Scaling the Heights
9 February 2005

Once again we hired the scaffolding tower from down the road.
finishing tall walls
This is the size of opening which we have to fill in at each end of the room.

cecilia on scaffold
Our system is to have any brick chopping done the day before.
Jonni mixes the mortar, and brings it inside in the wheelbarrow. Then I shovel two buckets full,
which Jonni hoists up onto the scaffolding together with several bricks.
While he puts the next load of 'stuff' into the mixer, I get up on the scaffolding and put the
mortar up on the wall. Then I get down and go around the other side of the wall and up the ladder
to catch the excess mortar and patch all the gaps as Jonni lays the bricks.
When we run out of mortar, I come back up the scaffolding and scavenge enough
to patch the inside of the wall.

11 February 2005
cecilia on scaffold
As we get higher (four courses per day) the scaffolding is a little more complicated to negotiate!
I'm not really keen on being up so high, but with guard rails and plenty of hand holds
it's not too bad. I certainly prefer it to being up the ladder on the outside when it gets to this height
as the ground level outside is quite a bit lower and although our ladder is fabulous, with its
adjustable legs, it's quite springy as you climb up it and I feel as if my knees are all wobbly!

flowering gum
So every now and again, I wander out to enjoy the peace and the birds in the garden.

12 February 2005
last bricks
There's now only a couple of bricks left to fill in this wall,
but there's not room to get them in from the inside.

17 February 2005
final bricks
I was very nervous about Jonni having to carry the final few bricks up the ladder

jonni lays last brick
But finally it was in place and the tall walls were complete

cecilia finishing last brick
It only remained for me to do my job of filling in any gaps in the mortar.
While I was perched up there I wrote a little note in the mortar with my trowel saying
"Cecilia was here". I wonder if anyone will ever get to read it!

last wall
Now this is the only wall remaining to be completed.

mudbrick house
The house is looking quite part of the landscape, with last autumn's plantings doing well.

next - Last Brick in the Last Wall

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