OP
wroughtn_harv
Super Member
I would initially discourage you from attempting to drill through the stones. Think of a deer after a thirty odd six round passes through. Hole on one side, great big hole on the other.
To go through the stone you'll be using a hammer drill. The hammer action fractures the stone as it gets near the far side.
You can use this to your benefit if you want. If your stones are football or round shaped the blowout area can be the bottom and the cavity will be the start of a hollow to assist in fit up on top of the next stone.
The large boulders in the pond will be drilled all the way through so that the water tubing for the fountains can feed the heads. I will go through with a three quarter inch bit as a pilot. Then I'll take a one inch through from the top and a one and a half from the bottom. The three foot three quarter inch Hilti bit cost me around two hundred dollars. You can bet your sweet bippy I'll be doing those holes with a soft hand and tender heart.
I think the polyurethane adhesive from Home Depot will work just fine in your benches.
If I were building them I'd fit the stones up against each other as best as I could. I'd then drill them in about an inch and use rebar pins.
This means many dry fits to get it as close to being as good as it gets as one can to being as good as it gets.
Also keep in mind that stone is brittle. Vibration and impacts are the two ways we fracture it. So no hammering after it's glued up.
I'll be doing benches on the rock deck next week or early the week after. The benches will be on the deck going out over the water.
Here's one of the rocks I'm planning on using for the deck. I asked Dawg to stand on the stone to give you an idea of it's size.
To go through the stone you'll be using a hammer drill. The hammer action fractures the stone as it gets near the far side.
You can use this to your benefit if you want. If your stones are football or round shaped the blowout area can be the bottom and the cavity will be the start of a hollow to assist in fit up on top of the next stone.
The large boulders in the pond will be drilled all the way through so that the water tubing for the fountains can feed the heads. I will go through with a three quarter inch bit as a pilot. Then I'll take a one inch through from the top and a one and a half from the bottom. The three foot three quarter inch Hilti bit cost me around two hundred dollars. You can bet your sweet bippy I'll be doing those holes with a soft hand and tender heart.
I think the polyurethane adhesive from Home Depot will work just fine in your benches.
If I were building them I'd fit the stones up against each other as best as I could. I'd then drill them in about an inch and use rebar pins.
This means many dry fits to get it as close to being as good as it gets as one can to being as good as it gets.
Also keep in mind that stone is brittle. Vibration and impacts are the two ways we fracture it. So no hammering after it's glued up.
I'll be doing benches on the rock deck next week or early the week after. The benches will be on the deck going out over the water.
Here's one of the rocks I'm planning on using for the deck. I asked Dawg to stand on the stone to give you an idea of it's size.