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

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/every-little-helps.html

Great Wall of China

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

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 24^th 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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

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

http://www.rogerfederer.com/en.html

Novak Djokovic

http://novakdjokovic.com/en/ 

Last Year’s Wimbledon (2014)

Images from Wimbledon

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/images-from-wimbledon-at-this-time-of.html

Images from Wimbledon - Part 2

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/images-from-wimbledon-part-2.html

Images from Wimbledon - Part 3

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/images-from-wimbledon-part-3.html

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/pike-skiff-designed-by-iain-oughtred.html

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.

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. 

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

http://www.providencebaptistchurch.org.uk/

XCWweather.co.uk

http://www.xcweather.co.uk/GB/forecast

Walton and Frinton Yacht Club

http://www.wfyc.co.uk/  

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

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/temagami-lovely-gaff-cutter.html

‘Temagami’, a Lovely Gaff Cutter – Part 2

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/temagami-lovely-gaff-cutter-part-2.html

Pike Skiff designed by Iain Oughtred

http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/pike-skiff-designed-by-iain-oughtred.html

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.

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.

A Fiddly Day

I knew today would not be routine. First of all I had to buy sand and gravel before setting about work on the patio. Instead of routinely putting down six full-size paving slabs, I shaped pieces and fitted them into nooks and crannies.

This sort of work is very fiddly. Spaces have to be measured carefully and allowances made for mortar between adjacent slabs. Getting the mortar into some of the crevices was a bit tricky. Hence, I spent most of the day fiddling around. 

Perhaps tomorrow will be more straightforward and I’ll be able to lay six more full-size paving stones.