Late Evening, Sprinkler
A kind of odd evening, just watching the sprinkler do its thing and slowly make its way towards us. But we both found this incredibly soothing, incredibly calming.
Posts Tagged "our first home"
A Day Outside
One of my main goals: fix the spigot, which was leaking. I did a bit of research on YouTube and found out my problem was the anti-siphon valve.
Core Fill
If you thought our concrete work was over, think again! With our concrete blocks in place, the next step we had was to fill the cores of all the blocks with concrete. Our aim was to make a “soupy” layer, to pour down each core… and to finish the tops with a more solid layer.
Wall Prep
Bob, cutting some of the rebar down to size.
Relocation
The concrete bags got delivered today. After work, my aim was to relocate everything from the front of the house towards the back (where we’ll be doing the actual mixing).
Each bag is 80 pounds, and I have the arms of a computer programmer. So I took about 3 bags at a time, wheeling them down bit by bit.
Images from the Garden
I have a bit more invested in the backyard plants now, as I was tending to them nearly every morning when Liz was away in Georgia. Being the one responsible for the plants, albeit briefly, made me feel a bit more connected to everything back here.
Block Wall Construction, Day 3
Liz and I hit it right at 5:00 PM today, after work. We got suited and prepped fairly quickly, and were able to get the short course along the driveway done… as well a full course on the wall along the yard.
Block Wall Construction, Day 2
You can barely see it in this photo, but we have a dirty trick: we’re using 3/8″ nuts, and placing the between each course of block. This ensures that we’ll have the proper distance between blocks, and serves as a kind of guardrail.
It’s not what the professionals do, but… we are far from professionals. So long as things are consistent, no one’s the wiser.
Block Wall Construction, Day 1
Liz, mixing up the mortar as Bob gets the blocks in place. I mostly hung out up top, passing along blocks as needed. Both Liz and Bob did the brunt of the work today.
Block Wall: Delivery
For those of you who remember the original movie “I’m getting a lot of concrete and gravel delivered”… this is the sequel: I’m getting a lot of concrete blocks delivered.
All told, it’s 90 concrete blocks and 12 corner blocks.
A Day Outside
Close to the end of the day, we settled back with a drink and some music. And admired that good-looking arbor that someone put in, many months ago.
After the Pour
Bob was here today, and brought the stairs back down. And more than that, he fixed them against the supporting wall… and added an extra brace, to boot. Should give us a bit more sturdiness, before we actually put in the for real wall(s) down here.
The Back Porch Cement Pour
All told, we used about 70 bags (with 13 leftover). Not too far off, on the original calculations.
Materials
Unfortunately, the forklift couldn’t really make it very far down our driveway. What this meant is that the materials got dumped near the front of the house… and we’d need to physically transport things towards the back.
A Happy Apple Tree
One of the apple trees she planted started to flower. Which, as far as omens go, is a good one that I’ll take. This guy seems happy where he’s at, and here’s hoping he’ll continue to be happy.