2005 - Front Walk, Steps

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c506e1egerbq.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Dream Garden</B></FONT><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B>|    </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dream Garden"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About DREAM GARDEN"><U>About DREAM GARDEN</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="turtle pond 2009"><U>turtle pond - 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="hardwood floor spring 2009"><U>hardwood floor - spring 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="20072008 cellar floor"><U>2007-2008 cellar floor</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="terrace door fall 2007"><U>terrace door - fall 2007</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="20062007 garage"><U>2006-2007 garage</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2005 rubble retaining wall, brick column"><U>2005 rubble retaining wall, brick column, brick sidewalk</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2005 Lauries wall repair"><U>2005 - Laurie's wall repair</U></A>   |   2005 - Front Walk, Steps   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hey, nobodys perfect!"><U>Hey, nobody's perfect!</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2005 pimp my bathroom"><U>2005 pimp my bathroom</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PATIO 2004"><U>PATIO - 2004</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DRIVEWAY 2004"><U>DRIVEWAY - 2004</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HERRINGBONE WALK (brick mortar) May 20"><U>HERRINGBONE WALK (brick & mortar) - May 2004</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CELLAR STEPS TILEWORK 2004"><U>CELLAR STEPS TILEWORK - 2004</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="KITCHEN TILEWORK 2003"><U>KITCHEN TILEWORK - 2003</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HERRINGBONE WALK w/ STEPS Oct. 2003"><U>HERRINGBONE WALK w/ STEPS - Oct. 2003</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" DRIVEWAY at New House Sept. 2003"><U> DRIVEWAY at New House - Sept. 2003</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RANDOM RUBBLE May 2003"><U>RANDOM RUBBLE - May 2003</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Flemish GARDEN WALL Sept. 2002"><U>Flemish GARDEN WALL - Sept. 2002</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OTHER STUFF I do"><U>OTHER STUFF I do</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About John J. Quick"><U>About John J. Quick</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U>Contact Me</U></A></div> <div> <B> t</B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#339900" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="422965b0.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="91" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="42196710.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="113" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="423966a0.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="106" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#99CC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> 2005 - Front Walk, Steps</div> <div> Original walk consisted of four 4' square bluestone slabs. I suspect they were salvaged from a sidewalk renovation. When I moved to this town 25 years (and three addresses) ago, sidewalks like this were plentiful. Bluestone holds up very well even when pushed out of alignment by tree roots. As pretty as it looks, those jaggedy stretches were a nuisance for pedestrians - I couldn't walk half a block without snagging a  Perego umbrella stroller wheel (a regular baby catapult if you were making time!), but it was every junior skateboarder's nirvana - the jaggedier, the better! Those little dudes had all the rudimentary pivots and jumps down so quickly, they could all skate a half-pipe by kindergarten!</div> <bR> <div> I never had a problem with my bluestone front walk, other than that whoever laid the slabs didn't bother to center them with the front steps. None had cracked, shifted or been pushed up by roots in their many decades on this spot. But I'm in the mood for brick and mortar, and I have an idea that combines two classic brick bonds: basket-weave and herringbone. </div> <bR> <div> I offered the slabs (gratis) to several people, intending to pour a new foundation for my project. "Can you DELIVER them?" Dream on!! "Are they very heavy ?" Well, YES....probably 400 lbs. each! No takers. Consider the options: 1. I could smash them with a sledgehammer, but then I'd have to haul all those stone fragments someplace. 2. I could lift the slabs, dig out 3" or so, put them back and use them as my foundation.</div> <bR> <div> (below) "She Blinded Me With Science!" </div> <div> <IMG SRC="3a30d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> And just how does a 105 lb. woman move an object 4x her weight?? Well, she's got High Hopes - that be certain! </div> <div> "I must think like an ant...." - nah, that ain't workin'....let's do a brain search: </div> <div> Aha! Got a piece of wood from the garage, dug a tiny trench alongside the first stone, jammed the wood in tight, and said "I don't mean to pry, but...", lo, thar she lifts! Mental leverage begets physical leverage. Using bricks as a fulcrum, I was able to move all the stone with minimal effort.</div> <div> Three of the four slabs were keepers: so sound and solid I could jump on them (did jump on them, actually) as they straddled the timbers in these photos. The fourth was a little flaky, so I smashed it to small smithereens and used alot of it as fill in the wells of the new steps.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="3a90d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> So I'm pumped from moving the stone, right? "She's a brick house. She's mighty, MIGHTY!" and all that.</div> <div> Well....a sudden burst of ego is always fun, but those darned tree roots sure put me in my place. There were knotty clusters in all the corners, as if the tree made dozens of attempts to cross under the walk before finally succeeding in finding the path of least resistance (usually right at the seam between stones). </div> <bR> <div> "Stupid, shallow-rooted Tree! Use a lever, tough guy!"</div> <div> "Ya wanna see 'tough'? I'll show you 'tough'!"</div> <div> "Let me introduce you to my little friend"  I taunt, brandishing my lethal reciprocating saw!</div> <bR> <div> And so it went, trading off from shovel to axe to saw and back.Finally, I can reposition the stone and drop it in place. The grade of my front walk is pretty considerable. I don't know exactly how considerable because I didn't measure, and I don't know at precisely what point a slight incline turns from "a bit rampy" to "treacherously chute-like", but my inclination instinct was flashing "TILT"!</div> <div> Yep...hadn't planned on it, but I'm gonna need a step. (So much for blowing out this walk in three days!)</div> <div> <IMG SRC="3ab0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> I thought over the idea of having the step rise immediately at the sidewalk line, but when I researched it (and by "research" I only mean that I looked around while taxiing my kids hither and yon), I found only one example of an immediate rise. In over 20 other similar situations, there was a single step recessed 2-4' back from the sidewalk. Kind of makes sense: get the people used to the change in direction before throwing an elevation change at them. I still consider it a potential tripping hazard. I did a similar step a while back for Dennis in Rahway, but his had the clearly visible contrast of limestone against brick AND being an electrician, Dennis inserted electrical conduit at the time of construction so he could easily install lights there if he found it necessary.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3b30d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3b70d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3b90d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3bb0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3bd0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3bf0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3c10d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3c30d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3c50d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <IMG SRC="3c70d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3cd0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3cf0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3d10d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3d30d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3d70d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3d90d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3dd2c900.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="400" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3df2c900.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="400" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3e10d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="41b0d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3e30d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="41d0d400.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="320" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="4200d400.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="320" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3e70d8a0.jpg" border=0 width="525" height="394" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <div> . . . . . . . . . . . GO MOM!!!</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>