The Serious Pillars

  Finished the four gate pillars for and with Dan Ucci last week. It was an intense project with high pressure deadlines, long days, and about a month straight with no days off; but we did it. We hung the electric mahogany gates on the last day and said goodbye to Cape Elizabeth. I am hoping to get over there in a few weeks when the landscaping is done to get some more finished shots, but here are a few from our last day there. This was another Knickerbocker job, with my good friend Jared as acting GC. Not only did he do a fine job organizing and scheduling a very complicated project, but it was just good to see him. 

  I am also including some pics from Ucci's stint here last year, along with Richard Ware and some of the other boys I spend so much time working with. I was not present for that stage of the project, but it's so beautiful, you need to see it anyway. Dan Ucci of Ledge Hill Creations and his crew really kill it with these large-stone creations. It's really sculpture on a grand scale. You'll see what I mean...

Got Plankton?

  It's been a few weeks since we finished up the patio at Bigelow Laboratories in Boothbay, and I'm finally getting around to posting the pics. This was another job that came down to us from Eric at E.M. Wood Construction, via the relentless Dan Ucci of Ledge Hill Creations.
  The material is a concrete paver made to resemble bluestone and the steps and banding are cut and thermalled granite.

Foundation Veneer in Scarborough

  It must be close to a month now we have been working on the foundation on the Scarborough guest house.  Damon and I, Danny Harrington, Richard Ware, and Randy Edgecomb.  The veneer is coming to a close and we will soon be working on the chimney veneer.

   Here is the rear of the house with Chimney Builder Steve Welton's staging climbing up the side.

Are You Going To Scarborough Job?

  So, we finally started the big Scarborough job.  We didn't waste any time getting our tent-shanties set up and heated.  I overheard one of the carpenters saying, "Man, they've got a whole little city set up in there."

  And indeed, we do. Complete with chiseling tables, rock shelves, microwaves, grinding boxes with exhaust fans, propane heaters, and kegs of beer.  Well, no beer, but everything else.  Here Richard Ware(wolf) is hammering away at one the tables I built.  I made his a bit taller than the rest, as he is like eight feet tall.

  And of course, there is Danny Harrington:

  And Damon:

  As you can see, we are doing a stone veneer on the foundation, so everyone is working on their knees for awhile.  I have been out back putting together a mock-up for the chimney, so the owners can check it out when they come in next week.

  The edges will have to be softened and "tweaked" before the stones are mortared in, but that is the basic idea.

Up On The Roof (Again)

  It was nice to finish up the inside work and let the owners' get back to some semblance of a normal dust-free existence. I imagine they will be cleaning up the fallout dust from our demolition for weeks. Emma the cat, who greeted us daily and kept a wary eye on our progress, will be happy to have a little privacy, too.

  Anyway, up through the roof and away...

  And what a view from up there, looking out over Casco Bay.

  I have said it before, working on the coast of Maine, we are blessed with having these amazing views on almost every jobsite.

    We finished up just as the sun went down.  In fact, I had to grab these shots before it got dark and I wasn't even done setting the flu.

  We still have to go back in a week or so, after the fireplace insert is installed, to do the cap and wash.  Meanwhile, be sure to stop in Freeport at the owner's yarn and needlework shop: Grace Robinson & Company. www.yarnandneedlepoint.com. I hear it's one of the best in the state.

Ready To Head Back Up

  Well, we tore the existing chimney down to the first floor and jack-hammered through the floor slab.  Now, eleven thousand pounds of removed material later, we are ready to start rebuilding.  The new fireplace insert has been ordered and we can prep for its arrival.

Damon really gets into his work...

Foreside Fireside

  Damon and I started tearing down an existing chimney and fireplace in lovely Falmouth Foreside two days ago for a rebuild that we will start on Monday.  Another job with Dan Ucci of Ledge Hill Creations, that he is doing with his brother-in-law, Chris Grenlaw of the Dovetail Group. (207-415-8604).

  Chimney demolition is always enjoyable, albeit strenuous; but this one was a bit tougher, as it had only been built four months ago!  There was nothing structurally wrong it, but the design was wrong for the space and the brick bump-out in the living room just consumed too much square footage.

Sheep Meadow Farm

  Damon and I spent last week at Sheep Meadow Farm on the island of North Haven, doing a job for Dan Ucci of Ledge Hill Creations.  As some of you may know, we were out there last year for about seven months, and it was nice to come back. The isolation of the place really bothers some people, but I find it hard to leave.
 Anyway, we went out to Sheep Meadow and built a circular patio with a 15-foot diameter out of what is commonly referred to as stand-up blue stone. That doesn't mean it is stone with sound moral and ethical standards, but blue-stone that is actually stood up on edge on the pallets, so as to make for difficult and unwieldy transport.  Here are a few shots of the farm and estate:

  The caretakers Doug and Kenny pretty much had the spot dug out for us and prepped when we arrived.  They removed yards of wet clay, put in drainage, and covered it with compacting sand.  So all we had to do was fire up the compactor and run circles around it for an hour.

  We spent the next few days laying out the stones, cutting and chiseling joints a half to two inches.  We worked till dark every day and spent the evenings relaxing and reading in the comfortably furnished guest apartment.  We finished on Friday and drew our radius, with Damon on the center point and me at the other end of a 7 and a half foot string, drawing a perfect circle, which we then cut out with the saw.

  Just in time to catch the next ferry home, which made Damon very happy.

Finished On Barter's Island

  Ran down to the island for a day to wrap up the job there with Dan and Richard and Randy. The patio looked good and we spread some polymeric sand in the joints and sprayed it down.  For those who haven't used polymeric sand, it really is a miracle. The time it saves in jointing is unbelievable. Of course, it isn't the right product for every application, but when it can be used, it is a major time-saver. Honestly, you just sweep it in the joints and spray it down with water (in four or five steps) and you are done.  It's pretty rugged, too, and able to withstand Maine's drastic temperature changes.

  While Damon and I did our chimney rebuild last week, Richard came down and jointed in our cultured stone.