Week 82 (Top Bond Beam Progress)

Alas, the weather showed its effect this week, preventing the completion of the top bond beam by the end of July.  Instead, we see that about a quarter of the 36th course has been laid, leaving a very short day’s work to lay the remaining 90 or so blocks.  Here, in one picture, you can see pretty much the sum of what has been done (on the East wall) and what remains to be done (with unlaid blocks waiting in front of the North and South walls):

But for the curious and the technical, more images await:

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one is hard to calculate, as the height of the scaffolding rendered me speechless.  It’s very hard to tell just how this vantage point makes one feel.  Uneasy might be one word:

Perhaps this tells the story better:

Or perhaps this:

The weather must have been miserable last week for so few blocks to have made it into place.  Here we see the well-used rain cover sitting on top of the finished outer wythe and the inner wythe waiting for its final course of blocks:

And a wider perspective…you can see (through the plastic shroud) that the windows themselves are elements distinct from both the diffusors and the ceiling:

Here’s a better view:

Doing a quick materials check, here’s all the grout that’s been used since a new batch was delivered two weeks ago:

Usage of mortar sand has been equally prodigious since its latest refresh:

From the other side:

The steel pile is well down from where it was five weeks ago:

Block trimmings since last week:

Empty pallets since three weeks ago:

And so we leave you with this view of the Music Room’s current state, as seen overlooking the Annex:

Let’s hope for good enough weather to finish off the top bond beam and begin to raise the next series of walls!