SURF RALEIGH?

Yep! We took a break this evening and drove out to the base of the Falls of Neuse dam and paddled local! Great eddy service - warm water- close to home!

We are taking off this weekend to go on Vacation. That means that I won't be getting antsy to touch the concrete that is curing in the back yard. It also means that oldstonehouse is getting a break too! Check back the second week of July!

Opppppppps I did it again!

8 bags x 80lbs each = a crap load of concrete!

Well last time we used 8 bags and had more than enough. This time I had 8 bags and barely made it. A little thicker pour with less glass, and it was close.

This mix was going great, up the point where mother nature decided to dump rain on us. About 1/2 way through all of the pours and the heavens opened up. Not the best thing for wet concrete. This had me running all over for things to cover the ones I had poured, and to cover my mix. I think we got away with just a little bit of extra water in everything.

I went with a little bit of glass, all the little bits that I screened through in the first batch. This is more like the stuff that I used in all of my tests. I am confident that it will work. I just wish that it were not so humid and damp outside.

I loved it so much, I am going to do it again!`

Speed bumps? Minor Delay? Trial and Error? As Brian's wife put it, gigantic chunks that the landfill won't take. But hey, I might just have the nicest work tops in my basement shop ever.

The issues are many, with none of them = the major problem.

1st. Too thin. - By making the forms using just a circular saw my forms are a little off. A little off can equal wobbles.

2nd Glass too big - All of the Glass that we used came from round bottles. Round bottles don't have a true flat surface. By using chunks that were too large, I created divits and wholes when I started my polishing. I can't get a true flat and smooth surface due to this. Yes Bill was in charge of the glass but I was the final say in it. I never even thought about this until I worked my first slab. Lesson learned.

3rd- Too much glass- The glass is really cool, but there is just too much in there. it might look better with the same amount, just smaller pieces. We will see.

4th - Wrong diamond pads- I started this project using a pad system that a local builder recommended. He was wrong with his choice. I burned a couple of the first pads up yesterday. I contacted Granquartz right after I did that and they had me some better diamonds here @ 9am this morning. I fired them up this afternoon and they are really agressive and get me to the stone in the concrete quick. I will have to be careful and quick, but it will look nice.

So I am now ready for another long Saturday of mixing and vibrating. I went to the Depot this afternoon and bought all new melomene. Took it over to Brians house to use his table saw to get true cuts, smooth cuts, accurate cuts. I will build those up tomorrow in prep. for Saturday.

Nice thing....I am not out much. I have all the glass still, and with a little bit more crushing, it will be down to a size that will be usable. Lesson learned. Just too bad for Bill and myself that we worked so damn hard on them last week.


Fresh out of the form

The cup stopped here!

5000 PSI ? Countertops Day 1

• 1/2 Ton of Quickcrete 5000
• 3 sheets of diamond wire
• 21 tubes of charcoal pigment
• 4 sheets of melomene
• 3 mixing tubs
• 27 thick glass bottles
• Help

Saturday it all started to come together. With all of the measurements made, the outlines cut, the sink hole created, and materials purchased, it was time to get down and dirty. My help came from my father-in-law. Little did he know that after driving in from OBX that he would be getting in on the countertop construction action.

For my project, just about 30 square ft of counterspace, I have decided to use quickcrete 5000 that you can buy at Lowe's. I like this stuff for its strength, ease of use, and the fact that it has some really nice stone in it. The stone just looks like rock when it is all mixed in, but after I hit it with the Flex polisher, it will come around and be something really cool.

The first thought was to build 1.5 inches thick. Due to the kerf, pencil marks and such, it looks like they will be 1 3/8 thick. I lost an eigth somwhere in there. Nothing to worry about though. All steps were taken to make sure that these things will be strong. I tie it all together with diamond wire and making sure to vibrate the mix into all the corners and to get all of the air out.

For the glass, well I got Bill to make that happen. Sandy and I had been collecting bottles from the recycle depot that is down around the corner. We were pretty picky. No browns, some cool clear, any and all blue that we could get, and some thick green. Bill was resposible for breaking them all down to usable size. It really is a difficult job. Crash bottles together, pound them in a bucket covered with trashbag (safety first) and then screen them in the yard with a waterhose and some wiremesh!

The color that was used came from Lowes in liquid form. Depot has some color but they only have it in dry powder form. I learned earlier that the liquids mix easier. I used 2 bottles per bag. Our goal was to get a dark gray, close but not black. The color gets mixed with the water and then that gets mixed in with the sacks of 5000.

With the forms built, wire cut, glass broken up, it was time to pour and get dirty. First step is to lay the glass down on the form. That allows you to get even distribution of the glass across the countertop. Once the mix is ready you put the first little bit in by hand. If you pour it in it will move all of the glass around and into the corner opposite of your pour. Once the hand pack is in, I vibrate it to get it all mixed in and into the edges. Once that is done, diamond wire is inserted. I kept the wire 1 inch from all of the sides. Next ...finish filling the mold up to the edge with the mix. Then vibrate again!

Then you wait!

I have posted some pictures over on Flickr. If you look to the left side of the blog you will find some more photos. I really don't like the idea of starting to use another photo server, but Flickr does have some cool features that webshots does not.

My hearts the bitter Buffalo!

Ok so the title of this post is a line out of a modest mouse song. But it ties into the weekend rather nicely. We returned today (sunday) from Buffalo NY. We were up there to attend a wedding for San-San's cousin.

We got home today, feeling like we had just landed in somewhere tropical. The humidity is like the dried elmers clue that you use to pick off as a kid. Honest! We made it to Temple (aka LOWE's ) to buy some 5/8" plywood for the base of the countertops. It is all cut and in place. Tomorrow I should start doing the forms for the concrete.

I am going to try to keep a tight format on my countertops. I will post a lot of pictures in webshots. Feel free to ask questions and provide advice if you have it.

sometimes pros are SLOOOOOOOOOW

"See ya tomorrow @ 7 am" says the installer who is also a huge hockey fan.
"Sure thing" says the not so huge hockey fan but can appreciate that there are real sports fans in this town unlike Seattle where everyone was there just to be seen.

Anyway he was late! By almost an hour. He worked so dag-gone slow that I couldn't believe it. But what he did was dead on! It's kinda hard to tell a slow poke to hurry it up, esp. when they are doing such a good job. Jerry- I think you will appreciate it.

Here is just a couple of shots to tease with until tomorrow when I take finished pictures.

Teaser!

Just a tease for those who are following along.

This morning brought a large box truck and a couple of guys that were pros. A father and son team were called due to having experience with remodels. It was very obvious that they knew what they were doing. They look great. It's great to see all our hardwork coming together like this. The floor looks great with the cabinets, the cabinets with the walls, and the lack of wall makes it all fantastic!



Tomorrow the guys will be back to get everything done. They still have a lot to do. I will post pictures once it all gets in.

They are almost here.....

The cabinets are almost here. We got our call on Tuesday that First Choice will be doing the install this coming monday and tuesday. We are very excited. It will be a huge step to see this all happen. For about a month now we have been living in just a mess of a kitchen. Thank goodness Sandy thought about hanging the sink from that chain. At least we have been able to wash our drinking glasses.

Tomorrow ( Saturday) we are going to finish up on the painting and remove the rest of the countertop (including the sink). I am going to try my hand at changing the waste drain pipe to be centered with the window where the sink will be. It's just PVC and I have plenty of books to go by.

The A/C is working like a charm. It makes a great big ol difference. It is nice to walk around in all of the rooms and feel the not so humid as a rice patty field somewhere on a different continent feeling.

OH YEAH !!! How about those Hurricanes!!! Gotta love Redneck - Hillbilly Hockey!