A Twisted Tail of Walls and Cracks

Today I was able to hang around long enough to learn a thing or two about putting together wall forms.  It was kind of like a grown up version of legos crossed with tinker toys with a twist.

First they had to put all the bent rebar around the curve and tie it in place.  I learned right away that they don't actually twist the wire ties with their thumbs, as I had imagined.

They had a little hook like a crochet hook that they used.  They call it a pig tail, and they wrap the wire around the two pieces of rebar they want to join, pass the hook through the loops on the ends of the wire and then it's all in the wrist.

Five or six rotations and it's snug as can be.

These guys really didn't like my curves.

Except that's not what they called them.  In construction speak it's a radius not a curve.  The plural of that would be radiuses, never radii, because Latin is not a language, it's an adjective.

Before long, it was time to hand up more side walls for the forms.

One for you and

one for me and

a bump of the bolt,

a triangular wedge of steel through the slit, and it's right as rain.

Since I'm getting so up close ane personal with my photos today, I thought you might like to meet some of the fellows that were working on the walls.  We'll call them the wall family.

Here's Harvey Wallbanger.

This, of course is Captain Hook.

At first I thought this was Willie Nelson's little brother, Timmy, but then I thought his bandana and pigtail made him look kind of nautical and his scampering around on the wall was somewhat like scampering in the rigging.  So, I knew just who he was when I came back later in the day to see the wall all ready for the inspector in the morning:

One glance at the still unfinished wall and the voice in my head took on a decidedly Jack Aubrey tone, as it yelled,

"Killick!  Damn your eyes!  Light along there, Killick!"

So, the bandana wearing pig tailed fellow is "Preserved Killick" from the Patrick O'Brien books.

(Don't worry about the voice in my head.  I poked it with a Q-tip and it went away.)

And finally we have Sparky. 

We need to have an intervention with Sparky.  He has a pretty serious crack problem.

And I hope the Physics teachers out there will explain the phemonemon of those pants.  How do pants belted below the rump and carrying a hammer and a 25 ft. tape measure not fall down?

And speaking of falling down and the Wall family, did anyone else ever do the Wall family crank call?

May I please speak to Mr. Wall?

I'm sorry.  There is no Mr. Wall here.

Oh, then may I speak to Mrs. Wall?

No.  There is no Mrs. Wall either.

Johnny Wall?

No. There are no Walls here.

Then how do you keep the roof up?

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