Back to site today for a few hours to set up the concrete forms for the other side of the gate. We used a builder’s transit to set the forms to within 1/32″ of the height of the forms already set in place on the other side:
Did you spot the chipmunk?
A few cross-straps are yet to be installed on the tops of the forms, which will only take a few minutes to complete. The rebar is epoxied in at all locations, and I brought 10×80-lb. bags of ready-mix concrete to site, which is a bit more than half of what will be required altogether. So, things are looking all ready for concrete pour next week, weather-permitting, save for the threaded rod setting jig I need to fabricate next. I’m planning to work on that on Monday and have already acquired the necessary materials. The six threaded hold down rods are all high strength stainless steel of various diameters, depending upon location.
A view of the scene – wish I had that wide-angle lens:
The above photo is of course from the inside of the garden looking out to the parking lot.
One more, showing the side we just installed the forms in, now viewing from the entry side of the gate:
Also took the opportunity to remove all the metal shoes and brackets from site, which I took to a metal recycling place back near my home – a total of 1100 pounds of steel.
The MFA has agreed as well to my proposal to move the rear posts back slightly – about 5″ – from the original locations. In the original configuration, the gate doors did not clear the rear posts when fully opened, and thus banged against the rear posts. The repositioned posts, already accommodated in the concrete forms now installed, allow the doors to tuck in as they should and will also require that the gate paving be adjusted – a situation mentioned in an earlier posting in this thread. The paving work is outside the scope of my contract, though I did bid on it. I’m kind of glad not to be doing that work though as setting irregular-thickness pavers on a gravel bed seems like a hassle to me, at least in terms of trying to achieve a surface that tens to stay even over time.
All for now. Have a good weekend, and I’ll be back to site early next week, Tuesday is scheduled, to pour all the concrete. It will be satisfying to reach that stage of the job, and i hope you’ll tune back in to see what unfolds. On to post 12.