Suggestion: I decided to make a hypertufa canopy for a faux bois tree trunk I made. I excavated an inverse dome into my kid's sandbox...final dimensions were 4' wide and 3' tall at the center. I used puffed rice mixed with wood glue to make surface 'imperfections' in the canopy so it wouldn't be too regular. I watered it for days...and when I wanted to remove it I realized it must weigh in the order of many hundreds of pounds. Laughing...I couldn't pry it out of the ground and now I have a bizarre buried sculpture in my kids sandbox that will be there forever. Oh...my suggestion...if you're going to have to move the large stepping stones lay out some ropes or straps to be able to carry or move the end product.

Ellie's Mom, Was this concrete (sand, portland cement and gravel) or mortar (sand and portland cement)? Go to the home improvement store and buy a piece of ridgid insulation board. It comes in different thicknesses and you can cut it with a razor knife or any sharp knife. If you buy the thickest ones you can cut off a piece and cut your design out of the center. Make sure you leave a 2 inch border around the edge so the sides don't bulge. Or buy the thinner board and cut into 2 inch by 1 1/2 inch strips. Butt the corners together and push long nails into each corner. Wrap around the outside with duct tape. These will be bottomless molds just place on a piece of plastic wrap on top of a flat surface. The insulation boards are 8 feet long and about 2 feet wide so you can make quite a few molds. If you treat the molds nice you can reuse them quite a few times. If these are just decoration and no one will walk on them you can make them 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. If you're going to walk on them go for 2". Your husband is so encouraging! Tell him he is wrong. The mixture would be too hard to push in your mosaics. You can use cardboard boxes that you wrap the outside with duct tape. BUT make sure you have something available to butt up against the sides so the cement doesn't bulge the sides. You can place contact paper in the bottom of your mold with the sticky side up and place your mosaics on the sticky paper. Just remember that you are working in reverse. After you're done placing the mosaics pour or place your mix on top of the mosaics. If this is a ridgid mold, tap the sides to help release air bubbles. After 24 hours gently turn the mold over to remove the stepping stone. Peel off the contact paper and clean up (GENTLY!!) your mosaics. Have fun and don't let your daughter touch these like she's doing in the pictures above. When these are fresh the lime in the portland cement can burn skin. Billie

Sandy, I could drive down SR 37 with my eyes closed! We live south of Marion. A quick Google check for architectural salvage in Indy lists several. The prices are out of our budget, but the pieces are beautiful. One door (French door set) was $250. It's much like the french doors I got :) At least one GWer lives nearby. Tom lives within driving distance of Indianapolis. He put Kline cabinets in his kitchen last fall. He posted his kitchen pics and gave Kline Cabinetmakers a rave recommendation. I admired a display at Clarks in Castleton and contacted Kline after seeing Tom's cabinets. Kline will be making our cabinets, too! I cannot remember her name, but there is a couple living in southern Indiana who remodeled their kitchen in a few weeks. She posted day-by-day pics. It came out fabulous! It may have been over Thanksgiving last year. Caroline, Your house is wonderful. If ours turns out anywhere close to yours I will be thrilled. On the stone-You are right, it can always be used for something outside. The one piece was relocated under a tree. There is a chair and little table. It's a wonderful place to read. The kitchen plan has ~36'' cupboards flanking the refrigerator; I need small countertops. One slab for each counter would do it. No need to piece a long run together. One side has a countertop convection oven (it must sit on a non-flammable surface). The other side is for breakfast prep-coffee & tea, toaster, etc. It would be so wonderful to touch that every morning and think of the thousands of people who passed our house over the years. I get emotional just thinking about it! I picked up a chipped piece this morning and tried to figure out what kind of stone it is. It is a brownish gray, (more gray much less brown than these pics) feels grainy-like sand, and has lots of tiny sparkly bits. The rock is compact rather than layered. It must be porous because there are some green (moss stain?) areas. The scraped bits soaked with lime cleaner didn't bubble or dissolve. The large slabs feel very smooth, not flaky like the small piece. Maybe it is sandstone, but I thought that was soft-it would have lots of wear after 100 years. I am hoping one of the stone experts will take a peak and weigh-in with an opinion. If not I'll try a stone forum. Judy

Try pressure washing the stone and concrete. Would not paint or white wash either. You could use the existing steps and sidewalk as a foundation to which you could attach pavers of your choosing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c385eN9Tvqw Gray siding wouldn't necessarily be the best color with a brown roof but if you're hoping to swap out the roof within the next few y ears, you might be able to paint the brown roof shingles a dark gray or black until you can replace it and go ahead and get the gray you prefer. https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+paint++roof+shingles&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiyy_zbmrnoAhXGM1MKHUrTDcQQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=How+to+paint++roof+shingles&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECAAQGDoECAAQQzoCCAA6BQgAEIMBOgYIABAIEB46BAgAEB5QujlY3Wtg3nVoAXAAeACAAf4BiAHiDJIBBjEzLjEuMpgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ei=VS99XvLMEcbnzALKpregDA&bih=628&biw=1366 Your window frames are dark. Would not add shutters. Consider adding white frame boards all around the windows instead. For the large blank area on the left, consider adding pressed metal exterior wall art. https://www.touchofclass.com/marielle-tree-wall-art-brown/p/H373-001/ https://www.google.com/search?q=pressed+metal+exterior+wall+art++sunshine&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj0sbaznLnoAhVCh1MKHXlRDRoQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=pressed+metal+exterior+wall+art++sunshine&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CU_wRYtIsFYMDvBWgBcAB4AIABXIgBzAWSAQE5mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=GTF9XrTBB8KOzgL5orXQAQ&bih=628&biw=1366 When your new siding and painting is done, your landscaping choices will make a huge difference. If Aucuba bushes will grow in your planting zone, they would be a good cover for your stone -- they keep their leaves and look good year round.