It’s always so satisfying to check off home-keeping tasks from the "to-do" list - one of ours was to oil the soapstone kitchen counters.
Soapstone is a naturally quarried material that is metamorphic, like marble, and comes from magnesium rich mineral talc. Its colors vary from light gray and darker black, with some having green and blue undertones. I love soapstone and have long used it as a surface material in my kitchens. I chose soapstone for all the countertops and sinks in my studio kitchen located in a guest house here at my Bedford, New York farm. It is easy to care for and only needs a light treatment of mineral oil every few months to keep it looking its best.
Here are some photos and tips, enjoy.
This is my studio kitchen. A couple of years ago, I painted all the cabinetry black and replaced all the appliances. I love how the black gives the kitchen a more modern feel. It also looks great with the soapstone counters.
The kitchen has long soapstone counters along two walls of the kitchen and a large soapstone island. These crocks house wooden spoons and other cooking utensils for easy access and sit in one corner.
I also have two large soapstone sinks. To coordinate with all the black, I used brass finishes including two Waterworks “Regulator” style faucets. Both have single spouts with black spray nozzles. I also display many pieces from my copper collection in this kitchen.
The countertops are in great condition in part because of the maintenance we do. Periodic application of mineral oil will help it develop a dark patina and enhance the natural aging process of the soapstone.
Here is one of the soapstone sinks that could also use a coating of mineral oil.
First, Carlos cleans everything with regular dish soap and a soft sponge. I like using an unscented non-abrasive dish soap, but if needed, one can use a harder scouring soap to remove any stuck on food – it won’t hurt the stone.
Carlos goes over every area of the counters and the sinks. It’s important to clean the tight corners and edges.
Next, he uses clean cotton towels to dry the surface thoroughly.
This part of the job may take a few towels, so be sure to have several on hand.
Next, Carlos oils the counters and sink with mineral oil. Mineral oil can be found in any hardware store, grocery store, or pharmacy; it’s nontoxic, and not harmful if ingested. Basically, mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, such as petroleum. It is often used as a lubricant and a laxative.
One can just pour the mineral oil on a section of counter and rub it in evenly with a low-lint rag.
Once mineral oil is applied, the stone turns a very dark charcoal gray, sometimes black. Some stone varieties contain a hint of green and when oil is applied turn a rich deep green color.
Carlos is very careful to coat every area and every crevice of the soapstone.
This is the inside of the sink after it is oiled – looks as good as new.
After everything is covered, Carlos goes over every surface again with a clean towel to remove any excess oil. Because soapstone is made primarily from talc, it has an extremely high resistance to chemicals and acids. It does not absorb water and soapstone retains heat and will not scorch when in contact with any cookware.
Carlos uses wide even strokes, so any oil remaining covers the surface or is evenly removed.
Soapstone, being softer than granite and marble, is prone to scratches, but scratches can be easily removed with a light sanding and coating of mineral oil.
Carlos wipes any excess oil from the sinks.
And every time the countertops are oiled, the stone will hold the oil longer than the last time.
On new soapstone, oiling it once a month for the first year will give it a beautiful dark appearance, but for maintenance, we do this treatment every few months. This counter looks great and with the proper care, is sure to last many more years to come. If you have soapstone counters, maybe it’s time give them a little oil this weekend.
Winter chores continue at my Bedford, New York farm. In fact, we're getting so many outdoor tasks done because of the mild winter weather.
My outdoor grounds crew has been working tirelessly clearing the woods of dying or broken trees, knocking down weeds, brambles, and thorny barberry bushes, and picking up the many fallen branches. Yesterday, a large grapple truck from Central Tree Service, Inc. in Rye, New York came by to move all the heavy logs and stumps to my compost yard. Some of the wood will be repurposed as milled lumber, while the rest will be set aside for the tub grinder and made into mulch - everything is always put to good use.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
During this time of year, my very skilled outdoor grounds crew takes down the dead or diseased trees around the farm. It always saddens me to see the trees go, but I always re-use or re-purpose the wood and then plant new, younger trees in their place. Once the trees are taken down, they are placed in various piles around the farm.
We try to keep all the piles as neat as possible so as not to block any carriage roads or damage the ground beneath them.
The trees are carefully marked before they are taken down. Here is one showing a large “x” – it is important to only remove those trees that are already dead or are dying.
Many of the trees are ash trees – infested and killed by the emerald ash borer.
The borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves water and sugars up and down its trunk. This is a closer look at the damage done by the emerald ash borer under the bark. The ash borer, also known by the acronym EAB, is responsible for the destruction of tens of millions of ash trees in 30 US states since it was first identified in this country in 2002.
I enlisted the help of Central Tree Service, Inc. This company in nearby Rye, provides full arbor care for all trees and shrubs including the removal of any logs and stumps.
Juan drove a big grapple truck used for carting away large debris. Here he is at the first pile of logs along the carriage road between my hayfields.
Juan is very skilled at using this hydraulic grapple attachment. He carefully lifts each piece of wood from the pile and places it into the truck bed.
Juan maneuvers the grapple from a seat above the truck. The grapple has four fingers and can be rotated as needed.
When the truck is full, it can weigh up to 20-tons. This is a heavy load. Juan said even the tires looked a bit compressed from the weight.
Meanwhile, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, uses our trusted Hi-Lo to transport logs from various areas around the farm to the carriage road, where they can be retrieved by the grapple truck.
Here, Chhiring moves some of the logs from the hayfield near my pond.
Once the grapple truck is completely full, Juan drives it ever so carefully to the compost yard. I feel very strongly about composting. In fact, this entire corner of my farm is devoted to this important process. During the year, the crew amasses quite a large pile of organic debris – bark, stumps, logs, and brush. The grapple truck is positioned by the pile designated for logs and stumps for the grinder.
Stabilizers secure the truck during all the work being done.
Juan slowly lifts the logs out of the truck and piles them up.
In another area, Juan places two logs perpendicular to this pile earmarked for milling. The ground logs will keep the stacked wood from rotting before they are milled into usable lumber.
For this particular pile, Juan looks out for logs that are in good condition and very straight and separates them from all the rest.
This day’s loads brought in a lot of good logs for our sawmill. These are very heavy, but Juan makes the job look so easy.
These will be made into beautiful floor boards and planks for future projects.
Here is the pile for the tub grinder. And it will grow even bigger before the tub grinder arrives. I like to call in the massive machine once a year or once every two years, to reduce the size of our debris pile into much finer, usable wood chips and mulch. We’ll see how big this pile is by summer.
The weather in Bedford, New York, has been quite mild this winter. We've had unseasonably warm temperatures and very little snow - a good time for getting a lot of our outdoor projects completed.
Yesterday, a team from Sandoval's Landscaping Inc. came by to start repairs on my stone wall. Last year, a car veered off the road and hit the wall, causing a section of stones to tumble out of place. In other areas, various stones have also shifted or moved over time because of inclement weather or large growing tree roots.
Here are some of the photos showing the skill and talent of these tradesmen - enjoy.
Fieldstone is any architectural stone used in its natural shape. Part of the dry stacked fieldstone in this section of my stone wall has to be completely re-stacked.
I called on the help of Sandoval’s Landscaping Inc., from nearby Patterson, New York. Rolando Sandoval is the husband of my housekeeper, Enma. Rolando and his crew were available to come right away to assess the damages and get to work.
Some of the tools of the trade for masons include brick hammers, chisels, and shovels.
They also use pinch bars and pry bars for moving larger stones and boulders. Made of forged carbon steel, these five-foot long bars provide excellent leverage for repositioning even the heaviest of stones.
Stones are first removed by hand, one by one, nearly all the way to the bottom – it took quite a bit of time to do this.
And then by hand, one by one, the stones are returned, and repositioned just right, so when completed the top of the wall is completely level.
The crew uses pry bars to move this 500-pound stone back into place. The foundation stones must be positioned securely because all the stones above will be resting on them.
Smaller stones are collected from the pile and used – nothing is wasted. And the tighter the fit is, the stronger the wall. Most stone walls were built without mortar, using gravity and the shape of the stones to hold them together.
Larger, more attractive stones were used as face stones and placed on the outside.
As the stones are stacked, smaller pieces are positioned as shims for the larger ones.
Some pieces need to be chiseled to fit tight crevices. These masons knew exactly how much stone to chisel in order to create the pieces they need.
Dependable mason’s twine is secured from one end to the other to serve as a guide for the masons. Mason’s twine is usually made of 100-percent filament nylon, which is resistant to abrasion, rot, and mildew.
Hugo has been working with Rolando for 17-years. He is a very skilled mason and enjoys this type of work. He is also incredibly strong.
Martin has also been with Rolando’s team for many years. Here he is measuring a stone to ensure it fits the space needed.
Rolando extends another line down to ensure the stones for the face side of the wall are positioned perfectly straight. Stones should be level both into the core of the wall and along the face. Stones that are not level may slide causing internal stress in the wall over time.
Here is one section all done. It is quite impressive to see how the stones fit together so perfectly for a very level, straight wall.
This wall is now good for many more years.
But there are several more sections to repair. In this area, top stones were misaligned, likely from inclement weather or growing tree roots that caused the stones to shift.
This section of the wall is right at the edge of a pond. Stones toppled down over the years and also need to be re-stacked.
All the repairs will take a few days to complete, but in the end all the stones will be secure and level.
It’s a lot of work to be a good mason. Here’s Rolando’s crew stopping for a quick photo before heading stacking again. Pictured here are Rolando, Eddie, Hugo, and Martin. Thanks guys! It looks great!
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