Is This a Food Blog Now?

We are happy to report success from the wood-fired pizza oven.  To our loyal blog follower, Gerry, the last photo is for you!

Trellis Complete

With the posts drilled and notched and the beams and arches cut to size and drilled, it was a "simple matter" of assembling all the pieces like a large kit.  The arches are spaced at 30" on centre and the lateral strips are at 19" on centre.  Two honeysuckle and a planned wisteria have been planted with the hope that the trellis will eventually be covered with the vines.

Trellis Posts and Arches

The trellis project started with some left over metal roofing which determined the arc radius that was to be used for the 20 cedar arches.  The roofing was set to be used as a rain shelter over the pizza oven so the rest of the trellis post and beam structure was designed to make that work.

The posts were end-drilled to accept the 12" of rebar that was left sticking out of the 6 concrete piers that had been worked into the plan.  The posts also had to have notches cut and holes drilled to accommodate the galvanized bolts which hold the whole structure together.  The posts were then set on the piers with a large stainless steel washer to isolate the end of the post from any water on the concrete..

The arches were laminated from 5 pieces each 3/4" thick.  Each morning we would clamp-up a new one, then the next morning mark out the bird's mouths and lateral strip locations, remove the arch from the form and start over again.

Patio Paver Slabs II: Installation

The paver installation began by spreading a thin layer of sand over the area and rolling it completely flat.  This was assisted by our feline calico helper who enjoyed the flat sand, especially as the sun warmed it up.  Once the first few slabs were located it became a pretty straightforward matter of setting them down in the pattern.  A few had to be cut and initially I used my skilsaw with a diamond masonary blade which was slow, dusty and shortening the life of the saw with every cut.  Eventually I rented the gas powered cut-off saw which was much quicker and replaced dusty with muddy, but got the job done.  The whole process was completed in 2-1/2 days and involved moving just over 6 tons (12,800 lbs.) of paving slabs not counting sand!   

Patio Paver Slabs I: Preparation

One of the big jobs on this summer's list was to acquire and place the paver slabs for our back patio which connects the veranda deck surrounding the house to the new pizza oven. This is a size of approximately 15' x 36'.

We chose to use the same pattern as the house floor marble tiles but using pavers which were three times the size.  Inside 4" x 4" white and black marble become 12" x 12" dark grey and green outside.  The big squares which are 8" x 8" inside are 24" square (and weighing 92 lbs. each) outside.

Once the design was completed, the materials were ordered and arrived on a truck with a piggyback forklift which was able to deliver them nice and close to the area where they were needed.  The amount in the photo is about 1/3 of the total delivery.