Return of the Arch Nemesis

When Jason the Mason set up the first arch form, I had serious reservations.

It seemed that he left a little more than the 5 inches he said he needed to form the arch with bricks.  It also seemed that his arch was… shall we say, freeform?  Builder Gary was lying in wait for the inspector while the masons were making the arch.  I walked back to admire their work, but I didn’t find much to admire.  Once I made my concerns known, there was a bit of distress on both sides. I didn’t get a photo of the first arches before they were torn back down.

From the back of the yard, you can just see that the highest point of the arches would have been about 6 inches below the height of the French doors. 

The next day, I came back and the arch had been rebuilt.  It looked much better.  The masons teased me and told me that they had built it back just the way it was before.  So, I told them I was going for my sledge hammer.  Actually, I went for my tape measure and made sure that it was 96” in the center of the arch.

That’s more like it the 8 ft. door beyond just fits into the arch.

Santa wouldn’t let me down!  I’ve been very, very good.

Then another form and carefully fitting the bricks in place

One mason on the inside of the arch,

and one mason on the outside of the arch.  I noticed who got the shady inside job and who got the sun on the back of the neck job.

I guess that when you are the one writing the paychecks, you can choose which side of the wall you lay brick on.

By the end of the day, they had moved the arch forms around the corner.    Four down and three to go.  The tops of the arches were left blank, because they can go faster on those parts.

And speaking of leaving things blank, I think we need to talk.  I did say quite a few times that I wanted the brick work to look old.  I even said that I wanted the mortar to be messy.  Now, I’m just sayin’ but anyone else think the underside of this arch needs a little work?