April 4
technical
I am going to start taping Steve. I am so tired of having him tell me what is happening and I am listening and taking it all in and it all makes sense and then I sit down to write one of these postings and I have no idea how to share what he told me with you.
OK. I will try.
The bond beam is the next phase. It will “bond” the adobe of the house to the wood of the beams and the roof structure. The bond beam runs like a course of adobe blocks all the way around the house. It is comprised of wood and also full-notcher adobe blocks. When the “frame” for the bond beam is in place, concrete will be poured into it. This is going to get messy!
So, the bond beam is required to connect the existing house with all the new stuff that is about to be added to it.
These pictures will help, I hope! Remember to click on one and open up the big Gallery.
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- Bond beam started on the West End Den
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- 21 and dry. Bella says hi.
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- 21 and blue sky–a great combo!
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- 21 and dry(ing)
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- Bond beam
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- They are up high putting the bond beam in place
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- Board wrangling
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- The occasional distraction
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- After a cold and rainy day yesterday, it is warming up again today
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- Still waiting to be 21
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- I call this “Blue Moon with Adobe”
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- I must remember to ask Steve about this corbel design!
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- Whee! I got up high to show you the bond beam
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- Boards tightened together with wire that is twisted with a nail
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- These full-notcher adobe blocks in this wood frame will have concrete poured over them–yay! More concrete to play with!
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- See how the bond beam will be going all around the house?
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- Nice view up here!
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- Steve found the ladder and helped me get up here. I never would have made it without him.
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- Everyone is up here now
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- Yep, I like it up here now that I am up here. It’s the climbing that gets me…
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- Steve took a rock to show me that the design…
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- …was really the first cuts for the standard corbel. OH! How cool is that?
personal
Bella and Niles spent the afternoon getting their rattlesnake vaccine boosters and then sleeping off the Benadryl they were given when they both started sneezing their heads off! They had no reaction to the original shot–but there is something special in that booster, it would seem.
In one more month, they will be “safe” from rattlesnakes. The vet still does not recommend seeking any of them out…because “safe” really only means they probably won’t die from a bite. Probably.
