Porch Time

We are into our really busy season at the rock yard so we don't want to get any big projects started with the building process. We have three small ones we can work on in our spare time, just need to decide which one to do first.


We decided to do the front porch next. We think that will really give us a sense of satisfaction. When we are outside and even just driving up the drive we will see that something is done.
 
Bill started off laying a course of a building stone that compliments our other rock to raise the front step. That rock is called Aztec Gold and is a super cool rock. You ultimately won't be able to see these but we will know they are there. Brynnlee is checking out Pa's handy work.

 Next he needed to float some concrete to fill the void and make the floor level. There is a five inch drop from the front door to the edge of the porch. Have to watch out for the sewer clean out it is right in front of the door. Don't understand why it placed there, but there it is.

 Wyatt is learning how to finish concrete. This kid never stops asking how to do things.

Now to decide what rocks to put on the floor of the entry. We have them spread all over the parking area to pick through.

Benefit of owning a rock yard we can scour through pallets. Customers are not allowed to do that or we would have a big mess on our hands.We found these; they have curves on their edges and are the right color and thickness. The issue we are facing is that we want a thick stone at the edge for aesthetics.This is a big area; so the edge needs to look substantial. But, the flagstone can only be an inch thick under the door and that is without any mortar. Finding thin and thick stone the same color is not an easy job. Also the thick ones are larger because the thin break during transport. We don't want just a few pieces at the front edge and then a bunch of little ones by the door.  One of the problems of retrofitting a site. We are forcing changes into an area that was made for a different purpose.

Bill doesn't see the problem with the front of the porch having big pieces and around the door having little pieces. I have a problem with it. We had one piece of flagstone that was absolutely beautiful but too large and too thick for the area. We saw that it had a fissure that appeared to go all the way through it. So we stood it on its end and used the impact hammer along the crack. It came apart wonderfully. You start the separation and then let nature take over. It just pops off. When the rock came apart it was really hot between the two pieces. The stone had obviously been soaking up the sun's rays. The interior of the stone is so pretty.

 Now doesn't that look good with all big pieces? The one we broke apart are the pieces directly under the door and the one to the left. We used the outside for one and the inside of the other.

 The flagstone has been laying on the drive for awhile. When we moved the rock we discovered that June bugs had set up housekeeping under all of them.

Now that we have all the flagstone located that we need; the next step will be laying them. Starting tomorrow we are going to have rain for the next five days so we won't be putting anything down for a while.