Manifold Recording / The Miraverse

As reported a few weeks ago, various parts of the construction process are starting to interact and interlock with one another.  This week the major interaction was between the two wythes of the Western Music Room wall and the door frames therein.  The shop diagrams I delivered way back in 2008 showed every block of the inner and outer wythes of every masonry wall, but nowhere did they detail what happened when the two wythes became connected via a door frame.  This week the masons improvised a masonry solution.  But first things first…the filling of the first bond beams:

Continue reading “Week 65 (Music Room door frames)”

Yesterday the first bond beam was established across the outer wythe of the Music Room doors.

Continue reading “Week 64 (First bond beams)”

Last week was one of the wettest times in Spring I can remember since moving to North Carolina nearly 10 years ago.  Here’s how the site looks with its raincoat on:

Continue reading “Week 63 (Soffit example and more grouting)”

As the blocks go up, the difference between the 12th and the 10th course don’t look quite as dramatic as the difference between the 0th and the 1st course or the difference between the 2nd course and the 4th.  But there are differences, some which can be seen, and some which must be discovered.

For example, after the 11th course had been completely the outer wythe needed to be grouted to continue the concrete fill down to the last grouted level (which I believe was just below the 8th course).  The grout did use up some of our sand pile:

Continue reading “Week 62 (Reaching the 12th course)”

When March rolls around in North Carolina there are two things you come to expect: basketball and beautiful spring weather.  The UNC Tar Heels met expectations, landing at the top of the ACC rankings.  But the weather was a bit less predictable, with sub-freezing temperatures and 3-5 inches of snow:

It was beautiful, but not very helpful to the schedule.

Continue reading “Week 61 (Snow, and the 11th course)”

Progress has been steady, and the pace is picking up again.  Last week the masons’ best day saw 90 blocks laid.  Today, they will lay over 100.  Here they are finishing up the 8th course on the east wall:

Continue reading “Week 60 (The 8th course)”

The 12′ tall storey poles have been up for a few weeks, but the site has a whole new look now that the scaffolding is going up.

Continue reading “Week 59 (Partial 4th course)”