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20 October, 2016

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Not that there wasn't any activity going on Tuesday or Wednesday, (18-20 October, 2016) it's just that there wasn't much to photograph or really to write about. One of the guys was plastering, one of the guys was moving lumber, blah, blah, blah. That kind of day - both days.

So, I've combined the three days into one posting, that'd be this one.

Capping the Column
Here's how to get a uniform tapered cap on the post. Start with a smaller square centered on the cap. Let it cure a bit.







Finishing Cap Slope
Then add more mortar, trowel and sponge it to a uniform faceted shape.

Yesterday, this was the way some of the columns were at the end of the work day. Not a problem. Well, unless you count on Mr. Klutz (me) coming back to the house via the ramp up to the deck, after letting Mr. Nelson out of the basement from his day-long nap. I inadvertently put a couple of fingers on the still wet slope of the cap. Oops. I tried patting it back into shape as best as I could, and trying to straighten out the corner as well. I got it close, but you could still tell it had been mangled.

Luckily, the finish coat of mud would be applied today, so there was really no harm done, other than me feeling like a dolt, especially since I had watched them work on the caps.

Daniel Sanding the Cap
When it's cured, well, at least set, sand off any rough spots and apply a finish coat over the whole column and cap.







Deck Form Starting
You can see the wood being applied to form the deck. Actually, I think this wood is for the string lines, so they get a good idea of how much marl fill is needed to get a uniform level deck.






Electrical Run
At the same time, Bani the electrician, is running wires for the various switches and outlets around the deck.







Plastering the Columns
Here's the east columns being plastered. That was done yesterday. The west columns are being done today.







Spa Jets & Filter Return Lines
Couple of holes knocked in the wall to expose the lines for the spa jets and the filter return lines.







String Lines for Deck Fill
It's tough to photograph the string lines. They use fishing mono-filament line to do this and unless you catch a glint in the sunlight, the stuff is pretty much invisible.






Douglas Measuring
Douglas is measuring to set the string line level that they're using today to fill the deck area.







Another Bucket of Mud
Here comes up another bucket of mud for the plasterers.








Leveling Out Deck Subsurface
Daniel was going around the deck chipping out stubborn bits that refused to be knocked down.







Tamping the Fill
The tamper they're using is home-made and weighs probably two to three times what my tamper weighs.

Finally, the project is beginning to look the way we imagined that it might at the very beginning of the exercise. I'm excited to see the finished product - and to get into the pool once again.




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