AIA Continuing Education Course

On Friday May 8th, we had the privilege of hosting Jim Owens at our office on Johns Island. Jim is the executive director of the Indiana Limestone Institute of America. We had a great turnout with about 25 architects in attendance. In addition to our discussion of Indiana Limestone Simeon Warren, the Dean at the American College of the Building Arts and master stone carver gave a small presentation on how you can shape Indiana Limestone. I have included some photo highlights of the event for you to enjoy.

For those of you who did attend and had further questions about the subject matter discussed you can e-mail Jim Owens at jim@iliai.com or you can go to their website. http://www.iliai.com/

For more information about the Amercian College of the Building Arts go to their website at
http://www.buildingartscollege.us/

To reach Simeon Warren of the ACBA you can e-mail him at warren@buildingartscollege.us

How to build a drystack TN fieldstone wall.

I am no stone mason and I figured it out. So follow these easy steps and you too can have a beautiful planter and seat wall in your backyard. Stop by our store and I will help you pick out the perfect stone for your project.

Dig out the footing for the wall.

The footer for a small seat wall should be about about 4" wider than the base of the wall and about 4-6" deep. I chose 789 Granite which is a loose aggregate for the footing material. You can also use a compactable material, but in this case I wanted the water to be able to go through the wall.

Start laying the bottom course of stone and complete one layer of stone the entire length of the wall, leveling each stone as you go. This is the most important part of building a stone wall. If the first course is not laid correctly you will pay for it later. Once the first course is laid and checked for level, proceed to piece stones together wherever they will fit.

Step back from the wall occasionally and look at it from a distance to make sure there are no repeating patterns or you have not placed a stone crooked. Also try and step back each course of stone as you go up slightly so the wall does not lean forward

Remember to take a break every once and a while so you don't get dog tired.

Try and save some of the bigger pcs of stone with flat tops for the very end to use as cap stones. It is very important to work out the wall stones so that the cap stones or coping is all perfectly level. Otherwise you will have some unhappy wall sitters. The depth of the caps stone should also be somewhat larger than the wall stones so you have good sitting surface

I usually mortar the cap stones in place so they don't rock.

Stick in some plants and a little mulch and you have a beautiful seat wall that doubles as a planter. Every time you step into the backyard you can think of all the hard work you put into your work and admire your personal craftsmanship.

My Patio Project

How do you like my new patio. Take a step by step look at how it all came together.

Dig out the patio, it is much easier to do with a machine, but nothing beats free labor.

Put down weed block fabric

Prepare the base with ROC Limestone. My used 4" of ROC

Compact the base. You can do this with a hand tamp. But you can rent a nice compactor like this one for $50.

Check the grade using multiple string lines

Have a friend double check your work

Put down sub-base used as your setting bed for your stones. I used Granite Screenings at 1" thick

Start laying out your stones. The stone I used was 1" thick Full Color Irregular Bluestone

Work from two different ends of the patio and pull and string line connecting the them to ensure you keep a consistent grade.

Continue laying stones from the outside in, so that your borders are nice straight lines.

Use a string line on any straight ends of the patio to make sure you keep a consistent line.

Put in a french drain to direct water away from the patio and house. (A french drain is a fancy name for a ditch with a slotted black pipe and loose gravel in it)

In order to prevent puddles on your patio or the water to sit next to your house your patios and walkways should always have some degree of slope. It is recommended that you have at least a quarter inch of slope over 4 feet.

Sit out and relax and enjoy your new outdoor living space.