Laying the foundation, etc.
I started by constructing a ring of
luan
10 feet in diameter and six inches
high,
to provide a form for the concrete circle.
Within the ring I dug 3 equally spaced holes,
each about 3 feet deep so there would be
'piers' created going down into the
earth
for more architectural stability than
a mere concrete circle would provide.
Raising the center post
I left a void in the center of the
circle
which was about a foot in diameter.
I dug a hole into the earth throught that void,
going down about two feet or so. The
18 foot 6X6 was then raised and dropped
into the hole, trued up and concrete was
then poured around the post to stabilize.
Raising the sides and circular staircase
The sides are started by laying a
bead
of mortar around the edge of the circle.
Bottles are then laid upon the bead with
the bottoms facing outward and the necks
of the bottles(with corks and/or tops)
pointing toward the center post.
The circular staircase is done one step
at a time. As the layers of bottles
attains a height
of about 9 inches, a
wooden bracket is screwed into the 6X6
and a 2X10, 4 feet long is laid
from the post outward and across the
layer of bottles, every flat side of
the post and at each
of the corners.
| 8 rows high at this point in time |
|
| 3 steps of the winding staircase complete |
Making the Cadenated Arch Doorway
To make a perfect arch, I hung a chain upside
down
from two nails. I then traced the shape onto a
board
and cut it out (twice). Spacing the
two "cadenated" (Latin: cadena: chain) shapes
about 9" apart I then went around the curved sides with masonite
and stood it on a few bricks then 'bottled'
over and around it, kicked out the bricks , removed the
form and"Joila!"...a perfect, cadenated
arch.
|
| Form for cadenated arch (chain-shaped) |
| Six steps done in spiral staircase |
|
| Looks good with snow & ice on it. |
Next Page: (My Graphics Business)
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