journal

day to day notes…

 

wednesday, february 11, 2009

Today Phil and I went to start preparations for block laying - more specifically getting the concrete blocks in to minimise any more site erosion.

We called in to the Co-op on the way to pick up some more brickies string and check out this new cure for leaky dams. It sounds very good; a kind of polymer similar to what is used in nappies and also water crystals that you sprinkle over the dam surface. It forms a kind of net and sinks down, dragging with it any solid particles on the way, coats the bottom and expands into any holes and cracks. $380 for 25L which should be enough for us.

While I'm on products, I came across this set of devices called the Bricky. There's a long 12mm thick steel plate with a hole in the middle that you rest on top of the last course of bricks, trowel in the mortar and slide along the entire course to get a very even bed with little wastage or mess. A smaller plate goes against the side of the previous brick to give you a clean and easy perp., then you just throw the bricks on one after the other repeating the side plate treatment for each one. The Bricky is sized for standard bricks. We may make our own to suit our CEB size.

At the block, a quick scan of the trees was encouraging, almost all of them holding up well through the dry heat-wave we've been having. I'm glad we came out and watered everything two weeks ago.

We drove 2 star pickets into the ground beside the hurdles we made for the original setup and mark out of the footings. We attached a piece of 4 by 1 to the stakes with cable ties in a way that it can be tapped up and down with a hammer, but holds its place when left. A screw was attached to the line of the outside of the wall, string attached and tightened, then we got everything as level as possible with the string being 200mm above the footing. There was a 15 - 20mm variance in places which we will need to make up in the first few courses of bricks by adjusting mortar depth.

In hindsight, it would have been far simpler, less stressful and less time-consuming to hire a dumpy level for the actual concrete pour. That would have saved all the dicking around with the home made dye-in-a-clear-tube level and hammering bits of rebar into the sides of the trenches as markers which all seemed far from accurate. Anyway, Phil reckons we're in a good place so far. Back out tomorrow morning.