Rocks Are Forever

Our most recent project at the cottage has been,  deciding on and purchasing the rock which covers the bottom portion of the walls outside.  My hubby and I,  have spent a lot of time at RCP, in their yards full of rock samples, arguing and fighting and making overtly dirty looks at each other.  Acting out the smashing of said rock over beloved's head, oohing and aahing, hashing and rehashing over rock, in order to make important decisions.  Rock is forever.

Well, it's kinda forever and probably, unless you buy a house and hate the rock and take it all out and remodel it, it is going to have to sit there being what it is.  Therefore,  in my bossy butt headed humble opinion, and in our particular case since we plan on living here 'till we croak,'  it's forever.  What I'm really trying to say is this.  If the rock goes up and I end up regretting my decision, it's gonna be tough cookies a regrettable moment for me.

Remember when this place was just dirt  I said, that Dirt Rocks?   Now that I've spent an inordinate amount of time pursuing rock piles, comparing and contrasting and deciding it wasn't worth getting a divorce over  discussing rock.  I pulled up my big girl panties and made decisions based on the look, color (tone), texture and price of rock.  I didn't compromise let my husband have his way completely rather, we made a mutual decision in hopes of having a Happy Ever After.  In a word, nobody got hurt in the long run.

You've got choices to make man.  Lots of decisions.  It can be overwhelming in a rock yard.

There is a veritable wealth of rocks out there.  Some rock, such as volcanic or manufactured were dismissed right away for the obvious reasons.  Even still, I'm all for excluding all but 3 types of rock to be used for cottages.  Personally I would have preferred River Rock, however I'm flexible, like I said. That also, may or may not be true.  I don't know.   I HAVE decided that we would all be better off emotionally and physically if we didn't have so many options to choose from.  This train of thought could also be applied to paint colors, light fixtures, cabinets, window styles, bathtubs and everything else which involves life altering decisions.  Really,  just 3 choices and the world would be a better place.

The sills are built and the copper flashing (must be used at the beach for sea air protection), to protect the wood is all securely screwed into place.  The house is wrapped and ready for siding.  So, lets rock!

It starts off like this, with the bottom row there.  They work from the foundation up to the sill.  My hubs is in the pool plastering business.  He deals with finishes, cement, plaster, stone, pebble, ROCK and the like, all day long.  Well, actually,  the amazing and competent guys who do the physical work of applying the rock or pebble, stone, plaster, and cement finishes deal with it.  My guy deals with those guys.  In short, you may be thinking, why didn't you just leave all these mind numbing decisions up to the experts?  Experts like your own husband who makes his living and supports your family by running a company whose main goal is finishes.  Pshhhhhhh.  You obviously don't know me very well.

The rock we chose, each one individually, has to be placed in like  puzzle pieces.  We could have chosen rock which is already placed on a board of a certain size and our guys could have easily thin set pre laid sections onto the wall. That rock is all even and level and smooth.  It goes up in no time.  Everybody wins right?   Nope.  We had to go (again) and do things the hard way.  I will now have to bring these guys pizza, chocolate chip cookies and beer every day for a year.  And yes, a paycheck too.

But our guys are artists.  They do labor intensive work with natural stone painstakingly placing each piece onto the wall perfectly until it fits snugly in place.  Very little grout is needed thereafter because, it's all natural and is truly a work of art.  Just look at it!  BEAUTIFUL and NATURAL, is it not?

Ya better say yes!  It has an organic vibe and I wouldn't have wanted to see any other in its place.  You made the right decision Tia.  The perfect decision, and it's a good thing too because,  now you're going to have to live with it forever.  Just to make you sure you all love it though, I'll take more pictures when the job is complete, the rock has been acid washed and the sealer put on. Then the blues, greens and sand colors will appear.  It's hard to tell how magnificent it is when there is a layer of dust on it a mile thick.  All right, an inch thick.  I never promised you that I don't exaggerate did I?  I am a writer of sorts you know.

Hey, Dr. Fix It.  Yeah, you up there.  Get down off the roof.  I know the view is awesome and you can oversee everything including the surf way up there but, the roof's all finished now.  Yep, I'm proud to announce that the roof is up and on and all nailed down.  So, go ahead nasty weather.  Rain all you want.  Bring it on!  We're ready for ya now!  Par for the course,  it did all that raining when we didn't have our roof on yet.  That was back when we had nothin but a big open void up there.  Doctor Fix It was up there nailing down plastic tarps and big pieces of board to try, I repeat, try, to keep it dry. Alert for all you  2009/20010 remodeling dummies.  You must have missed the meme that it was going to be  an El Nino year here in California.  

Oh shoot,  I forgot for a sec; we are here in California, and it's now May.  April showers brings May flowers doesn't even ring true for us here on the coast.  Remember my post way back last winter,  It Never Rains In Southern California? Well, that's all over now,  so you Doctor Fix It, you've got better things to do down here on the ground. 

You can should read all about that guy, right up there on the roof.  I now formally introduce to you,  Doctor Fix It.  He knows it all; just ask him, listen in on his radio show or, you can take my word for it.  Nah, ya better tune in and hear for yourself.  Just pop on over to his site, he's a pretty cute guy and a good and long time friend to-boot.  (Which is why I can tease him relentlessly in person, and on my blog like this.) He really is a wealth of knowledge and information and he knows just how to explain everything about construction in layman's terms so even I can understand it.  If you have any construction questions, give him a call, it's impossible to stump him.  And if you do, tell him I said he has to give you a prize.

Now Mike, back to you.  You've  got lots of rock to coordinate down here.  Piles and palates of it!  Doctor Fix It, has helped us build and, or remodel, 3 homes now and we're lucky to have him. Of course we can say, we knew him back when.  Now that he's a big star on the radio with his very own show and all,  finding the time to do actual construction for little folks like us really just means he loves us.  He's way too big to do it for the money now.  I'm pretty sure he's just doing it for the love.

The name of this rock is, Oceanic Serenity.  (I may have made that up), I don't know.

Did I mention how fun a rock yard is?  I just love rock.

I plan on going back to RCP again soon.  I am a brave and adventurous woman and I love challenges.  Ha, ha, hahahahahahaha ha!  No really, I'm going to endeavor to incorporate a mosaic of some sort on a wall in the back yard, using pebble, beach glass and sea shells.  Come back again, because I'll post on that fiasco wondrous work of art when the time comes.

There are lots of rules in a rock yard.

I just love it when people have good manners.  RCP employees are not only incredibly competent, patiently answering any questions you have about their product, they do it in a cheerful manner and you don't have to go seeking them out. They are always right there for you no matter how busy they are.  Guys, I was completely satisfied.

This is what we're looking at for the patio.  What do you think, because I don't want to make a decision ever again.  I'm all decisioned out!

Love you more than all the rock I've seen in the past 3 weeks.

Blessings,

Tia