The Unturned Stone

Last week Fred and I built this stoop in north Asheville. It’s part of a design by Landscape Architect Tony Hauser of Ambient Design Group. The weather has been such lately that it took almost a month to get the footer poured. Too wet, too cold, too wet and cold. The riser build-up is of Tennessee flagging and fieldstone. The treads are also Tennessee sandstone, snapped in multiples of 12″. They average 2 1/2 inches thick and give the stoop a real solid feel. The formal look of the stoop is meant to complement the formality of the brickwork on the house. The walkway, to be started tomorrow, will be built of reclaimed bricks. As you move away from the house, the work gets more relaxed. The walkway will curve. There’s a stone patio of random shapes and a wall that features notches for matchbox cars.

On Friday February 27th I will be leading a class on stonework design and construction for homeowners and gardeners at the North Carolina Arboretum . I will be focusing on drystone landscape work. I kind of imagine it like the Burpee’s catalog of stone, lots of pictures to get people excited to plan their yards and gardens. There will be classroom presentation and then, weather permitting, a walk around the grounds to explore some of the work at the Arboretum. If you are interested in attending, check out the Arboretum’s adult education link or drop me a line at marc (at) unturned (dot) net. This class is good for stone lovers, do-it-yourselfers and people planning a new yard or garden.

In April I will lead two hands-on sessions on installing drystone flagging. A brief classroom presentation will be followed by a day’s worth of playing with stone in a big sandbox made for grown-ups. Class size is limited so sign up now. E-mail me with questions.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Stonework.