Jason Michael Kotarski on Amazon Handmade

Well the rains have finally arrived which means it's officially the wet season. As we prepare for the Long Dark we will be moving into the shop which means there will be more blog posts and more youtube video posts and more items going into the inventory. I'll be trying to ramp up production and get more items listed for the Amazon Handmade store. We stopped using Etsy awhile back as we couldn't compete with the manufacturers that were taking over. Amazon Handmade has a bit more rigor to ensure that the small production custom craft artists have a chance in today's mass manufacturing world. So take a peek and keep checking back to see what's new. I can always do custom orders as well and if you see something that strikes a chord let me know!

Jason Michael Kotarski

Jason Michael Kotarski

Jason Michael Kotarski

Jason Michael Kotarski

Stone Carving- The Granite Fieldstone Mortar & Pestle

This was my third finished mortar and pestle/ stone bowl. I've come up with a different way to create a "lathe" with the grinder. I am going to put to pipes on bearings mounted on the block of wood you see in the video. The friction from the grinding wheel will spin the piece like a cylinder and leave my hands free from touching the small piece of stone. I plan to do another larger one for the WellHaus pump basin that will also have a drain bored through it out to the greywater system in the future GreenHaus.





 

Jason Michael Kotarski
Jason Kotarski

Field Stone Foundation Pier for the WellHaus

To start the WellHaus we took a look at the slope to determine where the lowest point was, and that just happened to be the Northwest corner. As this is the lowest point, it will be the tallest pier. With the finished height targeted at below 30 inches we are looking to establish enough height so that the  on the mountain side remain above grade. This also will allow us to have a deck that does not require a balustrade.

To determine where our corners would be we needed to take into account all of the restrictions and conditions present. Knowing that we want to stay under 200 square feet we selected the site and upon analysis we decided the site condition really only allowed somewhere near 200 sqft. With that in mind we took to configuring out plan, a rectangle is the most efficient shape for a work space.

Step 1- Draw it out!

Pier Detail

 Step 2- Set your forms. Pull centre from your batter boards and measure your height. For our rebar risers we're gonna go sustainable ( ok ok cheap) and clean up the site by breaking the bricks length wise to use the holes as rebar holders. Tie the rebar together with wire and drive four 3 foot sections of rebar into the ground per detail section.

Pier footing form

Step 3- Mix and pour your concrete,

Poured concrete footer

Step 4- Go and find some stone!

Stone pile

Step 5- Watch the Laying a Fieldstone Pier video 

Fieldstone pier

And there you have it! The cast concrete capstone was also made on site. The final step here will be to screw a temporary skirt board on the framing to create a form to pack high strength grout between the capstone and the framing on the inside corner. Notice the "Floating Column" making a cameo appearance! More on that later! Cheers.