All the patio slabs have been laid, but to give it an
attractive finish I’ve decided to build a brick edging where it adjoins the shrubbery
border. When that is done and I’ve tidied all the joins between the slabs, the
patio will be truly finished.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Every Little Helps – Part 2
Three small slabs laid today
A few more small slabs left to do
It’s been one of those days when events have prevented me
from doing a great deal towards completing the patio. However, the rain held
off this afternoon, allowing me to lay three small slabs.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to do more tomorrow.
'Pike' seen from the bedroom window
The incentive of being able to take ‘Pike’ for a sail is
there for finishing the patio as soon as possible, and ‘every little helps’
towards that end.
The Great Wall of China was not built in a day, and the same
will be said regarding the Great Patio of Essex!
Links
Every Little Helps
Great Wall of China
Monday, July 13, 2015
The Golden Section
Le Corbusier
Piet Mondrian
Salvidor Dali
Unbelievably tired, I’ve made every effort to tie up loose
ends, i.e., things yet unfinished and jobs requiring attention – the exception
being the completion of the patio on account of persistent light rain.
Some of these jobs were small, others required more time.
The most important task was preparing the Church Friends on Friday activity for
the 24th July. This will be an afternoon when attendees will be
offered an opportunity of doing pictorial art. I know there are ten more days before the
meeting, but a surprising amount of detailed preparation has to be done on my
part. This morning I was able to deal with the bulk of it, planning the content
and nature of the activities, plus buying paper, plastic rulers and setsquares.
Now, why would I want rulers and setsquares? Let me explain:
The art activity will be centred on the theme of the Golden
Section; also called the Golden
Mean, the Divine Section, the Golden Cut or the Divine Proportion. Basically, it is a naturally occurring mathematical
ratio of division found in nature. Some artists, designers and architects have
incorporated the ratio into their creative works. Notable examples can be found
in the works of the French architect Le Corbusier, the Dutch neoplastic painter
Piet Mondrian and the Spanish surrealist artist Salvidor Dali.
With regard to the Golden Section; imagine a horizontal
rectangle composed of a square and a vertical rectangle. The division between
them is represented by a vertical line. In the case of the Golden Section, the
ratio of division is 1 for the upper and lower sides of the square, and 0.618
for the upper and lower sides of the rectangle, giving a total of 1.618.
Roughly this is a division of 8 units for the sides of the square
and 5 units for the upper and lower sides of the rectangle. Divide 8 by 5 and
you will come up with the exact ratio of 1.6.
An analysis of some of the works of Le Corbusier, Piet
Mondrian and Salvidor Dali reveals that they structured them on the Golden Section.
They used Golden Section divisions as frameworks for strengthening and imparting
beauty to their creations.
The theme of the art work at the forthcoming Friends on
Friday gathering will be the Golden Section, and for determining where to make
divisions in their paintings and drawings, participants will be given rulers
and setsquares.
Link
Golden Ratio
Sunday, July 12, 2015
A Restful Day
The urgency to finish building the patio is no longer there.
Had it been, I would have worked on it this afternoon. Instead, I took the
remaining old paving stones from the previous patio to my daughter’s caravan
site where she intends using them for hardstanding. The remainder of the
afternoon I rested on the settee while watching the BBC TV presentation of the
Men’s Singles Wimbledon Tennis Final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. I wanted Federa to win, but the world number
one beat him by three sets to one.
My prospects of finishing the patio before the end of the
week are reasonable, despite the forecast for unsettled weather with rain,
especially on Monday, when I feel nothing will be done.
Links
Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic
Last Year’s Wimbledon
(2014)
Images from Wimbledon
Images from Wimbledon - Part 2
Images from Wimbledon - Part 3
Saturday, July 11, 2015
No More Cutting of Slabs
Cutting bench
This is what is left of all the original slabs
Fiddly bits
The narrow side pieces have yet to be mortared
General view
My neighbours will be relieved, because there will be no more
cutting of slabs – no more noise and dust to put up with. The whole morning was
spent shaping pieces of slabs. I used every slab
that came with the original delivery, with the exception of a few odds and
ends.
During the afternoon and early evening I arranged the fiddly
bits and set them in mortar.
There are eight more narrow side pieces yet to be fixed and
two more very narrow bits between the shed and the garage.
Apart from realigning the shrubbery boarder mouldings and
tidying the joins between the slabs, within a couple of days I should have
finished the entire patio.
The forecast for the next couple of days suggests there will
be some rain - quite a bit on Monday that could hamper progress.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Closer to Sailing ‘Pike’
As long as the weather holds, I can make progress towards
finishing the patio; after which I can take ‘Pike’ for a sail. That is the goal
- that is the incentive to press on.
Yet to do, is a narrow portion beside the shrubbery
boarder. This section gradually tapers, the widest part being at the lawn end.
Making these pieces of slab will entail a lot of measuring and cutting. The
boarder edges are not quite straight, and at the higher end, closer to the
house, the boarder mouldings dip, instead of gradually rising, as do the lower
ones. Because of this, I may have to reset the mouldings so that their tops are
in line with the upper surface of the slabs.
The last two rows of paving slabs have to be cleaned, and
their joins tidied.
The possibility remains that I may be able to finish the
patio before my wife returns on Monday from her mini break in Italy.
Thursday, July 09, 2015
Pressing On
There could still be three or more days work to finish
building the patio. Very good progress was made today doing several slaps and
fiddly bits by the steps.
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
A Lot Happening
Keeping the rain off
Getting there
Last night the main water tank overflowed, and I had to call
out the plumber to undo the stop tap that had seized. He replaced the ball cock
and sealed the overflow pipe that was weeping.
The forecast for today was dull cloud, but by mid morning
it was raining, and it continued on and off throughout the afternoon.
Shortly
before midday I had a dental appointment, but by making an early start on the
patio I was able to lay three slaps before the appointment and one after. While
it was raining in the afternoon I visited B&Q for more sand and a packet of
mortar. By the time I arrived home the rain had stopped and I laid the shaped
slab I cut yesterday.
Considering all the interruptions, it was a very productive
day.
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Every Little Helps
Shaping slab
Cleaned joins
'Pike'
Not a great deal was achieved today on building the patio,
but ‘every little helps’. I had time for tidying the joins between the slabs
laid yesterday and for cutting to shape a slab that will be fitted by the steps
to the patio.
Basically, that’s it. Maybe I’ll be able to make more
progress tomorrow.
I know this doesn’t make scintillating reading; however,
when the patio is finished I shall turn my attention to ‘Pike’, a subject I
think most readers will be interested in.
Links
‘Pike’
Monday, July 06, 2015
End in Sight
Early morning
Evening
Late evening
Four to five full days work should see the patio finished.
Tomorrow morning will be out of the question for laying more slabs, because the
forecast is for rain, but the afternoon may be sufficiently clear for me to
clean the slabs that I laid today. I might even be able to do some filling in
around the step area, but I’ve been invited out for a meal late afternoon;
therefore work will be limited. That could be a blessing, simply to have a
rest.
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Relaxing
Therapeutic tools for relaxation
Stained and discoloured slab
Cleaned
Cleaning finished
It rained quite heavily this morning, but as I wasn’t
intending to work on building the patio, there was no disappointment. For me to
take time off from the task was a relief, but strangely, this afternoon, when
the sun came out and there was a coolness and freshness to the air, I thought
it would be relaxing to clean up the edges of the joins between the seven
paving slabs I set in place yesterday.
In accordance with my desire for relaxation, I made a cup of
tea and settled to mechanically scrape away stains on the edges of
adjacent slabs. There was nothing strenuous, just a gentle jigging of the
scraper, followed by rhythmic movements with the wire brush and a dusting away
of the resulting powder. The sun shone, and a cool, soft wind rustled the
leaves of the eucalyptus tree. I could think or dream of anything I wished.
Saturday, July 04, 2015
A Good Day
Sand base for third slab
Seven slabs laid, ready for tidying
There was a considerable amount of rain last night –
something unusual over the past few weeks. Anyway, after I made an early start
at working on the patio, the sun came out and the weather became quite humid.
That didn’t stop me from laying seven paving slabs, after which I had time for
collecting more sand from B&Q before the store closed.
Tomorrow’s BBC Weather Forecast is for rain in SE Essex.
That will give me an opportunity for taking things easy after morning
worship at Provident Baptist Church, Southend-on-Sea.*
Unfortunately the proposed sail with ‘Temagami’ on Monday
has been cancelled. Instead, she’ll be returning to Pin Mill tomorrow afternoon.
She’ll be making her departure from Walton and Frinton Yacht Club Basin at about 2.00 pm, an hour
before high water. XCWeather.co.uk forecasts
a SW wind of only 5 mph which will not make for exciting sailing, and doing it
in the rain will not enhance the experience.
Links
*Providence Baptist Church Southend-on-Sea
XCWweather.co.uk
Walton and Frinton Yacht Club
Friday, July 03, 2015
Bitty Day, but the prospect of a day sail
'Temagami'
Gravel in bags
Gravel distributed
Joins before tidying
Joins after tidying
Because of having to do various things with my wife before
she set off on her mini-break to Italy, this was one of those days when I could
not set aside any length of time for working on the patio. I was able to collect
more sand and gravel from B&Q and Wicks, and afterwards to lay down the gravel
to make a more even surface at the correct height in preparation for laying
sand for the next row of paving slabs. Hopefully I’ll be able to do another six
slabs tomorrow, so as to bring me more than halfway through the task of laying
about 65 in total.
Another little job done today was tidying a few remaining
joins between infill slabs by the garden shed. The more such jobs done now, the
less there will be to do later. I have a desire to finish the patio as soon as
I can so that I can go sailing with 'Pike', but there is a chance that I may be able to have a
day sail this coming Monday aboard ‘Temagani’ which would be a treat.
Links
‘Temagami’, a Lovely Gaff Cutter – Part 1
‘Temagami’, a Lovely Gaff Cutter – Part 2
Pike Skiff designed by Iain Oughtred
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Cleaning Up
Before
After
Cleaning finished
During the process of creating or making something there is
often a mess that has to be tidied. Today, I set about tidying or cleaning up the
mortar joins between the paving slabs. My tools were a wire brush and a
stainless steel weed picker, along with a soft hand brush.
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Twenty-six Paving Slabs
The hottest day of the year so far, and I laid seven paving
slabs, one of which had to be shaped to fit.
I can congratulate myself, because another day’s work could
see me past the halfway mark. However, I shall not be working on the patio
tomorrow because there are a number of important things that have to be done
before my wife takes a mini-break to Italy.
My chief role tomorrow will be that of private chauffeur. To
a certain extent it will be a rest day – certainly by comparison to today which
has been hard grind. Mortar and paving slabs is not my cup of tea; I would much
prefer working with wood, building a boat. Cutting a paving slab to shape is
not a nice job. Noise is horrendous and grit goes everywhere.
Neighbours have
to be a bit tolerant, but since my immediate neighbours are having a house
extension built, they have become accustomed to noise. Our other neighbours are
off on holiday for a bit of respite and peace. I don’t blame them.
The tally of paving slabs laid to the present time is 26. My
calculation is that there are another 39 to go! Some patio! When it is finished
I’ll be able to invite all my neighbours to a jive party, and we’ll have right
knees up.
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