mardi gras skin Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 My parents bought a house near Baltimore not too long ago and it needed a bunch of work. They're in Georgia sorting out a family crisis so I've been up here getting their place ready to move in. One the major projects was getting rid of the 6 foot high weeds on the 4 acres around the house that had gotten completely out of hand in the year and a half that it was vacant. So a couple days ago, I rented a walk behind brush hog and was reclaiming the yard. I had a tough time knocking down the brush over a big mound on the back of the property, but I got it done and moved on to the side of the house. That's when the previous owner showed up. Its weird to meet the guy who got foreclosed on. He introduced himself as the guy that lost $300,000 on the house and I didn't know what to say except sorry for his loss. After some small talk I figured out he was there to ask if he could retrieve the 5 boats on the back of the property. They were in various states of disrepair, but I figured I would put them on e-bay to get a little something out of them. After talking to him, I just decided to let him have them...we didn't buy the house for the boats anyway and it would be good to get them out of the yard. That's when he said, "I hated losing this house, but you seem like a good guy and I'm happy for you. Come here, I have something to show you." He takes me back to the huge mound I had just cut and clears away some of the brush and dirt to reveal some stone. He then tells me he was in the demolition business and that he has about 20 tons of granite buried under the mound including two 8 ton slabs of granite. It all came out of the Basilica in Baltimore. It was too heavy for him to move when he got foreclosed on so he just left it. And he tells me no one else knows about this. That night I check online and sure enough, there had been some major renovation work on the Basilica including the removal of large slabs of granite. http://www.baltimorebasilica.org/index.php?mact=Album,,default,1&albumid=16&returnid=60&page=60 So what do I do here? The owner of the demolition crew brought the stuff back to his yard and buried it...shady. Do we have stolen goods? How do I to find out if the Catholic Church wants it back? If they don't want it, can we sell it? If it is ours and we can sell, how do you remove 8 ton stabs of stone from your yard without breaking it up? How much do you get for something like this? Uncovering more of it yesterday, The end of one slab is about 4 feet wide by about an foot and a half thick. No idea how long it is. And I've found 3 other "small" slabs on the property, one large enough to cut countertops to do my whole kitchen. Its like we found stolen pirate treasure on the property. Weird. edit: In the link, picture 4 has some steps in the background. I'm pretty sure those are the two smallest pieces of granite I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Not sure. I suspect that the most honest thing to do would be to call the quarry or the Bascillica and find out if they have any reports of stolen inventory and if they do see if they could identify it in some way. Thing is, if he hadn't been so specific, you'd have never known how to really pursue this question. On the other hand, it might also create a giant mess for you if they bring in the equipment to tear up your back yard to remove it. It could have been just extras left over from a completed job... although the burying part does indeed sound shady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 In the years I was in the construction business,I found that remodels were often looked at as some nice one stop shopping for those doing the demo. Meaning that many times,there was just an unwritten agreement that just about anything that would be thrown away was up for grabs. Now that may not be the case here. Could be that the granite was going to be recycled and used somewhere else,(Seen this too),but being that the restoration was done a few years ago,it's tough to say if this was the case. A call to the church could yield some answers to this. If anything,they may be able to get you in touch with someone about where any other granite from the restoration that may have been taken away from the site ended up. Because if I had to hazard a guess,if there was that much granite being taken out,there would be a plan for it to go somewhere,(even that meant someplace for it to be buried. As unlikely as that may be). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 PCS, if this granite is ours, what do you recommend we do with it? Any idea what its worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Wow, that is a crazy story MG. Don't have any advice, but keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Will be one heck a story for your countertops if you are able to have them sawn and installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 PCS, if this granite is ours, what do you recommend we do with it? Any idea what its worth? Couldn't tell ya. It depends on the granite and such. I would try to call a few places that deal in granite counter tops and see if they can point you in a direction. Mind you. Granite can be used for some nice exterior features as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 Will be one heck a story for your countertops if you are able to have them sawn and installed. Based on where renovation took place, there's a good chance the big slabs came from the crypt. Could you imagine your kitchen countertops coming from a 200 year old tomb? Wow, that is a crazy story MG. Don't have any advice, but keep us posted I called the Basilica and left a message, so we'll see what happens. They'll probably think I'm a nut. How do you leave a message like that and not come off like an oddball. "I think some of your granite might be in my yard...call me back." Couldn't tell ya. It depends on the granite and such. I would try to call a few places that deal in granite counter tops and see if they can point you in a direction. Mind you. Granite can be used for some nice exterior features as well. Will do. Thanks man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 cool story man, keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracelander Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Imagine the shipping and handling if you put those on ebay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Dude.......what's your address ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Did he mention the body under it?:shhh: :secret:..It might be covering one of the Gates of Hell;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Rich Fla Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 You got free counter tops! Don't sell it. There's granite people all over. Do stuff with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Ok, its been a week and I haven't gotten a visit from the Swiss Guard or anything so I guess the granite is mine. I dug out one of the slabs a little and its about 2' by 4' by 8'. It's unfinished but it has this kind of look: I'm digging the color. Next step, find someone to haul this stuff off and someone to cut it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Update. I called everywhere in the area and no one had the equipment to cut it. I finally discovered that Barre, VT is the granite capitol of the world and I called several companies there to find out what to do. Nothing. The chunks are too big and to far away to be worth their time and effort. They even said it would be back breaking work for us to break it up and use it for stone blocks. The only helpful advise I got was to put it on craigslist to see if we could get someone to take it off our hands. So, apparently our buried treasure is buried garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Explore ancient engineering methods and build a miniature Stonehenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_Bleed_B&G Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 how much do you want for some of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeysc23 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 there is not a single company in the area that can cut big pieces of granite? I find that interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_Bleed_B&G Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 there is not a single company in the area that can cut big pieces of granite? I find that interesting. Thats my thought. I'm sure someone can do it. Again, that would make for some cool counter tops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeysc23 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Thats my thought. I'm sure someone can do it. Again, that would make for some cool counter tops. Also wondering how someone could bury that much granite with no one noticing if it was something shaddy. I imagine you need some big equipment to pull that stuff up. Either way if you want to donate some of the smaller slabs to a fellow skins fan you just let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Yeah, I'm interested in re-doing my countertops as well - I'd be interested in buying some of it (if its even possible). I'm sure you could cut it yourself, why not? The trouble is going to be actually getting it out of the ground. I haven't even the first clue how you would begin to get 20 tons of granite out from under your back yard without tearing it up with a backhoe or something. And I don't know if renting some heavy equipment would be worth the trouble, but it might be. I'd run some numbers if I were you, and figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 how much do you want for some of it? I'm not sure. We wanted to do the granite countertops but we also plan to put a 2 foot stone wall by the road. There are literally tons of stone blocks around the property that I guess were left over from building the house (stone siding), but I'm sure we'll need more. We might just break up the granite and use it that costs less than buying more stone blocks...and if I can find a way to do that without breaking my back. there is not a single company in the area that can cut big pieces of granite? I find that interesting. I was told no one in the area had machines to cut granite more than 6 inches thick. in Vermont, several companies have tools to cut up to 5 feet, but they said it would cost more to ship this stone up there and have it cut than it would to just buy pre-cut slabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 I haven't even the first clue how you would begin to get 20 tons of granite out from under your back yard without tearing it up with a backhoe or something. And I don't know if renting some heavy equipment would be worth the trouble, but it might be. I'd run some numbers if I were you, and figure it out. There's a crushed stone drive running to the back of the property and the granite is right next to that drive. It might be expensive, but it should be doable. The problem is, you'd have to have a saw that can cut the granite at least thick enough for a countertop. That means the saw blade has to be able to cut about 3 feet thick. That's not standard dyi equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeysc23 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I'm not sure. We wanted to do the granite countertops but we also plan to put a 2 foot stone wall by the road. There are literally tons of stone blocks around the property that I guess were left over from building the house (stone siding), but I'm sure we'll need more. We might just break up the granite and use it that costs less than buying more stone blocks...and if I can find a way to do that without breaking my back. I was told no one in the area had machines to cut granite more than 6 inches thick. in Vermont, several companies have tools to cut up to 5 feet, but they said it would cost more to ship this stone up there and have it cut than it would to just buy pre-cut slabs. Hmm I guess I didn't factor in the thickness. Just really surprised given the huge amount of stone especially used in the VA area someone couldn't accommodate. I'd go to the places that can cut 6" thick and have them flip it over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Either way if you want to donate some of the smaller slabs to a fellow skins fan you just let me know Tell you what. Rough estimates are that there's enough granite here to do about 900 sqft of countertop. Maybe 800. You can have half of it if you can magically turn my half into countertops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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