An Iron Horse for My Stable
Spring is always a good time to get those outdoor projects out of the way. Here at my Bedford, New York farm, that includes the installment of a very special ornamental cast iron horse head above the front barn doors of my stable - gifted to me by my friend, antiques dealer Jim Klinko, owner of Furniture on Consignment II in Westport, Connecticut.
I called Carmine Luppino, from Luppino Landscaping and Masonry LLC, to discuss the project details and make a plan. Carmine and his talented crew are responsible for all the stonework at the farm and always seem to know exactly how I'd like things done. It took more than a full day to get the task completed, but I am happy to report the horse head is up and it looks fantastic.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- This is an old French cast iron horse head, most likely from the late 19th century. The patina suggests it spent lots of time outdoors. These horse heads were often used as emblems outside butcher shops specializing in horseflesh. Some were also used on the exterior walls of saddleries, or in front of a farrier or livery stable.
-
- You may recall seeing this photo last December on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. My friend Jim in the Santa Claus suit, his husband Layton, and their son Jacob, delivered the 150 pound horse head via pick-up truck all the way from Westport, Connecticut. It was among my favorite Christmas gifts last year. It took five strong guys to lift it out of the truck and onto the stable cobblestone courtyard. I knew it would look so perfect above the barn doors.
-
- Last week, a team from Luppino Landscaping and Masonry came over and got to work. Early in the morning, they began putting up the scaffolding in front of the stable.
-
- Good preparation for any project is key. The crew of seven made sure everything was secure and centered before starting any of the work.
-
- I knew I wanted the horse head to be above the center keystone of the doorway. A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch. The keystone is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch of the doorway to bear weight. Here, the crew uses a level to evaluate the surface of the stone where the horse head will be mounted.
-
- My property manager, Doug White, made this plywood back plate for the horse head, so it has something to sit on once installed. Doug is a very experienced carpenter and takes on some of the smaller carpentry tasks around the farm.
-
- Once the exact location is determined, the plywood mount is held up and its outline traced lightly on the facade.
-
- Then the stones are shaved down, so the surface is flat.
-
- Here’s Carmine doing some of the work – in some areas, up to an inch of stone is shaved down to create a flat, level space for the horse head.
-
- Every so often, a level is used to ensure the area is both level and plumb.
-
- Meanwhile, on the ground, the crew measures the location of the horse head’s holes.
-
- The wooden mount is marked where the holes match up to those on the piece.
-
- And then holes are drilled into the wood.
-
- Here one can see how the holes match up on both the horse and the mount. The horse head is very heavy, so several guys are needed to carefully lift it up and down.
-
- Galvanized steel anchor L-bolts are placed into the holes – these fit just right.
-
- Two of these bolts will secure the mount to the horse and then into the stone.
-
- Next, holes are drilled into the stone. The crew measures several times before drilling to be 100-percent sure everything is done right.
-
- Once again, the wooden mount is held up as a test – everything looks great so far.
-
- By afternoon, the holes are ready for the epoxy which will help to keep the screws in place. At this time, it started to rain – this delayed the epoxy drying time. This then caused a pause in the installation process. Carmine decided everyone would return the next morning to finish the job.
-
- And here they are the next day. The epoxy is completely dried and the the horse head is finally screwed into the stone wall.
-
- This part of the job took less than an hour – it looks great. Here, the head is almost completely secured. They called me down to make a final check before tightening the screws and getting off the scaffolding.
-
- And here I am on my trusted steed, Rinze. I think it looks great and makes a nice ornamental addition to my stable. What do you think? Share your thoughts with me in the section below.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
