Looks like the kind of place where you could just sit & relax for hours, you did an absolutely stunning job

That came out awesome. Had to be a lot of work. Was fun to watch. Great video

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

That was a lot of work, but it was fun work. I love how it turned out.

Love, love, love the yard!! Fire pit is cool how it is in the woods away from home.

very nice !! I can see a fire on a cool summer night....maybe roasting marshmallows....you've done a great job !! thank you so much for sharing !!

Beautiful! The Onaway stone looks good. Love the moss.

So great! On my agate hunts I'll collect cool rocks for landscaping but this is phenomenal! Well done!

I do this for a living and know exactly how much work that entailed, fantastic. Pavers and block have their place but flagstone and boulders are timeless, if someone said that was 400 years old, you'd believe it and that's not a bad thing. love the vids bud, like a taste of "up north" while sitting down here in metro Detroit.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

it-figures I work at stuff like this very slowly, so if I had to do it for a living, no one would be able to afford me!

Wow, outstanding work on that fire pit & patio. Your property truly looks like a slice of Heaven- so happy for you!

Amazing work there brother, truly a little slice of paradise.

Beautiful area! Love your choice of rock. I love sitting by fires. Best part of being in the woods. You did a lot of hard work. Some kind of chair were you can relax and enjoy. But natural looking for sure.🌲

You put a lot of effort in your yard, it looks awesome, so glad you can enjoy it.

Absolutely beautiful area. I bet it's used and enjoyed-as it should be! Impressive job on the stone fireplace and patio.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Very nice! It is a blend of cosy, natural, rustic and sophisticated. Not an easy look and feel to accomplish.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure I was even trying for "sophisticated". Must have lucked out on that one!

Beautiful 💕 Thank you for sharing ❣️

Very nice. Beautiful.

beautiful work! Love it!!!

Beautiful work!

This is absolutely beautiful! I’m working on a fire pit and I want the top to be rock like this. This is the only video I’ve found showing an explanation of how to do it! Thank you! Looks like I’ll be pulling out the angle grinder!

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure that I did anything the correct way, but what I did worked for me.

Very beautiful, thanks for sharing

Stoning looks so good & calming, I saw a video about it and this one looks the best so far, great job...

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. It was a long project, but I enjoyed doing it. I just got some new log furniture to put back there. I'm waiting for warmer weather so I can apply some water seal first.

Just gorgeous! Your yard is immense, to fit all these features. I am impressed with your design skill.

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! My yard is big, but not that big. My whole lot is an acre, but quite a bit of that is swamp behind the fire pit.

That is awsome!

Thank you so much for suggesting this video to me! This is a big inspiration for me!

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

It was a lot of work, but very rewarding.

Thank you for sharing your fire pit. Sure wish i had documented my projects, i did a gazebo with a flag stone floor wrapped around a water fountain and a small shady tree. Good times. Grow potatos in the flower garden. You could call them..potaoski stones.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Groan. The gazebo sounds really nice.

Great project! My brother in law does all kind of construction projects. I don't. But if I was going to do benches, then I would put in stone. Just me. Just get some throw cushions that you can put in a small stow away bin close by, and pull them out if you feel like being more confortable sitting on stone.

the whole thing looks like its been there for 100s of years, looks very natural, love it

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

I was just looking at the moss growing between the rocks yesterday and thinking how well it had aged in.

Nice fire pit n very green too. Ideas: Dig a trench for water facuet from house, tiny metal sink by stairs. N still make the long half tree log as a chair, too but 2 sitter. Or mini skinny tree stump as chairs. Good luck.

Omg so good 😍

Amaing work!

@MichiganRocks

2 күн бұрын

Thanks!

Wow your fire pit stone masonry is very inviting. Nicely done. Makes me feel like starting a fire, making s’mores and enjoying time outdoors!

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

We don't use it as much as we should, but it's nice when we do.

Great video!

Beautiful work.

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Dan.

I love it. Freaking beautiful work!!! Nice job!

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Burninpowder thanks. We don’t use it much, but last night my in-laws and my wife and I roasted hot dogs and ate s’mores out there. It was very nice.

Wow, wow, wow, wow....you aren't a "regular guy"...you are a Wizard with a Palace! This is so gorgeous. And benches? How about a couple of those metal ones with the simple scroll work backs? I think they would be easy to move?? This is spectacular!

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Metal benches might work. I'm getting a few ideas here, then I have all winter to mull it over.

That looks great

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Very nice yard. I’d recommend some sort of chairs mixed in there too, it’s nice to be able to lean back and relax around the fire pit.

@kathleennorton6108

4 жыл бұрын

That a good point. I wonder how he can keep the look, though, with chairs. Rustic, comfortable, wooden chairs, maybe? It would be interesting to see.

Well done.

Very nice... you are very ambitious...👍

Awesome

The stone work is perfect as far as I'm concerned .... wouldn't change a thing ... what a beautiful lounge area. For seating, I'd go with wicker or bamboo if it were mine. That's just me ... kind of a dark stain color to it maybe. And, I'd dig a trench and lay some pvc ... put in a facet so I could water my plants. lol As I live in the desert I have fire pits in several places in the wild but few trees and plants and no grass like in your yard ... they are are lovely. Thanks for sharing.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Anita Mitchell you’re welcome to come start on that trench anytime. Good luck with the roots from those beautiful trees. I don’t think bamboo would look right in the northern woods. Wicker would be cool, but I’d worry about how well it would hold up. We roasted hot dogs and made s’mores a couple nights ago and used camping chairs.

Lots of digging... Then more digging... Nice job!

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

It was a lot of digging and also a lot of driving back and forth to the farms where I got the rocks and also a lot of trial and error putting the wall together. Lots of work, but well worth it. This was a very rewarding project.

Amazing ! I am building one right now for my wife.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Good luck with your project. You wife should love it.

Gorgeous. Looks cozy . You do great yard work.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, that was my obsession before the rock thing.

@donnalantz7981

4 жыл бұрын

I have always wanted to do rock gardens like that here. I did a couple small projects years ago. I just cant physically do to that level of projects anymore. I just so love your yard.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

@@donnalantz7981 It's a lot of work. I hauled most of those rocks (all the path and wall rocks) in a Jeep Wrangler. That's a lot of trips back and forth to the farm fields I was getting them from. Many were too big to lift, so I rolled them up a board into the back the jeep.

Looks like a wonderful place to cozy up with a beer and good friends. Or even alone with a book. Love it!

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

The only problem is that there's a swamp right behind the fire pit, so the mosquitos will carry you away, especially in the evening. The good news is that I discovered Thermacells last year. Now I can sit out there and not get eaten alive.

@deenomad1975

3 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks that is the dangers of living in the north. What are thermacells??

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

@@deenomad1975 It's this little gizmo about the size and shape of a walkie-talkie. There's a little canister of some sort of fuel that goes in and a flat pad with insecticide on it. You click a button to light a tiny, tiny little flame behind the pad. There's the tiniest wisp of smoke that comes off it and repels mosquitos for something like a five foot diameter. It really works well. Here's a link to the company if you want to know more: www.thermacell.com/

@deenomad1975

3 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks this is great thanks! My Mom lives in the UP of WI and this would be a sanity saver!

Never done concrete before? Wow. Awesome job! This is better than many professional installs. I am using your project as an inspiration for my patio.

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

I guess I faked it pretty well. Good luck on your project. I just got done doing spring clean up in this area. There were two spruce trees that snapped off from a very heavy snow in December. Those have been removed and the leaves are all raked up.

@TheMarkpee

2 жыл бұрын

Me again...do you remember the inside diameter of the fire pit? Im starting layout of mine now, and I think Im going too small. I like the size of yours.

Beautiful. I think I would put Adirondack chairs out there myself.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

That's what I keep leaning toward, but they're so low. I'm not sure if I want something that low. Maybe I can find a plan to build some a little higher.

Must be wonderful at night in the firelight - a great reward for all your hard and thoughtful labour.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Honestly, I use it mostly for burning brush from the yard. The bugs are really bad, so we don't use it that often.

Not bad for a math teacher! :-) I design and install gardens professionally and this is in my humble opine some exquisite hardscape my friend

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I was pretty happy with it myself.

very nice

Your kids are very lucky!

Beautiful job, the patio and fire pit are amazing. Adirondack chairs would fit in nicely. They’re hard to get out of for me but they look good.

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

I bought some cedar furniture that fits in perfectly.

The muriatic acid is exactly the solution (haha) that I was looking for to the problem of fixing the look of cut fieldstone! I currently have an abundance of what is basically large blast rock and I wanted to cut them to fit better but wasn't fond of the ultra flat surface that it creates when cut. Thank you!!

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome. I tried to make it look more natural by using a chisel, but the limestone I was using didn't naturally break that way. It wanted to break in the other direction. Be aware that the acid is only going to work with some rock, like limestone. If you have some other types of rock, the acid might not have any effect on it.

👍 Nice!

20+ years mason here, nice man!

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I just faked my way through it.

Lovely. Nicely done. I like the Japanese painted ferns too. And the tree house. I’m thinking of getting something like that for stargazing. What are the tall ferns at the back? Ostrich? Cinnamon? Nice wood box alcove. Those tulip poplars like to drop limbs too ☹️ I agree ~ cut it before it causes problems. Looks amazing! I wonder if anyone else has ever dipped paver edges into acid? I like the poly Adirondack chairs but don’t put them close to the fire. Very comfortable and they have browns and faux wood finishes. Also black. Mines bright turquoise and I love it, but that’s me. 😎

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I think I have some ostrich and some cinnamon. I also had some interrupted ferns at one time, but I'm not sure if they're still there. Most of these are transplants from the woods. I also have a lady fern called "Lady in Red" that I have divided quite a bit. I really like that one. I still haven't done anything about the seating. I'm down to two benches that are pretty shaky.

Oh yes Rob ! You did it well ! ( I never use muriatic acid for this particularly problem, I use masson stone tool like sort of hammer with a lot of pikes on it, In French we call it « boucharde « ) Ok ! I certainly will try it, thanks ! That’s a very cool place... For the seats, I think about metal chairs... It could be very strong...

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Sylvain Richard I’m not sure muriatic acid is the correct way to solve the problem I had with the edges, it’s just the only thing that I could think of.

@sylvainrichard6679

4 жыл бұрын

Michigan Rocks Yes I remember now some friends of mine who use it for sort of tricks that oldering fast the stone.

@johnashworth3576

2 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks how long did you dip the stones into the muriatic acid?

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnashworth3576 Not very long. I just dipped and checked until they looked the way I wanted.

you did a hellava good job

@MichiganRocks

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

What a fantastic garden u have , the fire pits awesome! ...i live right by the sea at the mo , i miss trees , country side. U have done an amazing job, hard work but worth it!!...just a though but what about making a half circle stone bench round the edge plus wooden seating to move closer to pit..i like what u have already but as u said they are deteriorating, nothing lasts forever ! U could even do a flat stone table on end of stone bench!?

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I hadn't considered stone furniture. I'll have to think about that.

Nice outdoor space! Watched three times and parts of it more. Saw only a wheelbarrow for moving materials.🤔 Maybe check out a ram pump for moving water. Not sure where your source is compared to the fire pit. Just found out about them recently. Amazing concept. Anyway reeaaly nice spot.⛏️👍

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I have hoses that can reach the fire pit. I might look that up just out of curiosity though.

Great job. So much work! Adirondack chairs would look nice out there. They'd be more comfortable and you can still move them.

@freedomdove

4 жыл бұрын

I see now that someone else already mentioned those chairs. Lol.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

freedom dove I’m seriously thinking about those. We’ll see.

Beautiful. There's an old look about them.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

They've been there for a few years so they've gotten some moss on them. Some of the wall rocks also had lichens on them when I picked them up from farm fields.

@ronnrazo9282

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks you never failes to show the beauty in nature ❤

You did all that by yourself, then say you are lazy? Wow, Rob, this is just incredible! This looks better than some professional jobs that I’ve seen. My brother had a small patio that he built. His seating was a wooden bench swing that hung between 2 cedar trunks that he cut and cemented into the ground. They were probably 12 ft high and 18 inches in diameter. I can’t remember what he had across the top, I think it was another cedar. You probably won’t want to cut and haul cedar logs, but a pair of swings may be a nice addition.

@MichiganRocks

Жыл бұрын

I have some cedar chairs back there now. The look good and are much more comfortable than the benches were. Your brother's swing sounds awesome.

This is a stone garden with many trees and wells without water

Really nice work and thought process. For seating: maybe make some benches, stools or even a sofa out of lightweight (reinforced hypertufa or air-entrained) concrete. It naturally looks kind of like stone and it ages wonderfully to a nice patina with algae or moss if you want. I'm sure there are videos on YT about it (yep). I also think that keeping the colors muted but using more starkly geometric shapes would also look good out there...a little order in the chaos (see a video titled "Rhomba Bench Design" for an idea of what I mean). Good luck!

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

Grumpy Grunt thanks I’ll check that video out.

the fire pit is excellent. good thing you have math skills! the acid trick was cool. what was the reason for the cloth & stones behind the rock wall? drainage? thanks for directing me to these 2 vids

@MichiganRocks

Жыл бұрын

Yes, the cloth keeps the top soil on top of the gravel so it doesn't just filter down. The gravel is there for drainage.

MATH TEACHER! now I know why you explain so well. Anyway, nice job. Hope your family and friends have great conversations there. By the way, you seem to be a perfectionist. So, I understand your wanting the seating to "fit" in. But, when push comes to shove, people want to be comfortable sitting by the fire. My suggestion: let your wife pick out the seating. :-)

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

susan montana her idea is to drag camp chairs out when we need them.

@montanasojourn

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks smart lady.

I found a flat rock maybe still about 5 - 6 inches thick and was thinking to drill a hole for a water feature. Have you ever done something like that?

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I have only drilled small holes, never anything big.

How’s the air flow? I am looking at designing something like this and was wondering if you need air space in the bottom to help with ventilation?

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

I think it's fine. I made the fire pit plenty big, so nothing is cramped in there. I can get a good fire going in it. Honestly, I never even thought about airflow until you mentioned it.

I'd go with some type of stone benches. In a pinch concrete made to look like stone may work.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

The problem with stone benches is that you can't move them closer to the fire when it's cold or farther back when it's too hot. There's probably already enough stone there anyhow. Now that it's summer, I really need to find something because I still haven't replaced anything.

Very nice patio! You have a lot of ambition and patience to put all that together. I was wondering if the benches fell apart because the wood failed or because the joinery was poor? Are you looking for simple seating like the benches or are you looking to kick back and put your feet up? good job!!

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

The wood rotted. I don't know what I want. Honestly, we hardly ever use the fire pit. I like it, even though we don't use it a lot. I don't know if comfortable chairs would encourage us to use it more, but the benches were not very comfortable.

I took screen shots, so I can try to make my place at least a fraction as beautiful as yours!

@MichiganRocks

2 жыл бұрын

Good luck! I had a lot of fun over the years doing landscaping.

WOW, this is your property? It looks like a state park. You did a GREAT JOB! Lots of back breaking work it looks like. I am collecting natural flagstone from some of the creeks I go to. I live in the Eastern Panhandle of WV and we have a lot of flagstone type stuff. My only question to you is I notice on your firepit there is not a ventilation opening on the bottom, unless of course your firepit stones can "breathe". It was just something I saw on other vids, that way the firepit won't smoke all over the place. I can do mosaics so this should not be hard for me except the back breaking leveling of the ground!

@MichiganRocks

Жыл бұрын

You're right, there are no vents on the bottom. I hadn't heard of smokeless fire pits when I built this. Landscaping is my other hobby. I started out liking big rocks and little rocks eventually grew on me.

Put some park benches in.

How long did it take to make this?

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I don’t work very fast. I worked on it for part of two summers. I have no idea how many hours. Hauling a few rocks at a time in my Jeep from twenty.minutes away didn’t speed things up much.

Nice fire pit! What's the interior diameter?

@MichiganRocks

Жыл бұрын

I think it's four feet. It's raining out or I'd go measure it.

that is sweeeeeeeeet

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Poly wood benches and chairs hold up. They are expensive but they holdup. I don’t know their fire rating.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

You mean plastic? I want to avoid plastic. If I went that way, I'd keep them out of the fire. They don't need to be fireproof.

@orangepinkgarden

4 жыл бұрын

Michigan Rocks Amazon sells A three piece adriondack rocking chairs with a small table.Polywood vendor probably has benches as well.

Adirondack chairs for sure.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

That's what I'm leaning toward, but I haven't actually done anything about it yet. I should be building some right now.

Outdoor furniture built with cedar

@MichiganRocks

9 ай бұрын

I ended up doing just that. Here's a video from last fall and this summer with the new furniture: kzread.info/dash/bejne/qWWbw6tyfriwgMY.html

Lazy you're not!

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I haven't taken on a project like that since. It took a little longer than expected.

How much $$

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

For the fire pit and patio? I don't remember. I did all the work myself. I can't remember how much the Onaway stone cost.

Buy a big oak plank from a farmer and make two benches

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

I bought some cedar furniture. I’m in the process of finishing it and assembling it.

@danhall5696

3 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks nice you'd probably have to wait a bit I hear lumbers high but I went shopping before for Oaks planks to make dressers chests

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

@@danhall5696 Lumber costs a fortune. Sometimes I think it's more expensive to build stuff yourself. There is more satisfaction in it though.

Don't like Adirondack chairs. Hurts my back just looking at them. Purely for decorations at a beach front cottage. Adds to poor posture and double chin neck wrinkles, yuck! ;-) I'd get mid century revival metal glider chairs painted moss green or taupe. Or just reorder the ones you have, they look great, maybe shellac them?

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

I have no idea what this is, so I did a Google search and got a huge variety of different pictures. Could you send me a link to what you've got in mind? The last bench is on it's last legs.

@moonbear894

4 жыл бұрын

@@MichiganRocks www.pinterest.com/pin/130956301651367532/ i don't like the love seat type, but seems like all there is now a days.

@moonbear894

4 жыл бұрын

...might not go with your vibe. But my granny had two single person chairs with pine tree motifs on back rests, but from the late 30's early 40's...i assumed they were making remakes cause i've seen them around. But I love any rocking chair, those swing/gently sway from the arm rest connection. Dig the curved benches, looked like you designed them...too bad they have broke down.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

@@moonbear894 I didn’t design them. They were supposed to be made of cedar, and they looked like cedar. They were very cheap, made in China benches, so I wonder if it was some sort of Chinese cedar that doesn’t hold up like our native cedar does. My original idea was to make half log benches. I’ve decided that benches aren’t very comfortable, though.

@MichiganRocks

4 жыл бұрын

@@moonbear894 I almost missed the chair pictures. Those would probably be more comfortable, but I think I want to stick to more natural materials. Thanks for the pictures though.

You're obviously very talented. Why not build your own benches. There are many log furniture sites and American cedar should hold up to time, but still cover it. Stay away from ANYTHING from China!

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

I could build my own. I just haven't decided what to build. I built log furniture for my son's room and a headboard for my daughter's room. At the beginning of this video you can see my son's furniture. I made the bed, desk, chair, birch picture frame and two deer antler plaques. It took me forever, but they turned out really nice. I'm down to one bench and we bring camp chairs from the house now. I'm going to be forced to do something pretty soon. I like Adirondack chairs, but they're too low to easily get in and out of. Benches don't have backs to lean on. My original idea was to get big logs sliced in half down the middle and make Lincoln Log style half logs for them to rest on. Maybe I could put backs on those. Now you've got me thinking again.

@JW-kt5ls

3 жыл бұрын

​@@MichiganRocks I thank you for posting the link on the firepit. I'm going to use it for my pit. I built one back in Longmont, Colorado, but moved to the high country where I'm building a home this spring. I love your stone work for the patio, too. I live at 8500' in the mountains of Westcliffe and even in the summertime we'll use the fire pit. I didn't know about the stones cracking from moisture so that too was a great tip along with the acid. Thanks again for the quality video. Jim

@MichiganRocks

3 жыл бұрын

@@JW-kt5ls I looked at this video recently and was surprised how shaky the video was. I'm glad it was helpful for you though.

Gimme gimme gimme i want it so bad!!! Perfect meditation place!!!🥰😍🥰😍🥰😍🥰😍

@MichiganRocks

Жыл бұрын

It's also good for roasting marshmallows.