Planter Bed Construction

Pictures!
#61

Is that your fountain?

#62

yes. Just omething to look at during the boring, leafless lull of vegas wintersā€¦
hereā€™s another one

neptune spittoon.JPG1280Ɨ960 341 KB

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#63

Did you build those?

#64

i did. The artsy-fartsy concrete molds i got from amazon.

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#65

Back on topic ā€¦

The rain subsided this afternoon so I measured out where the cross-section blocks will go and marked off the perimeter blocks for cutting. :slightly_smiling:

#66

This might seem like a silly question, however, I no nothing of the terrain in Las Vegas. Is the terra-cotta your soil? How do you fire these shapes once they are out of the mold?

#67

you are in a way right and wrong, and at my expense, lol. Our soil is in fact thick tenacious muck when wet, and almost as hard as terracotta when dry. But i didnā€™t use it and used masonry mix to pour into the molds *though now thinking about trying to do just that since you brought it up.
below is what the fiberglass molds look like, with one turn upside down and with remnants of cement stuck from previous castings. I use tan masonry mix btw, as regular gray cement looks drab.

DSC00384.JPG2048Ɨ1536 1.02 MB

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#68

Today I made cuts into the perimeter wall blocks where the interior dividing blocks will intersect.

Interior block placement.jpg720Ɨ540 526 KB

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#69

ā€¦ and the inner transit walls begin!

Inner transit begins.jpg720Ɨ540 523 KB

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#70

Two laterals to go!

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#71

Next time google maps updates their satellite imagery for your house - I want to see the overhead shot!

#72

I couldnā€™t find an update in Google Maps, but hereā€™s one from Bing. My guess it was taken about Fall 2015. The blue shading on the left is a Bing overlay highlighting the street. Notice the mulch pile in the driveway :slightly_smiling:

#73

Youā€™ve certainly done a good job maximizing your use of space. So mich eatible food in convenient reach of your patio.

Iā€™ve spent several weeks in San Diego over the years and Iā€™ve thought it would be a great place to retire myself. The weather is unbeatable. I love the access to the oceans and the desert. I think the thing Iā€™d miss most about the east coast is having a nice lawn and walking through it bare foot. Although I wouldnā€™t let that stop me from moving west. Iā€™m 15-20 years from retirement and doubt Iā€™ll be able to afford it by that time.

#74

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#75

Ready to pour concrete.

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#76

Rebar down anchoring the bricks?

#77

Yes, thereā€™s both horizontals and verticals.

#78

@Richard,

Just curious, do you face plaster the blocks with anything or coat them? Iā€™ve wondered how well cinder block did in uncoated underground application.

Thanks

#79

Nope, not needed in these soils.

#80

Richard,

Any operational reason for the cinderblock barriers on the inside?

I get the outside perimeter but canā€™t figure out the need for the inside divisions.

Mike