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Tuscan Veranda Project: Perimeter Masonry (Phase 1)
Tuscan Veranda Project: Perimeter Masonry (Phase 2)
Tuscan Veranda Project: Perimeter Masonry (Phase 3)
Tuscan Veranda Project: Perimeter Masonry (Phase 4)
Project begins: April 2020
I had not planned on doing any masonry this Spring due to lack of time but after the Coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home order, I found myself with plenty of time for projects. Also, the gym closed so I needed something to do to keep in shape. Building another crescent planter seemed the perfect solution.
Continuing on from the north-facing stairs in Phase 4, I wanted another crescent planter before wrapping the perimeter masonry back to the house. First step was excavation.
This was the dry layout to give me an idea of where the footing forms needed to be. The design, as was the first crescent planter, is five layers of bricks to the height of the patio, then four more layers.
Forms for the footing completed, as well as irrigation.
Concrete poured and the first layer of bricks set.
Crescent planter completed May 10th 2020
It took almost two months to complete, but only had time to lay about 15 bricks a day on weekdays, 30 on the weekend days. For now, all I am going to do is fill the planter with dirt and wait for the cool weather before planting roses.
Normally this time of year is much too hot to do anything outside but with the gyms closing due to Coronavirus, I needed a home workout so I decided to continue the project. June through July, the temperatures in the afternoon got up to 112F so lots of water and a shady place to rest.
First, excavation. The final stretch of the masonry wall project was just going to be a patio-level wall to contain a paving stone extension of the patio but I liked the crescent planters so much that I designed something new.
The footing was the first challenge. Because of the rise on elevation, I had to pour three levels of footing, each one a brick layer higher than the other.
The dry layout before finalizing the design. Plumbing extended from the irrigation line.
Three significant events at this point:
- As the temperature rose in the afternoons, I had to create a rest station in the shade so I set up a shade structure.
- Ran cable for low-voltage electrical connections.
- I ran out of bricks and had to order three pallets of bricks delivered. Phoenix Brick no longer made the kind that I had been using before so I had to buy the closest kind available.
Final stretch of the border wall completed July 1st 2020
As with the crescent planter, I filled most of the planter with regular dirt and the top 12 inches with garden soil. I have no idea what I am going to plant but it has to wait until the weather cools before I plant anything.
