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| A short series: Beginning To End, Inside The Wall. |
A short series: Beginning To End, Outside The Wall. |
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| The original walls, 2004 |
| The Extension, Step By Step |
I finally located the small brass SE corner marker up over the ridge (see next photo).
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Now I was able to find my true property line instead of just 'eye-balling' it.
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It turned out to be left of where I had thought when I roughed in the road 39 years prior.
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So I decided I had to correct the direction of the retaining wall on the right.
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And here it is two days later.
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Top down. The lines depict the original direction and the new (click the image).
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For 6 years,  3 insurmountable problems have loomed in the back of my mind. Here they are.
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Could they be moved??   I began by focusing on the biggest rock - the one on the right.
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I propped the smaller one up to use as a base for the hydrolic jack.
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The jack is positioned for maximum leverage.
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Where the boulder meets the earth, before pumping the jack.
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Beginning to apply gentle but firm pressure ...
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Suddenly the boulder lifts quietly from the pocket it formed so long long ago.
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And it lifts some more - as if to say: "See, that wasn't so bad, was it!"
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The gap was filled with solid blocks of rock to lock it in place before the jack was removed.
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The jack is repositioned, reblocked and repumped many times until ...
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The giant rock is finally in place and ready to hold back tons of road fill as heavy vehicles negotiate the turn.   It took three days to move this rock.
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Rock#2 is winched up on its feet and then ...
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dropped on its side.
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To end up in the correct position on the right, it must first be pushed to the left. Then ...
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The rock is rotated 180 degrees so that its 'back' will end up against the road.
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Smaller rocks are positioned to grip its 'buttucks' and serve as a fulcrum.
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Its 'head' is pulled up as its 'foot' rotates down to where it will hopefully fall where intended.
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This hole in the bedrock must receive the foot and lock it into place.
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Beautiful!
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This rock took four days to move.
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All of this time rock#3 has been hung up on rock#1, which did help keep #1 in place.
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Now it is time to move #3, so it has been pushed away.   An excess corner is being detached.
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This will allow #3 to roll easier. At the other end it will provide a level base for stacking.
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Notice the temporary pedestal constructed to carry this rock to its new location.
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The pedestal readjusted itself some under the weight, but it held.
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This third rock took two days to move.
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