Firepit Cap by the 4th!
Tuesday, June 20th, 2023 11:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudio84F out there this morning... going up to 88F! I used to sit here in the back room running the space heater for these entries, and now I'm running the AC.
The cottonwood is done. No more fluffy seeds floating around. And now the tiger lillies are blooming, mulberries are all over the ground, and the new grass is growing like gangbusters.
This is definitely summer!
I'm glad I've gotten most of the sweaty work done now... shoveling dirt, moving rocks, clipping apart trees, etc.
I'm gonna try to get a start on the form for the firepit cap today after work... measuring and cutting 1X4s.
------------{=0=}------------
8:41PM
The EBay monitor was delivered two minutes before I had to leave today, so I put the box in Dad's room, and it's still there now, unopened.
PenFed has looked over my information and accepted me! But I still have to jump through some more hoops to get that Visa card.
I've gotta send them a signed form, along with a check for five bucks... to start a savings account (because they're a credit union). But I don't have any checks, so I have to take care of that first!
Still... it's nice to see that such a prestigious credit union thought this scrubby little janitor was up to their standards!
--<>--
After hanging out in back with the kitties and puppy for a while, I got to work in the yard.
I removed most of the bricks from the old shed site grass mat, and then I opened up the basement and started measuring and cutting boards.
Pictured above are my eight form boards, as clamped to the top of the firepit the way I had pictured.
But as you can see here, the walls of the pit are not very straight...
And they're not very plumb either... leading to gaps like this!
--<>--
So, it was imediately obvious how I need to proceed...
I need to get the boards to bend and conform to the walls of the firepit.
To do that, I need three clamps, per wall... tightened onto those interior and exterior boards, for several days... slowly adjusting the tension as the boards gradually warp to fit the walls.
And for the outside corners... where I can't clamp... I'll need to drill pilot holes and drive in long screws to coax them to bend and meet one another.
--<>--
In other words, I have to form the form!
I have to start by making sure the top edges of all the boards are level with respect to one another and the ground... and then it's just a slow process of bending the boards until they're conforming as closely to the walls as they can be.
Once the form has taken form... then I can put in the castable cement... flush with the top edges... and I should have my perfectly level platform for the cap stones.
And then, of course, actually mortaring the capstones on will be another phase of the project.
--<>--
I ordered eight more clamps on Amazon tonight, and they should be here on Thursday.
After that it could take several days before I'm ready for the cement... which will take a day or two to cure, before I can remove the form.
So, we are looking at finishing the cap by Independence Day.
That's a Tuesday, but I DID put in for Monday the 3rd of July off!
So... the goal here is to finish the cap over that four day weekend at the start of July!
It would be nice to have that first fire, on the 4th!
I can pretend all the fireworks are to celebrate me finishing my firepit!
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
The cottonwood is done. No more fluffy seeds floating around. And now the tiger lillies are blooming, mulberries are all over the ground, and the new grass is growing like gangbusters.
This is definitely summer!
I'm glad I've gotten most of the sweaty work done now... shoveling dirt, moving rocks, clipping apart trees, etc.
I'm gonna try to get a start on the form for the firepit cap today after work... measuring and cutting 1X4s.
The EBay monitor was delivered two minutes before I had to leave today, so I put the box in Dad's room, and it's still there now, unopened.
PenFed has looked over my information and accepted me! But I still have to jump through some more hoops to get that Visa card.
I've gotta send them a signed form, along with a check for five bucks... to start a savings account (because they're a credit union). But I don't have any checks, so I have to take care of that first!
Still... it's nice to see that such a prestigious credit union thought this scrubby little janitor was up to their standards!
After hanging out in back with the kitties and puppy for a while, I got to work in the yard.
I removed most of the bricks from the old shed site grass mat, and then I opened up the basement and started measuring and cutting boards.
Pictured above are my eight form boards, as clamped to the top of the firepit the way I had pictured.
But as you can see here, the walls of the pit are not very straight...
And they're not very plumb either... leading to gaps like this!
So, it was imediately obvious how I need to proceed...
I need to get the boards to bend and conform to the walls of the firepit.
To do that, I need three clamps, per wall... tightened onto those interior and exterior boards, for several days... slowly adjusting the tension as the boards gradually warp to fit the walls.
And for the outside corners... where I can't clamp... I'll need to drill pilot holes and drive in long screws to coax them to bend and meet one another.
In other words, I have to form the form!
I have to start by making sure the top edges of all the boards are level with respect to one another and the ground... and then it's just a slow process of bending the boards until they're conforming as closely to the walls as they can be.
Once the form has taken form... then I can put in the castable cement... flush with the top edges... and I should have my perfectly level platform for the cap stones.
And then, of course, actually mortaring the capstones on will be another phase of the project.
I ordered eight more clamps on Amazon tonight, and they should be here on Thursday.
After that it could take several days before I'm ready for the cement... which will take a day or two to cure, before I can remove the form.
So, we are looking at finishing the cap by Independence Day.
That's a Tuesday, but I DID put in for Monday the 3rd of July off!
So... the goal here is to finish the cap over that four day weekend at the start of July!
It would be nice to have that first fire, on the 4th!
I can pretend all the fireworks are to celebrate me finishing my firepit!
°¦}
