Because of the Memorial Day holiday, work did not begin this week until Tuesday. And it started with a burst of progress: 112 blocks were laid on Tuesday, dramatically changing the view as one approaches the site:
Moreover, several of the blocks needed complex cuts to finish off the shear wall. Here’s the view from the other side:
The fact that the shear wall stops at 10′-8″ means that progress will further accelerate because we’ll need to make fewer cuts on the way up, and we’ll need less grout, which is also time-consuming to the process. Here’s the full view of the back side:
A big bite out of the mortar pile is evident:
Less evident, but equally real, are the nibbles we are taking from the steel pile:
Step by step, the pattern begins to emerge:
Meanwhile, the grouting of the East Wall takes its bite out of the ground sand and gravel:
A bunch of steel dowels are made for the RPG blocks:
And more blocks make more of the pattern:
And that’s where we ended, letting the mortar cure for a grouting next week. Hopefully we’ll have continued good weather and thus lots to report in our next update.