9.21.2014

The forecast for today was for showers - especially in the afternoon.  So after church and some pecan pancakes, Jim headed out to the site to get as much done as possible before the rains came.  But again in true Camelot fashion, no rain drops all day!  As I write this at 10:30 pm, there are a few sprinkles going on outside.  So having all day to work was a real blessing!

These are some pictures of the bracing Jim did yesterday after I had left so I couldn't include pictures.  He did a lot of extra bracing around the garage doors, both inside...

...and on the outside.

Before lunch, Jim got all the rest of the scaffolding moved and rebuilt - so that was a huge accomplishment!

 

Then Jim wanted to do a little gravel work.  He wants to redo the scaffolding around the inside of the garage doors and needed to build up that area with gravel first.  So it was off to the new gravel pile with the Bobcat.

First, he filled up around the garage door entrances so that he can drive in easier.

Of course, gravel work always involves doing a lot of it by hand!  It was actually pretty warm today too - about 80 degrees.

Then it was filling up the area on the inside.

Now Jim can just drive in without any bridge, without any scary moments for his wife!

 

This is the corner between the two garage doors where Jim wants to redo scaffolding.  Now you see the freeze wall....

 

 

....after some big scoops of gravel...



 

 

...now you don't!

 



For safety reasons, especially when we pour concrete, Jim didn't like the fact that there was this big hole near the buttress wall.  First, he shoveled out any stray dirt and rocks that had fallen over the drainage pipes and gravel.

 

Then it was time to fill it up!

And get it all smoothed out.  No more fears about that big hole to worry about.

 

After the gravel work, Jim went back to working on the steel.  In order to get the steel in the optimizers, he had to modify the 6" webs I picked up in New Hampshire by cutting them down into 2 separate, smaller webs.  He had me work on some yesterday and I did a few more today.  However, I was terrible at this job!  Jim can take the nippers and just snip the 4 places that need to be cut and it's done.  With all my might, I couldn't do more than dent the plastic.  I finally got the PVC saw out and cut them!  But they still looked like they were gnawed apart - they worked though and it was one small way to help Jim.

 

By the end of the day, he finished almost all of the steel except for a couple small spots.  That's getting close to another big milestone and one step closer to concrete!

 

Tomorrow, our first truckload of bricks is supposed to come.  We have to get the area ready for them - spread plastic down so they aren't sitting on the dirt all winter.  Another truckload is coming Tuesday - it will be crazy to see all those bricks on site!