I mentioned in an earlier blog that concreting in posts was made easier by the use of "Postfix" concrete, which I obtained from our local Homebase. Each bag (as shown below) is just sufficient to fix one post (assuming you have dug it the right size and depth).
Here is a close up of a post in a hole ready to be concreted in - as described the trick here is to get the post fixed in position and screwed to the joist before pouring in the concrete mix and adding the water.
Here, below, you can see progress with the final sections of the base; this has involved more hole digging for support posts.
Below you can see the final joists in position and more posts fixed in position and waiting to be cut down flush to the top of the joists; I will then have the final three pieces of post "off cuts" that I need to complete the foundation joist work.
And so (as shown below) with those final three pieces of post in position waiting to be concreted in place, the end approaches for the foundation work.
This shot also shows (in the foreground) the small triangular section of the base as described in an earlier blog.
And finally, with the last posts cut back to joist level, the framework is complete !!
It is this stage that the blog catches up with reality, and we enter the world of "real time";
Up to now, as I am sure you have been aware, the blogs have been a bit behind the actual progress of the work, enabling me to provide regular updates even when nothing much had been happening. From here on the blogs will be produced as the work moves forward, so publication may be less regular - depending on the weather and other priorities !!
As you will note from the above picture I have laid down an area of landscape material, this covers up some bare earth and this in turn will be covered with more pea shingle - I shall be ordering another Jumbo Bag of pea shingle tomorrow and hope to have that delivered later in the week. Once that's down (and I have fixed a bit of loose cement grouting round the bottom of the patio doors) I should be able to start Phase Four - the fixing of the top deck boards !!! The boards you can see in the shot above are not fixed down; these were just laid in position temporarily to store the garden furniture.
I shall report further once the pea shingle has been delivered and spread out.
