This piece of stone may have been a lintel removed from the back of the house when the tacky kitchen extension was tacked on and I cannot now remember whether I dug it out nearby or found it lying behind the 'garage' (recte very large, if inconveniently low roofed, shed). It's quite heavy and required considerable effort to shift to its new site. I had to lift it perhaps half a dozen times before I was satisfied that it was more or less level with the uneven path it lies beside. The stone was supposed to butt up against the path but I discovered what appears to be the edge of another path jutting about an inch and a quarter out from the edge of the upper about an inch and a half below the surface (the lower path, or whatever it is, can just be seen to the right of the shadow that is to the right of the edge of the upper path). This threw my measurements, obtained with bricks in a rough dry run, out by an inch and a quarter. Happily I saw that, all being well, I could move the stone immediately in front of the shed door back by almost exactly that distance, and so it turned out. The arrangement isn't how I would have it could I have it otherwise; I'm satisfied, however, that it works at all.
These two blocks have obviously been shaped and may have been parts of a sill. Although they are different depths and heights, put together they are only slightly wider than the pieces at either end of the path so I decided they were ideal for a step.
I think the slight difference in depth and the off centre 'joint' add a rather rustic touch, even if not quite Zen.
I'd put quite a lot of work in to arrive at this stage: I cut a shallow trench, one brick's length wide, to set the central line of bricks, for over all length, and was delighted to find that I was correct in estimating that I should have to set the stone back by just an inch and a quarter (approximately by eye). I had to cut back to pull the stone out and then excavate behind it. A good hour or so with the claw hammer was needed to hack off projecting concrete and rubble from the shed footings before I could push it back sufficiently. I then had to pull it out and lift it two or three times so that I could level it up again. Once I'd reseated the stone I was able to dig out a full width trench and settle on the pattern.
The larger gaps between the reddish brown and hideously textured bricks are due to their being smaller than the pink or purple, obviously re-used bricks.
Not obvious in this photograph is the 'soil' (actually a mix of builders' sand, rotting weed roots, cat shit and dust) I spent about an hour to an hour and a half trowelling and brushing into the gaps between the bricks, and then washing down with two watering cans full of water to settle it.
I'll lay the upper level tomorrow and finish off the 'grouting', and when everything has settled I'll try to find some of the Irish Moss that was growing freely in the front garden, before I dug it all out, to sow in the gaps.
My wood fired oven is now, of course, a non starter.
Addendum: Job Done.
Not an elegant solution I'll readily concede, however it was the best I could do with the resources available to me and is, I console myself, not unworkmanlike.
And here is a photograph of the tools I used:
A few tools, some rudimentary skills, a stubborn sense of independence and a cussed determination to do as one will are all a man needs to earn a reasonable living. I think we've lost sight of that in our quest for credit worthiness and a quite life.
Post Script: The area looked like this* a year or so ago:
The agent's inventory describes the scene as 'a well maintained garden'. It wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a garden, maintained or otherwise, although it will be, all being well.
* A huge improvement on this:
Which was the view from the flat.
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