Old Bricks, New Concrete

People standing in front of screens

For a while now the team has known what materials will be used as in-fill for the screens, but it wasn’t until recently that they were able to see the rope, cable, and galvanized screen together on site! Before the new students arrived, Caleb and Claudia started testing the rope pattern. Four vertical strands were weaved through the screen perforations in a sewing-like pattern and fastened at the bottom of the first and last segment. As well as the stainless steel cables that will run every fifth perforation, in between the rope.

Concrete Curb

This semester started out with the new 5th-year students on site helping the team with formwork, batter boards, and brick rescuing! In the images above, you can see the students making the formwork to hold the concrete in place while it sets, staking it to the ground, and eventually pouring concrete in it. There are four threaded rods that were cold poured into the curb, that will function as anchors for the new pump cover.

“Construction Lines”

Strings in front of metal structures

In preparation for the site being graded again, the students set up guides to know where the edges of the brick pad will be. These strings are ten inches away from the metal screens. Consequently, creating a symmetrical edge on three sides, lining the pad up with the overall grid, and giving the vines that will be planted on the screen some buffer space.

Every Brick Counts

Students cleaning off bricks
Students salvaging and cleaning buried bricks
Stack of cleaned bricks

Before the dirt pile from the previous excavation got removed from the site, it was scoured for any useable bricks. Since the pad will be made up of reclaimed bricks, most bricks found on site are a great addition to the inventory. The students used brushes, hammers, and scrapers to remove any mortar from the bricks before starting a “clean” brick pile.