It's a HAPPY fence.

Conventional wisdom tells us we need string lines, tape measures and levels when we build a perfectly straight and true fence. It's simply not our way when the Imagination Corporation does the work. The fences we build are HAPPY! Today we started the fence around the bumper boat pool. It, like the fence at Giggle Ridge next door (built thirteen years ago) is a happy fence. It winds and undulates, swaying as necessary along the way. It's not the easy or quick way to build a fence but it sure is FUN!

I set the sturdy steel sleeves in the concrete curb around the pool last week, carefully planning where the fence would rise and fall or which direction it would lean. They may have looked haphazard to the casual obsver but they were definitely not. The prefabricated posts were then slid over the sleeves, raised to the appropriate height and welded into place. We then used our hydraulic bender to shape the 'horizontal' rails to follow these pleasing curves. The tricky part is to get the bottom and top rails to match for the square tubing most often needs to be bent in two directions to allow the sections of fence to flow together seamlessly. Big Matt was doing that task today and worked up quite the sweat as he travelled from the bender to the fence and back again many times to get each piece perfect. The end result was pretty cool. Andrew's task was to weld the sections in place. He works for the owner of the project. He'll also be welding all of the upright steel pickets in place. That task is even more work as nothing is vertical but everything still needs to be perfectly spaced to look right.

In the picture you have to look past the VERY BRIGHT base colors of the lighthouse feature and you can see the fence around the bumper boat pool. Chris, the owner is on top of the building forms admiring it from the other end.

While we worked on site, some of our crew were back in the shop building even more fence posts. We'll need many, many more to finish the very long fence around the property. It looks like a forest inside the shop with all of the posts and trees currently in production.

I spent most of the day (when I wasn't required to eyeball the fence rails) under my welding helmet building the sub-structure for the wharf around the lighthouse waterfall which will keep the bumper boats from flooding. I also started building the steel forms for the sculpted concrete rock wall which will undulate under the fence to match the curves above.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's construction report...

-grampa dan

Day one on site

After six weeks of prefabrication of features and a morning of getting ready it was finally time to head up to Cultus Lake Adventure Park for our first day working on site with a crew. The site was busy with the concrete formers, block layers, electricians, the excavator operator, welders and the owner's crew already there working hard. While my crew unpacked our tools and materials and started work I helped the owner mark out the walkways, retaining walls and features oround the east entrance. We referred to no plans but instead simply paced things out and sprayed marks on the ground. As soon as we moved out of the way the tractor moved in and began scraping the earth, the operator watching our hand signals to know how deep he needed to go. The park is being built to a visual standard rather than the drawn plans which are instead only a starting guidelline. As-built plans will satisfy the engineers and building inspectors when we are done.

In between the laying out I bounced over to the other side of the bumper boat pool keeping an eye on the work my crew was doing. They needed little direction for they knew how things worked. The boys worked on the final wiring of the tall posts while the ladies began splashing the first color onto the lighthouse base and sign. Look close in the picture and to the right you can see five members of our crew hard at work. In the backgound the bricky is laying the first of the concrete blocks. Everywhere conduits and rebar are sticking out of the ground, ready to hook up to and become the starting point of something cool and fun.

Tomorrow, for the first time since the project began, we will begin the vertical work, tipping the fence posts into position and starting the welding of the fence structure. We'll also begin work on the themed bumper boat pool edge and planters.

It's time to rock and roll! Stay tuned...

-grampa dan

Cooking up a visual laugh

For the Trinidad project we are featuring pirates but not of the ordinary kind. These pirates are Gruffles, most definitely creatures of uncertain origin, and so ugly they are kind of cute. The master of the galley is 'Cookie'. While not especially appealing to adults I'm sure the kids will love him and all the food served in his galley.

While 'Cookie' is plenty funny on the food service sign, the punch line would be lined up on a shelf above the serving area for the food. These would be Cookie's alternate utensil attachments for his arm, used for different foods he might be preparing.

At the Sculpture Magic Workshop I always sculpt a sample piece to demonstrate my methods. This time I decided that Cookie would be the perfect piece. Over the course of three days, in between my teaching he was completed.

As time permits in the next weeks I'll begin work on the sign and the utensil rack as well. There's a host of these characters to create for this project. Imagine the fun to be had. Aaaaarrrrrg me maties!!!!!

-grampa dan