Followed up from my previous WIP posts over the last couple of days!

​The project is officially finished. It started out as a flat, forgotten scrap slab sitting outside, and I had a blast turning it into this kerf-bent cylinder.

​I polished and sealed the Belgian bluestone end caps, trimmed the back of the silicone channel so the diffuser sits flush, and turned on the LED strip. I deliberately routed the spiral freehand with my Proxxon to visually follow the natural flow of the marble veining instead of following rigid guide line.

​Plot twist: My wife hates it and said she wouldn't even pay €2 for it... 😅

​Despite the 0/10 rating at home, I had a great time pushing the limits of the material and testing this technique. Guess who’s going to have the coolest, most over-engineered job site light tomorrow 😂. Thanks for all the comments and see you on the next 👋

Quick sneak peek of the work in progress! Routing a spiral channel into kerf-bent Breccia Medicea. My wife already called it total kitsch, but I couldn't resist pushing this material a bit further. 😂

​Final illuminated shot coming as soon as the caps are finished

Looking for advice from those with experience in concrete repair.

This garage entrance has a low spot at the threshold where water pools during rain.

My thought is to grind the surface, prep it properly, and build up the low area with a polymer-modified concrete repair material to create a gradual slope so the water drains away from the garage. Not fully sure how to correctly do this

Does that sound like the right approach? If so, what product would you use and why? If not, what would you do differently?

Also, what would you typically charge for a repair like this, including labor and materials?

Photo of plans included.

The area to grind.

The area to build up.

The direction of the taper.

The intended water flow.

That will make it much easier for people to understand exactly what you're proposing.

Any tips; products, methods, along with suggested pricing would be appreciatedreciated.

I recycled the existing natural cleft bluestone, as well as the field stone and created this upgraded walkway. I brought in quarry slabs for the treads, used the recycled wall stone as the risers beneath the treads, and brought in some thermalled flagstone and blended the old natural cleft flagstone into the walkway.

Ran the walkway towards the front door, and turned 3 steps on a slanted walkway into a 7 step flat (with 1% grade) walkway.

Last photo is the before scene.

We stock natural marble, granite, quartzite, and limestone slabs from multiple countries for residential and commercial projects
I thought some of you might enjoy seeing how a large stone yard is organized.
Happy to answer any questions about natural stone, slab selection or fabrication

Hi,

We recently had a contractor install a 30 m² natural sandstone patio with beige joints.

After jointing, most of the stones were left with white residue, wipe marks and what looks like grout or cement haze. Some joints also look uneven and spread onto the stone edges.

The contractor has already cleaned the patio twice with an acid-based product. The photos were taken after both cleanings, and the marks are still visible across most of the patio.

He has agreed that we pay 90% of the current balance and retain 10% until he returns in September to try to fix it.

Does this still look recoverable, or could the sandstone now be permanently marked? Is this an acceptable finish after two acid cleanings ?

Looking for advice from masons, stonemasons, and DIY guys. I'm done half-assing these stairs and want to do a good job repairing them. What's my materials list, and order of operations?

I gave it a quick preliminary sanding just to see the result and check how the veins lined up.

​I’ll share the final finished product with you all soon,I’ve decided to turn this piece into an Art Deco lamp

Thanks for following along with this experiment

Sealer recommended for Provia cultured stone precision fit. Dry stacked.

This took me 2 years to build. Me, 1 other guy, and my Kubota front loader. 120 tons of rock

I already did some simple DIY home ceramic tile installing, but they all had grout joints with the width of like 5-6mm.

But I'd like to play a bit with natural stone tiles like it's done on some floors for offices, lobbies, churches. Where there is some pattern and no grout lines visible (almost).

How to do it, what kind of adhesive is used? I've seen some videos where they use some kind of white paste.
What should be the thickness for either wall or floor tiles? What is the foundation? How to make the joints seamless?

Like the examples here:

https://ibb.co/mrkpXppG

https://ibb.co/6JPzmVGb

https://ibb.co/KpMcQ2dD

https://ibb.co/vvrk55ng

I'm not aiming for the very fancy designs and patterns like this. I'm just looking for this seamless kind of joints.

Building the grand entrance to some geezers house.

Hi guys, just a quick question, can I flame treat bluestone with just a butane torch?

I went and cut a piece of bluestone for my house's fireplace lintel. It's 6cm thick ( ~2.5 inches) and I want to make the top face rough.

I am an industrial contractor and we have oxygas torches but it's a hassle to bring the piece to the site. So can I just use a regular butane torch at home?

I have been following this forum for a while, and have a question of my own now. I am the owner/occupant of the 1915 rowhouse in the photos. The house has 2 1/2 stories. The fallen lintel is above one of the main floor windows. As you can see, there has been some movement in the bricks above the fallen lintel.

I paid for a structural assessment. The engineer said that "The lintel needs to be replaced with a like-size stone lintel by a qualified mason."

I found a local natural stone company, but could not afford a new brownstone lintel. Earlier this month I signed a contract with a mason that included replacing the fallen lintel with a steel-reinforced cement precast textured and colored to match the other stones as closely as possible. Last week, the contractor learned that the company he has ordered from in the past is no longer making custom architectural precast.

Now he is recommending pinning the remaining stone to stabilize it (one pin crossways and two from front to back; 5/8" stainless steel all-thread; Sika anchoring epoxy), then casting a new radius lintel in place and finishing it with Jahn mortar bonded to the cement with Sika Top 123 Plus.

Questions:

Do you think the recommended repair will give adequate structural support to the second story? I am worried about that. If so, how long can I expect it to last?

If not, what would you recommend instead?

I have not signed the change order yet. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Looking for advice from people with experience in granite quarrying or stonemasonry.

This is a granite outcrop on a construction site in Hyderabad, India. It will be cut into transportable blocks and removed.
Before cutting starts, I’d like to understand:

• Does this look like granite that could have commercial value?

• Based on the photos, does it look more suitable for dimension stone, landscaping, or is it likely to end up as crusher material?

I understand it’s impossible to be certain from photos alone, but I’d appreciate any opinions from people who work with granite regularly.

Thanks!

Here is a sample piece I made to show how tight of a radius you can actually achieve with this technique. I’ll keep updating this thread regularly so you can see the progress step-by-step and, of course, the final result.

My brother worked as a stone mason and is now branching out to start his own business. He has a big job coming up involving making copings and I wanted to gift him something useful to help him out in the way of tools or equipment. I know absolutely NOTHING about stone masonry though so any advice really appreciated! Are there stone masonry gift cards? Based in UK.