07-27-210 Co-op

The last few days I got to help Troy and his crew with the installation of a bluestone patio. Troy did the design, and since this was for a front porch, he used concrete for the foundation. If it were for a garden, he could have used sand or gravel instead of mortar. The first thing I did was unload all of the stone in the driveway and sort it according to the design. He wanted to see what pieces he was working with. It was very much like putting together a big puzzle. A rustic puzzle at that! Once everything was sorted out, Julian showed me how to mix the mortar and cut the pieces for the end cap and boarder. Mortar tends to harden quickly, so you have to work at a decent pace when setting the stone. Once the boarder was done, it was a matter of putting the correct pieces in and making sure it was level. It was a great learning experience! Here are some pictures..

The base

The stone. I had to unload all of this! Talk about a workout...

Mixing the mortar. I must have mixed 500 lbs of the stuff.

The design

80 lb. bags get heavy after a while!

Mortar

Stone from mutual materials

Setting my first bluestone

Julian showing me how to measure for the proper cut. It wasn't difficult
once he showed me how it's done.

Getting things ready for my cut. This one was just a straight piece,
so a lot easier than the corner piece.

Jose cutting strips for the end cap

making sure it's all level

Border

Final product. It turned out pretty nice!