Tool - 3' x 4' x 5' / 90° Folding Layout A Square

 C.H. Hanson 3' x 4' x 5' / 90° Folding Layout A Square

When it came time to build a walk first of this year (pics below) my stone buddy Matt - Stone Soup Blog told me about this tool. As I waited on the cell phone as he went hunting in his hot shed to find the product name - C.H. Hanson 3 x 4 x 5. At first I didn't understand. But if he suggested it I figured he knows whats best for me! So I got on line and bought one that night!. Once I got it - it all made sense. All of my work up until now had been full of curves and or had square area's to get proper measurements. ie house or a cement patio...4 years of drafting can sure help a little but not as much as this tool does.

This is a very simple tool. For example above photo - I have taken the 3/4/5 A Square and put it up against the garage in order to determine my straight line away from the home. I set that line up then I came down to bottom end as seen in photo and place my square against the line to get my corner line set up. Now my build is square. Work made easy through friends and tools. Thanks Matt! Don't give up on me now and throw in the towel on that Blog of yours!!!

C.H. Hanson 3' x 4' x 5' / 90° Folding Layout A Square - Folded down.

What makes this tool so amazing is that you can easily fold it up. In return it takes up no room at all. Some of the features from C.H. Hanson's website are as followed:

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• Only true 3' x 4' x 5' square
• Collapsing triangle guarantees precision layout
• Easy to use, faster, more accurate, folds to store
• Uses: Carpentry, layout, angle layout, squaring, framing timber, masonry, pavers and much more 
• Accurate to within 1/32"
• Made in USA 

C.H. Hanson 7" Polymer 45° Folding Layout A Square

What was even better I found this on Amazon when I did my first search. So of course I ordered it up from Amazon with seller C. H. Hanson for only $58  and it came with a bonus C.H. Hanson 7" Polymer 45° Folding Layout A Square. This was also a very handy tool to have when I was marking all my small filler bricks all being 45° cuts with the herringbone brick pattern. Thanks C. H. Hanson for the bonus gift!

With this job I set my string lines with the 3/4/5 A Square down (top photo) at porch Right side (cement pad). Because I knew this was build off the house and correct for square. The porch steps were not square. If you notice my stone step at the bottom and then look at the step above (bottom of photo with black phone sitting on it) Notice how off it is?! So in order to think about what a human see's as they walk down the steps having the walk go straight visually with the direction was the key goal. The path you walk needs to be straight. 

Getting back to  the set up of the strings. I started with the square down at the bottom to determine the right string line. Once I did that I was able to come to the on other end (bottom photo) To help set the string line for the step. I could either measure off this first line to get correct measurements for the left side or simply flip the square around down at the step line to determine my run going back to the cement porch. Either way you come up with the same solution. Key was getting the first line and then the step figured out. 

So if you do not have one of these in your tool box - you might want to think about it. I'm already finding it handy for so many other jobs now I have it. Just like my Mini excavator. The right tools for the right job makes it easy.

To check out all the product  C.H. Hason makes check them out on their website. www.chhanson.com

Related blogs to this link such as the walk:

BEHIND THE SCENES - Appaloosa Way Project

Appaloosa Way Finksburg MD, Finished Project, Brick Walkway

Mortar last for ever!? PART 2

Demo old leaning wall. 

This wall was built in 1969 with mortar and natural stone. The mason's did an amazing job with the design along with sealing the back cinder blocks with tar. They also took steps at the foundation to create a terracotta clay drainage pipe system. I would say this could be compared to todays plastic perforated drain pipes that many use. 

You can see in this photo the drain pipe which was placed at the bottom of the wall on the back side. They even used 3/8th's stone along with crush and run by the house. These pipes were in 1' sections - sitting one next to the other. At first when I hit these I thought to my self what is the brown stuff as I dug with my mini excavator. I got out then started hand digging with the pick axe. Boy o'boy what do we have here?. At first I was hoping to have hit a treasure. The client had told me that the government purchase Oxen for use in the civil war. Since the home was built in 1813. I was starting to get excited until I learned it was just clay pipe.

Non of the pipes were damaged unit I hit them with a machine or tryied to hand lift them out. The clay pipe had lost a bit of its stength over the years. I believe the biggest thing about finding these was I could never have planned it.  Come across something like this. Now had this been a grey water line (clean waste water from the sinks, tubes...) I would have had another issue on my hands with the rebuild. Since the wall was going to be laid dry I needed all the real-estate I could get for my foundation stones. I was happy when the client turned on a few sinks - nothing came out. Moral of this story- be sure to have a section in your contracts if your a builder about unexpected and un seen surprises under ground. Not only could you get stuck at a stand still you may need to replace something you  had no idea existed at your expense.  Surprise Surprise!!

Moving on to why the wall may have failed. When digging this out with my mini I hit this sewage (rain ) pipe which was barred under ground. (Large long white pipe above) As you can see from the pictures that it comes from the house and goes out to the top left of the photo. Marker paint can be found on the pipe. Now of course since I busted the pipe I went ahead and replaced it. What I found I believe caused the wall to FAIL! The pipe had been put in backwards. 

This section of new pipe is now fitted closest to the home. Notice how this section slides over top the old one. Now the pipe I busted this section was on the down hill side - I believe causing water to leak out over years and years. 

This is the down hill side which I used the old coupler from the up hill side now on the bottom side. This now creates a better seal. If a PVC style pipe was put in some one could drive over the earth minimal chance of causing the pipe to bust. Sewage style pipes work great for the price you pay. This area would never see a machine driving over it. 

When you look at the old wall you can see the majority of the wall is falling over at the end for two reasons. One it has no support tying it back into the back. A corner could have really helped with strength. But more importantly had the contractor who put the pipe in with the flared end on the up hill side. I don't believe the wall would have failed. 

Keep in mind this is all just a theory. But when you think about the direction water flows, the fact that a pipe clearly should not have been installed in the direction it was. A wall of this size with stone and cinder blocks 19' long and 4' at house to 3' at corner Should NOT Looked Like This!

If you think of a dam it needs to hold water back. This wall should be doing just that with the dirt. Retaining wall! Now had the wall been designed with weep holes included it may be standing today. But since some contractor many many years later put at pipe in backwards Causing water to leak out into the soil- notice the middle of the all in the second photo up. With the crack in the wall and the stone on the ground. Now look again at the top 4th photo down with the full pipe. This was where the pipe was backwards. It could be something completely different. But I believe my theory is a good one. Now the wall has been built dry - the wall can now be a free draining system. No need to worry about this problem unless we get 1 week of solid rain then just about any thing would giveaway. You can't play with mother nature. You can only try to work with her. 

Related blogs:

Mortar last for ever!? With out hydraulic pressure

Notes: I'm not a trained plumber nor drainage expert. My opinion is only based on visual clues which lead to common sense. THE WALL IS LEANING OVER.....Water caused this action, which in turned causes a reaction - the wall to lean out away from the bank.

Glenville PA Project Trailer

After 13 days in the last month I have finished a 22 ft retaining wall with a 90 degree corner including 6 steps. This project had some very interesting problems and challenges. 

Finished Project - Coming Soon To A Blog Near You!

Mortar last for ever!? With out hydraulic pressure

OOPSIE,  whats that crack in the middle of the wall?  O' is that a bonus stone which has broken away from the pack. The needed to go to the other side is written all over it's face. Go to the smart side - dry laid stone. A flexible and free draining system. Non of which can be said about this wall. To bad! 

As you can see this beautiful wall may have a big problem (leaning over). One  the builder never could have expected or planned. Simply human error on a hired contractor - over 36 +/- years later. ( estimated ) Yes this wall should or would still be standing tall - MOST LIKELY. Can you guess what went wrong. HINT- Water from the roof. 


Current project Glenville, PA underway. More tales to tell coming up.
Built in 1969, with field stone from this historic site. 
* True cause of failure only speculated. Water 100% the catalyst. Known as Hydraulic pressure. 

BEHIND THE SCENES - Appaloosa Way Project

Behind the scenes are just like it sounds. I have always love to see pictures of others jobs site. This gives me a lot of insight to how others handle a build. Such as what problems they had or what went into the thought process. Looking at a pretty pictures never tell me any thing. Content is KEY! The more I can get - the more I pick up - only helps me to be better at my craft.  

I remember going to one of my first workshops hosted by Dan Snow with Andrew Pighills. I asked more questions at lunch break then they both bargained for. I'm not sure either had enough time to start there lunch. Ha ha true craftsmen helping a eager learner. Good thing I'm still at it. Other wise I might owe them both a lunch wagon. Thank you both for answering all my questions. 

The Appaloosa Way Project had a great deal of issues I had to deal with on this build. I have listed a few of what I feel are some of the largest issues I had to work around and with..............Feel free to ask any questions on comments. 

1) The walk was built to matching the porch both for being square and with the grade pitch way from the house. (porch is pitched away from house) Higher on the right, lower on the left. Allowing for water to flow away from the home.

2) Porch cement posts. I decided to work my build off of both of these. Using them as my edge. At the time I was not sure how the granite edges would work out in the build. It was in my head as a plan. But I really didn't know how it would come out. I planned to have the cement columns dictate my edge of the brick walk.

3) The porch step shows that the porch/wood step is off and not built square. I know at some point the steps and porch will be rebuilt. The walk will out last wood any day! Building it squared up with the porch also looks visually correct when you look down or view the direction in which you travel. Your eye doesn't go right to the step since its the smallest focal point. Unless I point it out. 

4) Granite step needed to match the edge of the porch steps. But also site plus against #2 the column. 

5) Granite edging was built on out side of granite step and to the end of the step. At the #5 I needed to work around my last cement post. I was lucky enough to have the height of the column be the same level of the granite edge - LUCK!

6) The brick herringbone bone pattern needed to match the steps being 3' ft wide. 

Including the granite edges on both sides gives an additional 1' ft. Making the total walk 4' ft wide. A comfortable walk. 

7) Now the granite step needed to match the other steps and built #9 level to match. The walk is not built level in order for water run off away from the home.  Now the normal step the rise or the space between each step #13 is 7" inches. I had to think about how to best deal with this matter. The choice I went with was to split the difference. #7 side of the granite step I built the walk to hit 6 1/2" inch mark at #8 the stone is 8" inches which is the height of the granite step. (recap granite step 3' long x 8" high x 12" wide) The granite step has a 12" tread - a little larger then the wood steps. This makes for a nice landing step. The stone is 3' ft long to match the walk #11. 

When I came to the site with this granite stone I knew the walk was going to be 3' wide. I also knew I needed a 7" height in the stone step. I didn't know how every thing else would work. So I worked with the stone to help dictate more of my plan. The stone told me what to build. I find some times working with the materials they will help to guide you. As to what will work the best. If you try to tell stones what you want-you'll loose every time. A partnership is key to any relationship.

10) The granite step needed to match the wood steps on the outside edge. If it didn't it wouldn't look right. Just like a after thought. On such a small job like this one little thing can make every thing else look wrong. A harmony needs to be met with each and every part of the job.

11) You can really see how the walk pitches away from the house. I had several challenges to work with. Keeping the inside (left) higher (water flow away from home) but fitting the step in and working to have every thing flow down to the porch. When I built this I set my string lines up after the step was in place. The inside granite edges are where the strings were set. I worked to match the string lines by placing my granite edge to hit the line. See pic below.

12) The granite step needed to come to the edge of the cement pillar # 2 which was added later then the porch since the porch post was only sitting on soil. Yes can you say a home owner special. One to many home improvement shows. But the new home owners took the time to be sure to dig and put the cement pillars in. If you have ever done these yourself you know you can only wing getting them close. My point? My granite edge comes to the pillar and stops. The granite step had to be hand chiseled to knock of some of the high points in order to get a closer fit.

13) Shows the 7" step rise I needed to match to all the wood steps. Making a smooth transition from one step to the next. By splitting the walk to be #7   6 1/2" on left and 8" on right ends up making the middle 7". Once again making for a comfortable step up or down from the walk.

String lines set to step. The step is key to the build. If you look at the original (picture below) pre project picture you can see degree of grade that the walk goes down hill. This walk is crying out for one more step. 

Pre project picture.

This photo above is not # but take a moment to notice the red flags! RED FLAGS! To left of white poles. Yes this is a power line right in the middle of my build. Just so happens the line was just low enough to be out of my way on setting my granite edges and bricks. Just one more obstacle to work around. Remember before you dig - Call Miss Utility 811 Its free and its the law! 

### The last little detail on the job site was how far I had to walk or drive the skid loader to bring the material or tools to this project.  

This sketch shows some of the basics specs on the walk and granite step.


I'm sure some where in this mix I've missed some details. I feel these behind the scenes can help others when thinking throw projects. Or just allows someone to appreciate just how much goes into a small brick walkway like this project.


Additional links to this project:

Appaloosa Way Finksburg MD, Finished Project, Brick Walkway

HOW TO - Relief Cuts / Stock Removal

HOW TO - Relief Cuts / Stock Removal

Relief cuts was another great learned technique at the Dry Stone Conservancy DSC Shaping Workshop 4/2012. Held at the Shaker Village KY. 

In this blog I'll show you what is called relief cuts or stock removal. Neil Rippingale shows this with his Stihl Gas saw hooked to water to keep the dust down. He first marks the stone by making small cuts first. Then he cuts the needed depth. 

Notice the cuts being spaced out. 

Then Neil takes the stone and uses a chisel or hammer to knock off the cut sections in order to get the stone to the desired shape. Notice the small cut marks on the stone from the saw. These are used once again as a gage to mark how far down to cut.

Neil then finishes cleaning the stone up with a chisel.

The stones we were helping to cut and shape are for a stone arch. This will be displayed at one of the garden shows. Then the arch will be moved back to the property to be permanently installed at Shaker Village. 

Above shows the wood frame for the arch. Along with several of the stones to be shaped to size for the arch. 

On my last job (Appaloosa Way) I had the chance to use this technique. I had a cement pillar I needed to cut a granite edge stone to fit around. I started by marking out my stone. Then I stared by cutting into the middle to get my deepest cut. I then continued by cutting to the left and right of my center line. Cutting the the depth of the marking on the stone.

Then it was time for the hammer and chisels knocking it all out. 

Then spending a little more time shaping with the chisels. Cleaning up all the edges.

Voila!  The stone in place around the cement column. This is a great way to help shape stones quickly to the shapes you need. You do need a gas cement saw to take on this challenge. If you have never used a saw be sure to be extremely careful. Wear protective gear, mask, eye, gloves, steel toe boots and ear protection. Consider working with some who has before you take on this task for the first time. 

Appaloosa Way Finksburg MD, Finished Project, Brick Walkway

The client job contacted me to look at building a walk that would replace the old walk. Going around an outside of there lower space in order to get into there siting area. After looking at the space it only made sense to me to dig out and level the under porch space in order to be more usable space. I also felt why make a walk that goes around when I could just make the walk go to the space. Only one door would need to be added. Just that easy. Some times the simplest answers are right in front of you. You just can't see them. 

Now one might think ok this should be a very straight forward job taking very little time. 


day 1
Site prep, material hauling, equipment hauling...... 

day 2

Remove the old brick walk and timbers. Remove the 2x4's on the two up right posts. The space already opens up with the removal. 

day 2

Dig out under porch build small wall with stones under porch. Also dig out for walk way. 

day 3

Wedge and feather 3 large granite stones to make into smaller edging. Shown above I was making 5" high for the inside.

day 3

Dig out for walk notice the RED FLAGS? Before you DIG call 811! (its FREE and its the LAW!) I would be putting the 5" granite edge on inside and 8" on out side since the hill drops off gravity would push out. You can see I dug out a little more for the outer edge in order to make any adjustments as needed with the granite in order to be able to lift it to the needed hight.

End of day 3

String line set and squared up. This picture shows the granite step waiting to be placed

day 4 

3/8th's stone set in walk for granite edges. Started with setting the inside 5" first. Step was also set level. Notice the cement columns in the building area. I had planned to work with the inside ones using them as my brick walk edge. String lines mark the top of the build and edge. The with of the brick walk would be 3' wide. Including the granite edging which is 6" the total walk with comes out to 4' wide with a 12' run including the step. Notice the A Square on steps. Great for keeping every thing square as you build. ( C.H. Hanson: Framing 3x4x5 folding square )

day 4

Set out side 8" granite edge. Fill with dirt against edge. 

End day 4

Set cut brick pattern to insure every thing would work. I avoided back filling the 5" inside granite edge just incase I needed to adjust any thing. Hard day's work. 

day 5

Place EMT pipe down on edges. The pipe  helps with the speed of laying out a material which happens to be all the same thickness. I place the 3/8th's stone down then dug out to put the pipes down. Then I adjusted the pipes to the height. Noticed I have the brick sitting on the pipe. I can now use the board to drag down the pipes helping to spread out the stone to the needed height. Once this dragged all the way to the end. I can now start to place my brick out and every thing will match the left side and right side edge if laid out every thing correctly. Of course I did. I had string lines to follow. Build to the string line just like walling. 

day 5 

Begin to set brick walk

day 5 

All of walk set, all small stones cut and placed.

day 5

3/4 stone placed under porch to finish off area. Excavated dirt from under porch was graded my machine

day 5

Under porch stone

 day 5

Under porch stone

End of day 5 

Finish hand grading, seed and put down straw. Imagine what this job might have cost if I didn't make a suggestion of going straight. To go all the way around this space with a walk would have just been a waste of time or better yet common sense in this situation. The one thing I always think about when I look at a job site is. What is the shortest path a human will travel? 

 Noticed the cut granite stone around the outer pole. 

5 DAYS

Day 1 

2 trips to the quarry for stone

Move skid loader and tool trailer to job site

Site set up

Day 2

Strip out under porch by hand

Move old brick

Day 3 

Dig walkway

Wedge and feather granite for walk edges

Check granite edges, more digging

Set string, check for square

Install 3/8th's stone into walk for brick

Day 4 

Set granite step to level

Set in side 5" granite edges

Cut more granite edges to size

Relief cut granite edge to fit around pole base

Set out side 8" granite edges

Screen 3/8th's stone

Test pre - cut starter bricks for pattern

Day 5

Adjust and raise Screen 3/8th's stone level

Set brick pattern

Cut all small edge bricks

Clean up all un used brick

Hand shovel remanier of inner grade under porch

Move 3/4 stone aggregate under porch, hand shovel into placement

Machine grade dirt dug out underneath porch

Hand grade outer bank

Grass seed outer bank and add put down straw

Load all unused stone into dump truck with skid loader move off site

Materials for job

1 load 3/8th's stone

1 load 3/4 stone

1-Granite step

10-peices of granite edging

Customers brick

Grass seed

1-Bale straw

10' long 1" thick EMT electrical piping for doing the screening

3' 2x4 wood used for screening

Rebar

String line

Equipment
Skid loader

Hammer drill

14" gas concrete saw

4" wet hand tile saw

Hand tamper

Walk behind gas tamper

Dump truck

Tool trailer w/ out house

45 square

A Square 3-4-5
Me!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Stone Soup Matt Sevigny,  South Carolina. Some great feedback with this build along with some great cheater tools

For some very helpful tools for this job check out Matt's blog.