The Return of the Rotozip

I was up shortly after light and outside by around 7:30. I was moving a little slow, but tried to quickly get into the groove. The bad news was that it took about five minutes to grind things to a halt.

I knew at some point I was going to need what I affectionately call "half bricks" to fill in awkward areas, including around the five posts. Their more formal name is 2x8 Holland pavers but my description is exactly what they are: a brick, cut in half, longways.

I tried to head this off by collecting some of these pre-cut gems from either Lowe's or Home Depot. What I found during the past few days was that neither store (at least not around here) carries them. D*mn! Looks like a clear case of having to do it myself. So, after a lengthy hiatus, I dragged out my trusty Rotozip.

Having to stop and do custom cuts slowed me down considerably, but there's something to be said to be able to cut a brick to fit! Or, in my case, about eight of them.

Just as I was getting into a groove, Lawrence arrived. He quickly set about ciphering, carefully figuring out what else we'd need from a structural standpoint. Then, we went to buy it (along with some more mortar and cement mix for the bricking). It took a while to buy, load and unload 540 pounds of material and 32 2x6 boards of varying length.

By the time we'd done that, my momentum was lost. I persevered and managed to add about 100 more bricks to the surface, far less than I would have hoped. Dark clouds began to herald the coming rain, so I began to get things cleaned up and put away. Here's the patio when I started. I didn't get to capture today's miniscule contribution because it's drying under a tarp since the forecast falls for heavy rain.

I'm hoping that the rain will finish overnight so that I can get an early start in the morning. The goal? Complete everything but the "soldiering" along the front rim and the rim on the far side. Here's hoping ...