# Working at my house



## Fancis Casini (Jan 31, 2013)

You are near my son's age then. I knew it all when I was that age!
What's the company? Is your dad still active in masonry.

My son is gifted at stone and coming along in brick and block.
He is learning framing and alot of stuff as we just rebuilt his Twin's house in Milford "Woodmont".We did the masonry;siding;roofing and a 3 zone heating and plumbing job with in floor heat in the kitchen and bathrooms. We also just put a 30 by 15 addition on his house as he had another kid. Picture of his daughter she's a peach.

We used to do alot of paving [loved it]in the past as well as excavating but I dropped it in the 90's to get into comercial masonry...big mistake as we had it made while commercial nose dived.
I was one of the few around whom combined masonry and paving...we would do the walls and then pave..couldn't keep up.
Had a lull 400, trucks, roller,layton spreader; case 1150 bucket loader etc...still have the back hoe it's a necessity.

Heck I installed all the undergrond tv cable in Harrison N.Y. when cable tv came out.....12 miles 350 driveway cuts and 50 road cuts with a back hoe. The ground was so bad a ditch witch wouldnt do it.....the people were absolutely outraged that all their pristeen driveways were getting cut for something they didn't want..lol Had conn ed following me waiting for me to screw up as we pulled wads of telephone wires out shutting half the town down. There were huge splices inside 3'' pvc pipes filled with epoxy just under the sodd...and it would piss them off they couldn't bill me for the parade of people they sent out in the swat trucks.

Anyhow here's some pics. I should have taken alot more but I was never a camera buff. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Casini-Masonry/159609824086030?ref=hl&sk=photos_stream


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## Nick520 (May 2, 2013)

I've done quite a bit of framing as well. Definitely a worthy skill. Grandfathers name is seby Romano


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## Nick520 (May 2, 2013)

And yes my father is still very active he won't be puttin down a hammer and trowel anytime soon he enjoys it too much


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## JJMasonry (Feb 4, 2014)

Nice work indeed!


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## Fancis Casini (Jan 31, 2013)

JBM said:


> Hey francis what do you mean turning your head when someone is cutting? Do you mean if im working with someone else who is cutting? Even with eye priotection a rock chip on the cheek still hurts lol.


I never wear it...my the old man used to say squint!......lol

Kinda like a boxer wearing them I guess! There's all them there crow'
s feet attributable though...lol 

He also would say "Keep you mouth closed,.. you'll crack your teeth!"

He was a pip, but just when your mind drifts a bit, one comes. I must say though I had alot of close calls.....the worse thing to do is cut next to a metal mortar tub.....or box and even a sheet of plywood on edge.

Somtimes when I would walk over to see the my kid was cutting he'd hit the chisel to keep me away....punk kids!.lol

Fathers and sons are so much fun!

Well at least he's out making $ plowing while I pay the insurance and fix the truck when things break....just had a relay go last week then an idler on the serpentine [duramax].


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## Nick520 (May 2, 2013)

Plowed last night and hanging wire mesh today seems as if ill be back plowing tommorow


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

A fella with 10 years on me had a piece of metal get stuck in his eye, the docs saved it but it was touch and go. The metal cut his retina in half. 

I wear them although for the first 10 years I didnt, like you say, the safety squint.


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## Fancis Casini (Jan 31, 2013)

*Putt Logs for block work?*

well ya never know...I wear reading glasses now[pay 2 bucks each as I mess them up constantly in fact I need new ones now lol] and they serve a dual purpose more or less. I always feared concrete nails flying especially the made in china ones these days. I hold them with a needle nose especially the 1''. There was apainter on a job a few years ago who lost his eye from a cocrete nails. He described it rather gruesome but likely
"I deflated like a Grapem... then it fell out!"

I almost bought it from a small stick flung from a weed whacker! I saw it coming and iclse my eye and it hit the eye lid . I thought it knocked the eye out..hurt like hell but I got lucky.

Four inch duro wall is a real culprit [two for the price of one] when left hanging out of the staging.. just enough and at the right height!

BY the way has anyone ever used putt logs [some call them putter logs]for staging? They are great for block basements ....4x4s about 4' long with a 1-1/2'' by 4'' long by 1/4'' thick flat plate steel extending out of one end. When laying block or even stone walls you leave the vertical joints out and stick them in and support the other end with some blocks on end or flat for heavier stone loads.

They are fast and nice especially for basements...no bars or x braces in the way and can be put at any height. We used to put them in fresh laid walls in the summer months as long as you didnt go nuts on them that day.Usually when you get used to using them you just move to another wall and finish the tops another day.


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## Fancis Casini (Jan 31, 2013)

Nick520 said:


> I've done quite a bit of framing as well. Definitely a worthy skill. Grandfathers name is seby Romano


I know alot of Romanos in the valley ie. derby ansonia...they were pavers years ago....Frank;Jack;Bob;Joe ...all good people!


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