Perpetual Ruminations

Friday

Eight o'clock on a Friday, and I'm writing in my journal while I wait for dinner to get done. After dinner it's a little television and then off to bed. I already know I'm going to be late getting to bed, because tomorrow I have to be up around three in the morning. That means I should be in bed already, if I'm going to get enough sleep. That's the way the weekend goes, but there is relief on Sunday, since I don't have to be up until six. Monday it's beck to three, then three days off.

We tore up the patio and redid it over our three days off, and we almost have it done. After work we picked up a couple more concrete steppers, and some more mulch. They did not have any paver locking sand, so we will have to get that later. With the rain moving in, I won't get much chance to do anything on the patio anyway, so it's not like waiting a few days is going to be a problem. Also, I just won't have much time to anything the next few days.

When Tuesday comes, however, I want to get most of the rest of the patio wrapped up. I will have to wait for the privacy lattice panels, but hopefully only a week or so, until payday. I also have to get some kind of cap to put over the top of the wall, but not sure what yet. I need something that can curve as well as be straight, but the wall caps don't look like they will work out the way I want. There are some small retaining all blocks that will work, but they are thicker than I wanted. I'm not sure just how I want to cap it, either.

See, what we have is a bunch of second hand stuff that we got from our neighbor when they redid their house and yard. We purchased some pavers and edgers to redo what we had down, and we moved the wall and added on to it. The wall is built out of a retaining wall block, made to angle slightly back as it goes up. This would be fine if it was holding dirt or something similar behind it. But we just used them to build a wall, and of course, it angles slightly back, making the wall a bit unstable. This is mostly do to the ground not being completely level, and from the weight slowly tipping the wall more and more with time.

We moved it out some when we added on to the patio, and I filled in some where it needs to go with a pea-rock gravel. It made a good, solid base, and it also is a little bit higher on the back and a little lower on the front. Only where the wall is built up to four feet high, however. The purpose is to make the wall angle a little bit forward, to counter it's natural nagle backwards. I didn't put so much under the back that the wall is straight up and down, this would have look odd. But, it did keep the angle down, so there is only about three inches difference from the front of the wall to the back. I also drove some heavy fence posts down through the holes in the block, to anchor the wall in place. It should stay up and in place for quite a while.

Now, there are only a few things left to finish this project up. We want to put a privacy lattice up around the patio. The idea is to put a two foot high section on the four foot part of the wall, and a four foot section on the rest. This should have the panel up about six foot, enough to provide some nice privacy. Of course, it's only semi private, since anyone can see in through the openings, but it's going to be enough for what we require.

I also have a bunch of bricks, and I want to build a brick wall behind the fire ring, and on one side. This, if it turns out, should create a corner built of brick about four feet high, and about three feet by three feet on two sides of the fire ring. Then, with the lattice patterned concrete we set up in place, it's like having a privacy panel in front and on the side of  a fireplace. Only, it's not a fireplace, it's just an enclosed fire ring. If I put another wall up and a top over it, it would look much like a fireplace, but ours is fully open on top and on two sides.

Not too much left, but the brick work will take a little while especially since I have not much with brick. The panels should go up fast, once I figure out how to attach them and purchase them. Then, it's just a little bit of odds and ends and it will be done. Next on the project list is the pond and fountain.