October 22, 20177 yr 2 hours ago, MKader17 said: I was quoted $5800 to do 320 sqft of flag stone patio. I think I can get the materials and tools for < $2k. Anyone done similar work/ have any tips? I think I'm most worried about digging 7" of dirt x320+ sq ft. I'm assuming you already know all the prep. This is my formula for efficiency. First, loosely place as many jumpers (*big stones... that jump a lot of square feet at one time) as possible first. Then worry about filling in the small spaces, and trimming corners of the jumpers to cinch everything together. Work on a fairly large area at one time, will help you from getting stone blind. ( * getting stuck looking for the right stone lol) Take a break or move on to another spot if get stone blind. Have a decent pile of smaller stones laid flat on the ground near you to pick from... easiest to see the general shapes this way when picking. Avoid putting in any crumbs (smaller than 10x10 in this case) even if it requires trimming more off of a big piece. The other thing to make it look clean and professional is keep all the joints 1 inch. Again even if it requires trimming more than you would like. Get a diamond blade for the grinder, to score cuts that are more than just nibbles with chisel. Get a piece of thick angle iron, to place under the stone when chiseling. You will NEED to place the angle iron on a solid workbench or at least wood if on the ground. Place iron in a "^" orientation, so the top edge creates the bottom part of a guillotine. Lots of light taps with the chisel, all the way across the stone. Put your guns on safety, don't just go all Paul Bunyan on it.
October 22, 20177 yr 1 hour ago, MKader17 said: I was quoted $5800 to do 320 sqft of flag stone patio. I think I can get the materials and tools for < $2k. Anyone done similar work/ have any tips? I think I'm most worried about digging 7" of dirt x320+ sq ft. Yes, pay the money to have someone else do it. One of my other responsibilities at work is masonry and I've done about 10 stone patios before even working here. It's all about the BASE, seriously. Try to get some good thick stones, about 1.75-2.25" thick. Call 811 and get the utilities marked, dig and make sure you grade it about 2 degrees or 1/8" or so for every 10-12 inches, away from the house of course.. Stakes, line, and a level are must haves. If you're going right up to foundation, don't put the stones right up against it. Leave a little gap. Lay about 2" of gravel, compact it, lay another 2" of gravel, compact it. Your gravel size will depend on your stone size. Bigger gravel if you have large stones, smaller for smaller. We generally use 3/4". So, your gravel is your initial base. After you get that set, you need a softer, but firm base to set the stones on. DO NOT USE SAND! Sand will move no matter how firmly you compact it. I've used a lot of crushed concrete, just make sure it's a fine crush, and compact it well. Now you can lay your stones. Lay them and use more of your final base material to level them. This is where it becomes a pain in the ass. It takes a lot of time to level the stones since they're not flat on the bottom. Level them by putting base material under them wherever you need. Carefully tamp them down and continue on until you've laid them all. Once you've laid everything (giggity), you can fill in the gaps. I like to use my base material like the crushed concrete, but you can use pretty much anything here. A lot of people use polymeric sand. I don't know if I spelled that right, but it's basically like grout. You put it in the cracks, wet it down, and it solidifies and locks everything together. If you choose to use this, READ the DIRECTIONS carefully before you do, and heed the warnings! Another little trick I like to use is to spread some copper dust, powder, or shavings on the ground before I lay my gravel. For some reason, vegetation will not grow near copper, so this is a weed prevention method I like to use.
October 22, 20177 yr The old copper toxicity trick. Learned that from the old loggers who would tell stories of pounding copper nails Into trees they wanted to mine in future years.
October 22, 20177 yr 15 hours ago, topgun said: Thats what renting equipment is for. Metals are being looked at again as anti bacterial surfaces. Door knobs in hospitals can be made out of metals that have enough of those lethal alloys that the surfaces kill 99.999%. They just have almost no chance of building an immunity though. Ever. Because it's so much so the wrong environment.
October 22, 20177 yr 1 hour ago, dem beats said: Metals are being looked at again as anti bacterial surfaces. Door knobs in hospitals can be made out of metals that have enough of those lethal alloys that the surfaces kill 99.999%. They just have almost no chance of building an immunity though. Ever. Because it's so much so the wrong environment. Is a product of low Ph that causes the inhospitable environment for microbes ... as is almost all antimicrobial products. The metal toxicity with plants also works by locking up its ability to uptake other nutrients. Although microbes must be present at the root system to uptake nutrients also... as it is the carbon atom the microbe releases that the plant needs to transport all other nutrients. One nutrient can not be implemented by the plant without its counterbalance in check. As seen on Mulders chart, to much copper will lock up the ability to uptake iron and phosphorus. Funn facts lol
October 22, 20177 yr < Is hyper-sensitive and/or allergic to most antibacterials. Which sucks as I work around them all day.
October 22, 20177 yr I don't care what they say about ya! You're a smarty pants. In microbes these metals do everything terrible to them. Their cell walls fall apart, it's inhospitibal to plants so no symbiosis... if those critters find a way to deal with the surfaces we could have a problem, but the way I understand it, the way proteins for life work, there isn't going to be a single cell form of life that we know that can live on some of those metals. Only heavy metal I need comes from Pantera.
October 22, 20177 yr 6 minutes ago, j-roadtatts said: A sulfur burner is whats used in a grow environment, to drop surface Ph. Your tomatoes must be impressive. :-D
October 22, 20177 yr 4 minutes ago, dem beats said: I don't care what they say about ya! You're a smarty pants. In microbes these metals do everything terrible to them. Their cell walls fall apart, it's inhospitibal to plants so no symbiosis... if those critters find a way to deal with the surfaces we could have a problem, but the way I understand it, the way proteins for life work, there isn't going to be a single cell form of life that we know that can live on some of those metals. Only heavy metal I need comes from Pantera. Thats really funny when I think about first life forming at the bottom of the sea as protein and amino, in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. lol Pantera is breakfast of champions, better than a bowl of outmeal for all them there minerals and nutrients!
October 22, 20177 yr 10 minutes ago, dem beats said: Your tomatoes must be impressive. :-D Is fun to super charge a plant. Considering they are only growing at about 10-20% of their genetic ceiling, in most uncontrolled environments.
October 22, 20177 yr There was a hydroponics tomato farm in the town I grew up in. I was fascinated from day one. They had an oyster plant next door, for the feed. was to cool for skool.
October 23, 20177 yr Popular Post Some pics from my space cruise yesterday, for you flatlanders. Mt. Sopris^ The top is only around 9500 feet iirc. Is an extinct volcano...The crater is the bowl between the far left and middle peak. The far left peak partly covered with clouds in the inside face. Cool thing with this pic is the largest herd of elk in the area cross the foremost field on their migratory route. They migrate in a big oval their whole life, crossing the same place approximately every three days. Where I am standing is the other edge of the oval at its skinniest point. (hunters everywhere lol) The closest ski resort^. Fun fact. Aspen was the first ski slope in the area, after being a mining town. The Olympics choose to train here in 1940 and the rest is history. Was a hippy town until the 80's, Would be hard pressed to afford to live there now a days. lol LOts of hott bitches though. THis^ mountian is not Aspen. More Sopris! The Indian legend is once you see this mountain in person you will not be able to leave the area. A pic into the canyon that's the other direction.^ (east)And the third direction. ^I live between the last set of mountains in the distance. (west) Hope ya'all enjoy now.
October 23, 20177 yr 19 minutes ago, dem beats said: You are in CO correct? Yes. I actually live at the base of where the Rocky Mountains start on the west side. More of a high desert environment, probably not what people imagine for Colorado. Exactly where I am Is truly the gateway to the west. The farthest mountain in the last picture above is not part of the Rocky Mountains. Any further west and you might as will be in Utah as far as landscape is concerned.
October 23, 20177 yr And just so you guys know my intentions are not to come across as super intelligent . I am just plagued with a very good memory and it is all for entertainment purposes only. I am super grateful to have such a level headed group of guys to talk to. The last thing I want to do is wear out my welcome or alienate anyone. I've been high strung AF lately. And In all honesty these are the times I usually come to visit the most.
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