2001 Monolith build

[alan molstad]

Update day_____?...um.......... day whatever.


I painted epoxy primer of the sides of the monolith, so they are ready to be coated with epoxy on the next sunny hot day we get.
The only thing left to do is the final coat on the on this side I sanded today .
After that gets its final coat of epoxy I will be all set to drag the whole thing over to the trench I have prepared to receive it and raise it up......(somehow?)

 

[alan molstad]

I must admit, the whole thing is starting to look like what I had in my mind at the start of this project.

 

[alan molstad]

I took the time today and I finished the under ground work in the trench.
I dug down an extra 8 inches, and dumped in pea gravel.
I then found some old paver cement blocks that I dropped down into the trench and then leveled.

With luck they will be where the two legs of the monolith will land when I drop the monolith into the trench and they should help stop the legs from sinking into the ground too much and making it hard to get things level later.

 

[alan molstad]

one last look back before I call it a night...

 

[greenmachines]

Wholly moly, this whole hole will soon be a wholly whole, holy ....... monolith. You thought I was going to say hole again, but it will be filled, so no.

 

[greenmachines]

View attachment 1815648
one last look back before I call it a night...

I think the pavers are a master stroke. Saves it from leaning on one entire plane.

 

[Leinads]

I agree with greenmachines on the paver block and gravel. That will save you a few bags of concrete on the big day! Despite all the rain you've faced lately, I must say you've put in a LOT of effort, and it certainly shows. There's so much enjoyment in watching a build like this come together, and your passion for the project in every post is inspiring! Love it!

 

[Jintosh]

Hahahaha.....I saw the first pic with the pavers down inside the hole....broken. And for half-a-second I thought this was your monolith broken in pieces. I can't be more glad to be wrong.

 

[alan molstad]

as for the painting:


I know , it would be really cool to paint this Monolith that super black paint.
Yes, its a lot of money, but it would be just so cool to see it just black as black gets.

for about one day.....

Then....well,,,the truth will hit hard the next day when you go walking out to see the monolith and you see some birds pooped on it.

so,,,,because I can guess that setting up this monolith will likely be a pit-stop for a lot of the local birds...Im not going to blow too much money on the paint.

I plan to just paint it a normal, flat black, outdoor paint...

and have a ton of extra paint ready to go for the need to cover things in a hurry before a guest arrives.

 

[alan molstad]

Hahahaha.....I saw the first pic with the pavers down inside the hole....broken. And for half-a-second I thought this was your monolith broken in pieces. I can't be more glad to be wrong.

I got to use what I got....LOL

This whole project came about because I lucked into 2 full sheets and 2 half sheets of Vip System plywood, along with 4 thin sheets and a few 2x4s
There was not much you can make with only that amount of wood.
But it came to me that it might be enough to make my dream art project for my back yard!

Now in the beginning I was super concerned to try to copy the movie Monolith.
But I tried to measure things, and I just did not have the needed free wood and free 2X4s to make a move-size prop.

I had normal 4X 8 sheets of plywood, and so I just decided that to get the most bang for the buck would be to make the monolith 4 foot wide.
I went out into the backyard with some long sticks, and I took a look at different heights.

To my eye, the 4 foot wide monolith still looked ok with a height of 11 feet.
So that was my original plan...4 X 11

But due to some errors I made with my tape measure, I ended up with a final height of my monolith that is well over 11 feet.

I decided to try to look on the bright side, and say to people that this was "planned".

We shall see how it looks when its done.

I guess if I think it looks too tall I can just pile up some big rocks at the bottom .

anyway....I just need a few dry hot days to get this ready , and then to start the job of lifting it up by myself, and dropping it down into the 4'6" deep trench I have made ready for it .

Then to level it.....and that means I need NO WIND !
and then to start mixing the bags of cement.

 

[Astyanax]

well,,,the truth will hit hard the next day when you go walking out to see the monolith and you see some birds pooped on it.

Can you put some of those thin wire spikes on top to keep the birds away? The monolith is so tall I'll bet you won't even see them.

 

[alan molstad]

Can you put some of those thin wire spikes on top to keep the birds away? The monolith is so tall I'll bet you won't even see them.

Until you posted about them, had no idea such a thing was out there.

I think I will get the monolith set up, and then if there is a real problem I will order some and just glue them in place,

 

[alan molstad]

another day of rains.....
I needed the rest anyway after digging in the trench yesterday.

 

[alan molstad]

12 hours of solid rain.....
The ditches are full

 

[joberg]

I got to use what I got....LOL

This whole project came about because I lucked into 2 full sheets and 2 half sheets of Vip System plywood, along with 4 thin sheets and a few 2x4s
There was not much you can make with only that amount of wood.
But it came to me that it might be enough to make my dream art project for my back yard!

Now in the beginning I was super concerned to try to copy the movie Monolith.
But I tried to measure things, and I just did not have the needed free wood and free 2X4s to make a move-size prop.

I had normal 4X 8 sheets of plywood, and so I just decided that to get the most bang for the buck would be to make the monolith 4 foot wide.
I went out into the backyard with some long sticks, and I took a look at different heights.

To my eye, the 4 foot wide monolith still looked ok with a height of 11 feet.
So that was my original plan...4 X 11

But due to some errors I made with my tape measure, I ended up with a final height of my monolith that is well over 11 feet.

I decided to try to look on the bright side, and say to people that this was "planned".

We shall see how it looks when its done.

I guess if I think it looks too tall I can just pile up some big rocks at the bottom .

anyway....I just need a few dry hot days to get this ready , and then to start the job of lifting it up by myself, and dropping it down into the 4'6" deep trench I have made ready for it .

Then to level it.....and that means I need NO WIND !
and then to start mixing the bags of cement.

You don't need any wind for a few days to make sure the entire structure doesn't sway in the wind, making the leveling and strength to be compromised. I'm sure that I'm not saying something you've already know...but that Monolith will have to be braced solidly for at least a good 48/72 hours for the concrete to set properly.

 

[alan molstad]

Star date 5/3/2024

The Monolith job site:

Today the rain stopped so I went out to see what things look like now?

I found that the trench that I finished a few days ago was now filled with a foot of water.

While not a great thing to find, I dont think it matters much. I have a lot of pea gravel down there and the cement pavers, .so I may just pump it out when I come to setting the monolith into the trench....

 

[alan molstad]

I was able to apply the final coat of epoxy !
This I "think/hope" is the final step before I will begin the work to drag the Monolith over to the trench and try to lift it up and drop it into position.

So today marks the ending of the final "construction" phase of this project...

I think later today once the epoxy is hard I will try to drag everything over to the trench.
All the tires of the two little carts i have things sitting on are all flat...so its going to be a hard pull to be sure for this old man.

The forecast?....rain....yes, we can look forward to more chance of rain and high winds .

Im going to need to start getting a big pile of bags of cement near the trench...I will need some type of a way to keep them dry and off the ground.
then I will need a way to brace the monolith once I get it in the trench...

So I got a lot to study.

 

[alan molstad]

the final look back before I go have breakfast.
The 2nd coat of epoxy will likely take a long time today to get hard due to the cold temps and the lack of sun.
The epoxy coatings will help with the weather, but I really needed them because I have a feeling that dragging the monolith over and into the trench will mean a lot of rubbing on the ground..and so I hope the epoxy will help protect it from scratches.,

Once it is all cemented into the upright position, I will sand everything, and then hit it with some primer paint, and then about 5 to 7 layers of an outdoor house paint.

Then,,,,I may try to paint them stars that I posted on a few days ago...

"My God, its full of stars!"

 

[alan molstad]

You don't need any wind for a few days to make sure the entire structure doesn't sway in the wind, making the leveling and strength to be compromised. I'm sure that I'm not saying something you've already know...but that Monolith will have to be braced solidly for at least a good 48/72 hours for the concrete to set properly.

right now I think I will brace it like it was a fence post?

With 2x4s and some little posts banged into the ground.

But. the wind is going to be an issue, no way around that.
I will be lucky to find 2 or 3 days in a row without rain.

Im not sure how its going to sit now that all the water is in the trench making that extra soft?..
But the original plan I was attempting to do yesterday when I was working on the trench is to have the monolith sitting so that the bottom is several inches above the ground level.

I was thinking I can always raise the ground up around the monolith if the monolith looks a few inches too high...

 

[Duncanator]

right now I think I will brace it like it was a fence post?

With 2x4s and some little posts banged into the ground.

But. the wind is going to be an issue, no way around that.
I will be lucky to find 2 or 3 days in a row without rain.

Im not sure how its going to sit now that all the water is in the trench making that extra soft?..
But the original plan I was attempting to do yesterday when I was working on the trench is to have the monolith sitting so that the bottom is several inches above the ground level.

I was thinking I can always raise the ground up around the monolith if the monolith looks a few inches too high...

Having the monolith sitting a little high would be a good thing for rain draining. You can build up the area around it with pea gravel so rain water drains away from the big boy.