Summer has definitely arrived. It got up to a balmy 96 degrees today with a heat index over 100 degrees. Fortunately, the heavy lifting is just about over. Over last Friday and today we knocked out the 18th (and final) course. Whew!
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| Installed the door lintel |
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| Western wall complete! Yay! |
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| The good thing about 90+ degree temperatures is that the mud dries mighty fast. Within half an hour of setting a block I was able to pull off the form and fill in the gaps. |
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| Working along the northern wall |
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| Filling in the gaps |
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| Over the span of 18th courses the mud has really caked on to some of the forms making them difficult to remove. I dismantled this one. Not going to need it anymore in the near future. |
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| Filling in more gaps |
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| Building temporary forms for the door lintel. Since there will only be about six inches between the lintel and the bond beam I thought it would be best to make the cob about the lintel in one continuous section. |
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| These recycled screws will help the cob grip the lintel. The gap in between the two 4X4s will help key the cob into the lintel. |
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| Working on the eastern wall. |
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| Filling in above the lintel. |
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| Checking the level of the line level. The southwest corner was about an inch lower than the northeast corner. Not bad. |
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| I added a little cob to few a lot spots. I’ll probably have to do a little bit more but I’d say wall construction is complete. From the grade beam the height is 8′ 3″ |
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| Mission accomplished! On to the roof! |
Wow congratulations. 8' 3" !