Seven feet high and rising (and flagging classes)
June 6th, 2009
The cabin chimney is steadily growing, now seven feet high and rising. I am using a FireRock modular system, thinking it would save money and effort. I think I’m wrong on both counts, but in for a penny… I am building the liner as I go because of the limited scaffolding options. I don’t have any of my own yet, and real scaffolding wouldn’t fit in the space anyway.
This is the third chimney on this cabin since it was moved to this spot by oxen in the 1850′s. I am reusing much of the stone from the most recent version, perhaps earlier versions as well. Some pieces are blackened and smell like fire when I work them. Technically, this is a veneer but I am laying my stone in its bedded plane, easier because I gave myself a minimum of eight inches to work.
Stylistically, I am drawing from the original chimney and the other stonework I see around. I drive through Mars Hill College to get here and they have old buildings there in the local vernacular, which is rough and lumpy, a lot like the stone and the landscape here. As seen in other posts, the fireplace is tighter and more formal. With the chimney I am fighting my own impulse to overwork everything. As it grows, I like it more and more.
As grows the chimney-slow and steady, so goes the new website. I have recently added portfolio pages that feature samples of my work with Unturned. The Hammers page is complete and yesterday I added a page and slideshow about the Flagstone Classes I offer. I just checked the list on the wall and I only have another fifteen pages I’d like to add.