[Will Pacala]

So far so good, looks nice. About how much do those stone pieces weigh?? As for plantings.....??????

[Stonehenge]

My guess is about 900-1000 pounds each. Ballpark.

[Paul]

Now this is just a guess because I really don't know the exact size of the stones but the steps look to be about 5' wide x 2' deep and 7" high so they should weigh in around 1300 lbs each. Granite weighs about 185 lbs per cu ft now each quarry has it's own density so the numbers can change a bit.

[Bill Schwab]

JW:

What we do with the routed granite is somewhat the reverse of your"Masher", except in reverese. (It would be fun to have my own masher, Arrrr Arrrr arrrr) Anyway, we first epoxy a 2" wide strip of granite that we cut from the slab to the outer edge. Then after the epoxy sets, we route the edge. After that it is a series of polishing. Start with 36 grit, work to 60, then 100 then down to 3000, then polish. We are going to do our own granite tops in our kitchen next year when we gut the thing, I can buy the stuff all day long for $10.00 a sq foot...

Anyhow, where do you get a masher?

[jwholden]

Bill,

I saw one at www.granitecitytool.com but the one I got was from the place that sold the granite. It did a real nice job of rounding off the cuts and will be great for rounding off SRW units as well.

[jwholden]

The steps in that picture are 18" deep, 4' long, and 7" thick. The catolog of the supplier says they weigh 97 lbs per square foot, 582 lbs.

Give me a couple straps (and a Bobcat), a crow bar, a 30" crow bar, and a couple pieces of wood for under and I can move them around all day. I think granite is even better than Lincoln logs!

[Bill Schwab]

Unilock makes or rather has available, a set of scissors clamps that we used to use for setting Siena stone. Cost as about $800.00, and that was the perfect size for your granite. You could adjust them as needed. We used those on a 200 ton crane when we built a Dura Hold wall in the Chicago river. We hung a 6' high by 300 ft long section in a 10 hour day with 4 guys, that included leveling pad. Did not include sand bag time.

Anyhow, if you do alot of those it may well be worth checking into.

Thanks for the tip on your meat tenderizer, I'm going to add one or two to our arsenal...

[dan deutekom]

We actually built our own lifting clamp for this type of stone. It consists of two sets each one made of a 18" long piece of 6" angle iron with a 2" sqaure tube that is about 18" long welded to the angle iron at a right angle. To this tube is welded about 24" of chain. jThe angle iron is padded with rubber from a tire. We then took 2 grab hooks and they were installed on a steel hoop. To lift a step or large stone the two clamps are placed on the step and bound together by the grab hooks. Once you lift the grab loop it binds every thing together and you move the stone.

It is a very simple and fast way to move stone and squared rock.

[Stonehenge]

Bill, are you using a special router to route your stone? I can imagine all kinds of dust getting into and wrecking anice routing in a few hours of work.

[Bill Schwab]

Jeff:

It is just a Bosch 3 HP that you would use for wood. Typically, we get 3 years out of one then trash it. We just recover the cost of the router in the $100.00 a sq ft price for the counter tops. The router bits run $375.00-$500.00 each, and you can get a season from them.

Once again, another trade I never would have taken on if the surfer boys out here would put down their dope pipes and come to work rather than ride waves all day..It is amazing how anyone can live with what it costs by not returning calls, but, different topic for different day!

[jwholden]

Over the past two days we recieved around sixteen inches of snow. Me thinks this one is going to have to wait till spring.

[Stonehenge]

Oh - I must have misunderstood - you do countertops on a regular basis? If you're applying epoxy to the last 2" of a countertop, can't you see that seam?

I'm thinking I must not be getting the whole picture.

[Will Pacala]

I've also used something like this to lift stones like that. It gives you added sight and positionig.

[jwholden]

I sent my clients this E-mail today about their patio. We have had below freezing tempuratures every night and two snow storms since December 5th. I will call them to go over the situation tonight but still feel like a shmoe sending a message like this.

--------------

Dear _____,

I stopped at your house yesterday to check on the patio. The new French doors look great! Because of freezing temperatures, it is best to suspend work on your project until warmer weather arrives.

I will clean up your yard next week so you will have a neat house for Christmas. I will remove all tools, organize the materials, remove the excess dirt, and create a temporary walk to get to the new steps. Your project will be my first in the spring, as soon as we have consistent warm weather.

I apologize for the delay and would like to ensure you that I will complete the project as planned. Your new outdoor room is going to be gorgeous!

I will call tonight to confirm you received this E-mail and please call if you have questions or concerns. You can reach me in the office at _____ or on my cell phone at _____.

Thank you,

[Will Pacala]

That's a good move. I don't think that it would be agood idea to work in the snow like this. Especially with concrete and mortar. Were the clients understanding about the deal?? Will you keep those stones at the site or bring them back till the springtime??