the tool explosion behind him on the walkway.

This perspective shows how the boardwalk disappears into an island of trees on the dome.

We finished installing the countertop today. This radically changed the profile of the oven and created a convenient spot to put our tools. Electrical conduit is visible to the right of the oven door. This will connect a series of thermometers to a single panel that will show the oven temp. The temperature sensors are bedded into the shell of the oven at varying depths so it is possible to see how the overall mass is heating up and equalizing the temperature, essential measurements for using the oven to its full potential.

This view gives a better sense of the space available, though there will be about ten inches of stone work sitting on the back edge of the counter. The cutaway for the ash-slot is visible just in front of the oven door. In a retained heat oven like this, the fire and ash is usually removed before the baking takes place.

The two pieces of the counter top were cut from a single slab of Crab Orchard that was about nine feet long and weighed 1200 pounds. Ideally I would have made the whole counter out of a single piece, but the shapes didn’t work. On the bright side, it was much easier to move the smaller pieces.

The hearth oven as we finished the corner, with very square quoin stones, before setting the lintel.

The lintel, limestone reclaimed from an old chimney, set in place. A corbel to the right of the lintel will support a countertop that we’ll set tomorrow. Jars of marbles sit in the oven door.

Snow day today, which is rare enough to send me out looking for pictures of walls we’ve built. This prickly pear cactus is thriving, though it looks a bit odd decked in snow.

We just added a new page with random stone project designs on it, including the fire pit above. This is stuff we’d like to build someday. There’s only a couple of things up there for now, but I’ll add new ideas as I find time to sketch them.

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