Super Giant Pudding Stone

We got lucky with the weather this past week and pushed hard on our two paver jobs to hasten completion before the ground freezes. Ryan and Gary are flying with the pavers over on Crooked Lake and we will begin the grill surround this week hoping we have weather enough to put the whole thing together and not wait until spring. In order to complete the job we will be delayed since we have to go for a variance to install any wall (fire pit) higher than 8". The next variance meeting is not until December.

Patty's job on Clear lake is looking sweet the bench is installed, the rock walls are built, the 5' snap cut steps are in and we are left to finish the pavers and a bit of rock work that frames the snap cuts. Bill was skeptical over my choice for the bench, the 700 pound slab of sandstone seemed the perfect size when I measured it in a down pour at Felger's a couple of weeks ago and indeed the basic shape was there, when Bruce Pardue finished with the cut off saw I knew it was meant to be.

We do have a bit of controversy because the last two snap cut were very pink compared to the other six so we are replacing them with two from Felger's. I have a bit of trepidation do to the fact that it is frequently difficult to match cut stones from different quarries and or mined at different times from the same quarry. I'll be holding my breath Monday when I go down to get the replacement stair treads.

The catch basin that M & C Trenching installed is a bit lower than we hoped so a three inch concrete riser needs to be installed. The riser is out of round and the basin grate does not fit so we have to trim it out with the concrete saw. Of course cutting concrete round is not an easy task.
Seeing the two huge stones set that mark the entrance to the staircase is especially rewarding. The stone on the left is a huge pudding stone (a geologic conglomeration of rock caused by the glaciers that ripped through our area of the country) that I have been saving for just the right location. They are both beautiful stones and make a huge statement .

Bill and Robert completed paving over the landing and steps that Lester Smucker poured a couple of weeks ago. These steps were relocated from the front side of the parking area and where there were once eleven steps there are now four. Patty will be installing a railings soon.