This is a house that Allen is working on now in Birmingham. It was built in the 1920's and was very small but he has remodeled the original part and added a second floor. It is a pretty big house now. This area of town is very popular with young affluent couples now and this is one of the last houses on this street to be redone. Many of the houses in this area were built using this type of rock. We call it chert rock; I don't know what the real name is. You see it alot in very rural areas too. I guess it has always been cheap material and so people would just go gather it up, which is what I had to do because the stone yards won't cary it. I think it is considered "trash" rock. I've always wondered if this stuff is found in other parts of the country? We were in Arkansas, Kansas etc. a couple of years ago but I don't remember if I saw it there. Anyway, the owner, who is also the architect, is extending the front porch and adding some columns that must match the rest of the house. And guess who got volunteered to do the stone work.... Laying the rock is not quite as bad as having to go gather it and haul it down there.
I have got to finish this second column and then Allen will pour a slab at the height you see that first one at and then we will continue the columns on up and I will lay a wall in between the columns so you won't see under the porch. This is why I haven't blogged every day or have been late posting comments! We go in pretty early and have been working until dark. It's a little slow work trying to fit those stones because they are so irregular. I like doing stone work but I'll be glad when I'm doing it at my own house. I have had one job offer from a guy passing by too!
The weather has been great although a bit chilly at times and this tree is beside where I'm working so the enviroment is nice. Don't know what kind this is but it has a great smell too.
This is a house that Allen is working on now in Birmingham. It was built in the 1920's and was very small but he has remodeled the original part and added a second floor. It is a pretty big house now. This area of town is very popular with young affluent couples now and this is one of the last houses on this street to be redone. Many of the houses in this area were built using this type of rock. We call it chert rock; I don't know what the real name is. You see it alot in very rural areas too. I guess it has always been cheap material and so people would just go gather it up, which is what I had to do because the stone yards won't cary it. I think it is considered "trash" rock. I've always wondered if this stuff is found in other parts of the country? We were in Arkansas, Kansas etc. a couple of years ago but I don't remember if I saw it there. Anyway, the owner, who is also the architect, is extending the front porch and adding some columns that must match the rest of the house. And guess who got volunteered to do the stone work.... Laying the rock is not quite as bad as having to go gather it and haul it down there.
I have got to finish this second column and then Allen will pour a slab at the height you see that first one at and then we will continue the columns on up and I will lay a wall in between the columns so you won't see under the porch. This is why I haven't blogged every day or have been late posting comments! We go in pretty early and have been working until dark. It's a little slow work trying to fit those stones because they are so irregular. I like doing stone work but I'll be glad when I'm doing it at my own house. I have had one job offer from a guy passing by too!
The weather has been great although a bit chilly at times and this tree is beside where I'm working so the enviroment is nice. Don't know what kind this is but it has a great smell too.
4 comments:
I'm no good at identifying rock, but that does look a lot like the stuff I stumble over at my own Roundrock in the Missouri Ozarks. I'm glad the architect has chosen to continue using that look. It gives the house a consistency or integrity. Plus I can give respect to a place that uses local materials as much as possible.
I think that flowering tree may be a cherry, but I'm no good at flower identification either. And since you're in the tropics down there, who knows what it could be.
Yeah, on the post you had the other day about the rock columns people build for their fences, it looked like there were some of the same kind of rock in the picture you posted. These seem to have alot of quartz in them and some of them even have little veins of crystals running through them. They are very sharp too and I have worn out one pair of gloves already. I was thinking that was a cherry tree too but I only know a little about trees.
Geez gal is there anything you can't do?! :)
Hey Rurality! Well, I can't sing and I can't dance!
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