Sean "Cuban" Surbey (Extremely Canadian)

Richard Ware

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

 While Damon, Dan, and I are out in Pittston working on this fireplace, the rest of the guys are still down in Boothbay working on the Big House.  There have been quite a few talented self-employed stonemasons that have helped Dan on that project over the course of the last few years. They all have their particular strengths and skills and we have all learned a great deal working with and getting to know one another. It's strange to think about, but we often work so much that we end up spending more time with each other than we do our families. We create brotherly bonds and sometimes get on each others' nerves, and every morning we come back and do it again.
  I think that soon I will start doing little stonemason bios, kind of 'get to know your stonemason' pieces; but for now, here are pics of the job and some of the guys. From left: Lance, Richard Ware, Danny Harrington, and Joel.

Coming Together

The upright jam stones on either side of the each fireplace are temporarily pinned in place, as well as the side panels. By the end of the weekend, we should have the lintels up. We had better, because we have to dismantle the entire structure and take it down to Boothbay to be installed on Tuesday, so the customer can approve the progress before they leave on Wednesday. Good grief. It looks like I am working this weekend.

It doesn't help that we got pounded by a foot of snow yesterday. The first half of this day will be devoted to shoveling out and cleaning off. I don't know about anybody else, but I think I have had enough snow for the year. Luckily, we only have about two months to go till Spring.

Damon Pierpont

The prodigal friend has returned! After a four month hiatus and three broken leg bones, the other half of Penobscot Stone has returned. Damon shattered his leg playing football last Fall and had to have it pinned back together, so he has been down for the entire Winter. It's good to have him back. I tried to get him to take it easy, but he was carrying around 400 pound stones with me less than an hour after he got there. He's an animal, as they say, though he looks more like an alien in the photo.

Me As Bronson

I don't normally post pictures of myself, but I know that some of you have not seen me in a long time, or never at all. Plus, I really like posting pictures of myself. I'm going to do it every day.

Boothbay

Here are a couple shots of the infinity pool from the job we've been helping Dan on south of Boothbay. The channel in the background is extremely deep and whales are often spotted in the summertime. Not a bad spot to build to house, if you like beautiful views and ocean breezes and whales and that sort of thing.

Save Us

I pass this house on the way to Dan's every morning. This guy might be right, but what are those creepy black silhouettes? Does the Bible mention anything about zombies?

Taking Shape

Well, we have the upright jam-stones in place on both sides of the fireplace and can finally see the project taking form. I am really impressed by the size of the stones, which just add a certain level of gravitas that smaller stones can never achieve.

A Maine Landmark

A good portion of my day consists of driving lately--about three hours--and much of that out into the frozen hinterlands of the state, locally referred to as "the willy-wags"; so it just seems right to include some photos.
Hussey's is in Winsor and is often used as a point of reference, when someone is giving directions. For instance, "You know where Hussey's is right? Well, it's 'bout twenty miles southwest of there."
It's a great place and you're guaranteed to find yourself wandering around it's three sprawling floors if you stop in for a look. They also have metal detectors.

Then The Carving

We have six inches to work with on the fireplace, so after splitting we have to carve the stone down to a thickness less than that. This is done with the use of saws, grinders, and chisels. It always feels good to see the product start to come together.

Some History

The rumor is that during cold months the old-timers used to bore holes in the granite, then pour water in the holes and wait for it to freeze. The resulting expansion would split the stone, thus eliminating any need of feathers and wedges (which are the small steel devices you see in the granite holes in my photographs). I don't know if this is truth or folklore--it doesn't seem very utilitarian--but I'd like to imagine they did it all the time. It gets cold enough, that much is for certain.

More Splitting

Granite Splitting With Dan

Dan Ucci, owner of Ledge Hill Creations, has been good enough to keep me busy this winter, along with seven or eight other masons, and we're all pretty grateful. Work tends to be pretty scarce during these long, cold Maine winters and anybody who is fortunate enough to work through them, is happy to do so. Well, 'happy' may be a stretch--it can often be darn cold and miserable--but work is work, and we'll take it.
This is actually the second winter in a row I have worked for Dan. He has an enormous project going on just south of Boothbay that is now in its third year. It has an impressive array of walls, columns, chimneys, pools, cabanas, outdoor fireplaces, and patios; and I will post some photos of it soon. The sheer quantity of stone on that site and the work that has been done to it truly boggles the mind.
The granite we have been splitting for the past few weeks is actually for a see-through fireplace on another site just a few miles down the road. My granite splitting has been limited and I have never done veneer with stones of this size, so this is a great learning experience for me. I will attempt in the next week or two to document as much of this as I can. Basically, Dan and I are fabricating the entire double-sided fireplace at his studio, then hauling it all down to Boothbay and installing it. The installation will be an interesting process in itself and not without challenges, so making sure that all each stone is ready to be laid before it goes in the house is imperative.

Dan Ucci Splitting Granite