... An empty pocket of air, that is! In the photo below, you will notice that the gravestone is tilted hard to the left. Also notice that there is a pine tree stump to the left end of the gravestone base, which is left over from a tree I removed early last year when I started the restoration project. I have dug down below the concrete footing that the gravestone and its base sit upon and have the sling in place, ready to lift it as a unit to the level position. This was done yesterday.
Today, I moved my skid steer into position, hooked up the sling, and lifted the stone to slightly above the level position. It was at this point I realized it was the tree stump that had prevented the stone from falling into the grave. There was nothing under it but an empty pocket of air that went down to the vault under the left 2/3 of the base. Now, the challenge was how to go about filling the void in a manner substantial enough to support the gravestone and its base.
My solution was to widen the front of the hole a bit, mix up a slurry of rock dust, sand, and fast-drying cement, and fill the void to a level I could work with. While it was drying, I went on and set a different stone. It took a while to accomplish this because I had to drill out one of the old pegs and replaced them both with fiberglass rebars.
After the stone was set, I went back to the other gravestone and finished the new base by playing stone mason and laying rock on the new foundation.
I then filled around the gravestone's base with gravel, covered by dirt, and tamped it down. The last task of the day was gently let the stone down, and remove my sling. Here is the end result.
Today, I moved my skid steer into position, hooked up the sling, and lifted the stone to slightly above the level position. It was at this point I realized it was the tree stump that had prevented the stone from falling into the grave. There was nothing under it but an empty pocket of air that went down to the vault under the left 2/3 of the base. Now, the challenge was how to go about filling the void in a manner substantial enough to support the gravestone and its base.
My solution was to widen the front of the hole a bit, mix up a slurry of rock dust, sand, and fast-drying cement, and fill the void to a level I could work with. While it was drying, I went on and set a different stone. It took a while to accomplish this because I had to drill out one of the old pegs and replaced them both with fiberglass rebars.
After the stone was set, I went back to the other gravestone and finished the new base by playing stone mason and laying rock on the new foundation.
I then filled around the gravestone's base with gravel, covered by dirt, and tamped it down. The last task of the day was gently let the stone down, and remove my sling. Here is the end result.
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Thank you for caring 1!1
