Hammerhead Stoneworks

On Saturday, I led the first DIY Flagstone class of the season at the NC Arboretum. Ten people took part in the workshop which started at 9 and lasted until 4. In the morning we looked at several samples in a slideshow and discussed the stones, tools and structural elements of a good drystone patio. Just before lunch, we reviewed the safety concerns we might encounter working together. After lunch we headed outside to the ‘Stone Classroom’, a corner of the Arboretum grounds where they have built a gigantic sandbox for paving projects. After a couple of demos, people worked in teams of two to build their own section of flagstone patio. People had fun and did some great, creative work.
There’s a second section of the Do-It-Yourself Flagstone Paths and Patios workshop now registering via the North Carolina Arboretum’s website. The next class take place on Friday, September 4th. Come join me for a fun day of learning and playing with stone.

This photograph showing how to cut a stone is being used on the Wikipedia page devoted to feathers and wedges.

There are two new sections of the Do-It-Yourself Flagstone Paths and Patios workshop now registering via the North Carolina Arboretum’s website. The classes take place on Saturday, August 22nd and Friday, September 4th. They begin at 9:00 a.m. and run until 4:00 p.m. After a morning slideshow and discussion, the class moves outside. The Arboretum built a stone classroom in a clearing in the woods with a gigantic sandbox just for us. After some brief demonstrations of basic safety, stone-moving, and shaping techniques everyone gets to work applying what they’ve learned. Please contact me: marc (at) hammerheadstoneworks (dot) com with any questions or if you need help registering.

Yesterday I took part in the Mt. Green Sustainability Conference at Warren Wilson College. I led a session on Sustainability in Stonework, in which I introduced the Green Target tool I recently created. I talked about the four elements and what they mean: Function, Energy, Lifespan and Culture. We reviewed the cabin case study and then did a case study together on another project. You can see the images I used on the right side of the board in this picture.

This is the graphic I used to explain the Green Target. It was a brief session, so my explanation was shorter than I would have liked, but the case study really seemed to bring it together for people. After the class a few people stopped to talk to me about the tool. During my talk I spoke about the subjective, values driven nature of the tool. Maybe someday it could be empirical, but I’m not sure that’s necessary or helpful. I want to promote dialogue and discovery. There are plenty of certification programs out there and more emerging everyday. I wanted to create a way for everyone else to talk about all this stuff.

This is the first edition of the Daily Sledge, my company newsletter. I published it as the companion to a presentation I did.
Download The Daily Sledge: June 2009 (500K)

In April I led a class on creating do-it-yourself flagstone paths and patios at the North Carolina Arboretum. It was a perfect day for it. We started with a classroom presentation that covered the basics of setting flagstone as well as aesthetic choices and safety issues. after lunch we went outside to the Arboretum’s Stone Classroom and played with some Tennessee sandstone. Flat and easily worked, sandstone is a good starter stone for DIYers. People worked in teams of two and laid small areas of flagging.

In this picture I am apparently demonstrating the proper technique for making sure your stones don’t float away while you are working them.

Photo credit: Mac Franklin of the NC Arboretum. Mac and his crew built the classroom, including the gigantic sandbox I used for the class.

We have scheduled two more classes for August and early September. The dates will announced to Arboretum members soon. If you are interested, e-mail me for details: marc (at) hammerheadstoneworks (dot) com.