The Old Folks Home

[pertnear09]

It takes about an hour per stone to clean it, plus documentation work of the words and any art. The Rev War one scrubbed off pretty good. The cleanser that I use (D2) will continue to kill the stuff growing on the stone and "bleach" it over the next 6 months, so those other stones, while not immediately beautiful after scrubbing like this stone was, will improve over time, once the roots of the moss/lichen die.

You seem to know your stuff. Something you been doing for a while?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Not really, no. Been tramping around graveyards for as long as I can remember. Love the old stones.

On a whim I signed up for a 4 day conservator led workshop that was meant for sextons and members of historical societies. It was held last August. I learned to clean gravestones, assess them for repairs and did (with a group) those repairs on a group of family stones. The repair work we did included resetting (both with a base and without - the base ones also had to have their pins pulled due to expansion/rust which will break the stone eventually if not replaced) and one stone had a break that had to be fixed the right way. One stone had to have a base repoured, it broke apart as we unearthed it. I had never made or poured concrete in my life, yet made a fairly decent looking base to mortar my stone into once the cement dried.
Last weekend I helped at a "cleaning and leaning" workshop held by a sexton that is fairly local (2 towns over) that I met at the August 2016 workshop.
I have also signed up to be a repair volunteer out on the coast at the end of summer. The historical society there hired the guy that ran the 4 day workshop, and I want to get some more time in under him to learn more.

This is why you need to train properly... this is an example of something my town paid a local guy to do less than a decade ago:

I'm not sure at all how someone thought that was a good repair.

This is the break repair we did last August. Yes, the color didn't match up exactly right, but it doesn't look like someone vomited cement onto the stone.

 

[pertnear09]

Not really, no. Been tramping around graveyards for as long as I can remember. Love the old stones.

On a whim I signed up for a 4 day conservator led workshop that was meant for sextons and members of historical societies. It was held last August. I learned to clean gravestones, assess them for repairs and did (with a group) those repairs on a group of family stones. The repair work we did included resetting (both with a base and without - the base ones also had to have their pins pulled due to expansion/rust which will break the stone eventually if not replaced) and one stone had a break that had to be fixed the right way. One stone had to have a base repoured, it broke apart as we unearthed it. I had never made or poured concrete in my life, yet made a fairly decent looking base to mortar my stone into once the cement dried.
Last weekend I helped at a "cleaning and leaning" workshop held by a sexton that is fairly local (2 towns over) that I met at the August 2016 workshop.
I have also signed up to be a repair volunteer out on the coast at the end of summer. The historical society there hired the guy that ran the 4 day workshop, and I want to get some more time in under him to learn more.

This is why you need to train properly... this is an example of something my town paid a local guy to do less than a decade ago:
View attachment 1054589

I'm not sure at all how someone thought that was a good repair.

View attachment 1054591

This is the break repair we did last August. Yes, the color didn't match up exactly right, but it doesn't look like someone vomited cement onto the stone.

Wow, that first one was a poor repair. I could do better than that with my eyes closed. Well keep up the good work. It looks great.

 

[chickadoodles]

We're on the next to last season. I'm also hooked on Elementary and Orphan Black.

I like Elementary. I have not watched Orphan Black.
Dh likes to watch a lot of reality tv shows. I like Alaska the last frontier the rest I can live with out.

 

[chickadoodles]

Scg I hope someone in your town list's these census online for genealogists to find their loved ones.
I share all my headstones on Findagrave.com for any family doing research to find.
I paid a lot of money across the country for people to go take pics of my family members headstones. We also list obits if we have them or could find them to go with the headstone pics.

 

[getaclue]

scg, nice job on the headstones!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I posted all these pictures on findagrave this afternoon.
I also have handwritten records for the town on what, exactly, I did to the stone and a recording of all writing on it.

 

[chickadoodles]

I posted all these pictures on findagrave this afternoon.
I also have handwritten records for the town on what, exactly, I did to the stone and a recording of all writing on it.

Anyone ever tell you how AWESOME you are?

 

[pennyJo1960]

@superchemicalgirl you are super talented

 

[pennyJo1960]

We are sitting about 95 here no one goes out for long did the coops fairly early making quasi screen doors for the coops for better airflow and protection from escape for
the cockerel coop and number three they do not have totally inclosed runs but to darn hot to stay out long