Steeple and Slate

My focus today was the steeple.

I tested the capabilities of my camera because I knew you wanted to see the slate.  From the construction cam it appears to be dark patches.

The shingles are affixed to the steeple with copper nails.

Moroni cannot be raised until after the shingles are in place.  The workmen are working as hard as they can.  The white crane will hoist Moroni into place when the slate is complete.

The crane's days are numbered, as in single digits, but no one knows the exact day or hour of Moroni's coming.  The answer depends on how fast the shingles go up.  There's probably a good sacrament meeting talk in this.

The underground entrance is now identifiable.

Forms for the roof nearly cover the labyrinth area.

The doorway on the left will be for temple patrons.  The opening on the right is to the room which houses the pump for the fountain.

Four of the six pillars which will stand between the temple and the underground entrance to the pavilion have been poured.  The floor of this area will be covered with paving stones.  Brides can leave the temple at this point and walk a short distance to the pavilion.

The pavilion will be Victorian in style.  Did you remember that Queen Victoria ruled England when the tabernacle was built?  This will be a beautiful area for brides and their families.  Grooms, too.

The entrance to the pavilion is on the far left. The square footage for the pavilion below ground will be greater than the space above ground, about 3800 square feet total, not an insignificant structure.

This area marks the spot where the elevator will take visitors from the parking garage to the surface.  You recognize the rebar fins because a sump will also be here.

Scaffolding now covers the west side.

This workman drilled into the mortar to secure the scaffolding.

He placed a metal bracket exactly like the two in the upper right-hand corner.

Forms are being constructed for the building over the emergency stairwell into the west garage.

Loads of gravel were delivered this afternoon to the north lot.

The gravel is being poured into the space between Nu Skin's property and the mechanical area on the temple's west lot.  The black on the concrete walls is waterproofing, which was ongoing as I watched.  The machine that delivers the gravel is in the top center of the picture.  Notice the red crane block delivering supplies through the skylight area over the brides' room.

He's working extra hard to deliver as much as he can before he goes down next week.  This is insulation for the two basement levels of the temple.  A different type of insulation, which is sprayed, will go on the inside of the exterior walls of the underground annex.

The gravel machine will work into the evening after the waterproofing is completed on the north wall. 

Later he will fill in gravel on the far west side of the lot.  He's already put some down here.  The workmen can stand on the gravel as they waterproof the upper walls. You can see the workman on the left preparing a water mat for placement.  This mat directs the water to drain down instead of in.

I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful today was.

I can only show you.