Saturday, August 21

Being a bricklayer again


Haven’t I done this before? Oh yeah, the standby generator’s surroundings were enhanced with bricks. These are different bricks, though. They have tapered edges and are made for walkways instead of a mortared-together wall. This is an interesting job because the laying of the bricks goes so quickly. What is shown in the photo was done in about five minutes. But the preparation! I hauled away two large wheelbarrow-loads of dirt in order the prepare the ground. And there’s a thick layer of sand the bricks are laid on that has been meticulously smoothed and flattened and tilted slightly away from the building to drain properly. All the preparation has so far taken an entire week because the weather is so hot and the ground is so hard I could only slice it away a thin layer at a time after wetting it then waiting then scraping then wetting.…

Then of course there are the changes of plans that happen as the project goes on. I just now decided to extend the bricks a couple of feet beyond the edge of the sand shown there. They will also extend to beyond the hoe in the upper right corner of the photo. I have already sliced away another wheelbarrow-load of hard dirt.

I started by buying 100 bricks. Then I bought another 56. Tomorrow morning I'll buy another 50. It’ll be nice when it’s finished. I will then start another project—39 feet (10 meters) of walkway made from another kind of paver. Hope I survive till the end.

2 comments:

Susan Hurley-Luke said...

That should be nice when it is done. Take lots of breaks. Drink lots of water and iced tea. There's no rush, right?

Tom Hurley said...

You’re right, Susan, no hurry. I drink about a gallon of water, about four liters, a day, some of it as hot tea. Makes you sweat, which makes you cool if you get a breeze. The temperature is climbing this week, and may peak at about 104°F, 40°C. Yuk.