Holding Up The Work

It's getting harder and harder to see the new temple.

Lots of stuff seems to always be in the way.

Scaffolding is the major culprit.

But it serves a purpose.

The scaffolding doesn't hold up the building; it holds up the workmen.

Moroni is now surrounded with scaffolding on all the tower roofs.

The men were finishing the scaffolding on the last tower this morning, the southeast tower.

Just below this tower, the crosswalk signal at First South has been captured within the construction fence, not that anyone pays any attention to it.  I hope no one gets a ticket.

Newly repaired brick shines on the northeast tower.

A few feet away our new niche sits quite smugly in the morning sun.

The brick is beautiful but hard to capture amid the scaffolding.  These vertical edges are on the east corner of the north gable wall.

The southeast tower, the last to be scaffolded, is now getting its brick refurbished.  We have watched the system on the other towers.  The old mortar is removed, leaving pink dust everywhere.

All the quartzitic sandstone blocks in the window arches have been examined for potential repair.

A few bricks on the south face have been replaced.

This niche on the southwest tower has been prepared for its quartzitic sandstone veneer.

This beautifully repaired arch is on the northwest tower.

The construction cam is always fun to watch.  The planters on the west side now have concrete bases for forms.  Soon they will have mounds of styrofoam piled around like the north planter does.

Many of you have reassured me that styrofoam is a legitimate building material.  I'm thinking I have some grandchildren who would like to help with this stage.

I hope you can identify the location of this quartzitic limestone and new brick.  This corner is at the northeast edge of the mechanical building.  Can you see the northwest tower base in the background on the left?

I walked west along the back of this building and saw more brick ready to be placed.

From University Avenue my camera looked past the styrofoam to capture a shot of Mr. Dashing Track Hoe.  In the background we can see scaffolds holding more brick.

I checked on the fountain in the south lot.  It's trying to stay out of the way of the ferocious stairs.  The wells for these stairs are a mystery to me.  They are a constant hive of activity for workmen and the forms keep growing with no end in sight.  It's like watching the Twilight Zone.

I'm going  to thoroughly check these out when I get a chance.

Concrete was poured last week for the area around the pavilion.

Pillars continue to rise from the dust in the south lot, enabling the garage roof to move to Second South.  The visible concrete wall below the pavilion marks the north edge of patron parking.  Between the wall and the lower level of the pavilion is a two-way drive.

I love seeing the temple at ground level.

One year ago the south lot was still being excavated.

Now the crews are working hard to cover the south lot.

From the cam we can see workmen on the steeple base.

My camera tried to see what they were doing, to no avail.

The plastic sheeting was dropped off the scaffolding last week.  That's a good sign, right?

The scaffolding grows, but work on the ground continues.

Work continues below ground, too.

Have you given any thought to running a 5K on Pioneer Day from the Provo Temple to the new temple?
Details are here.

Provo is very beautiful in the mornings.

Not that I'm biased.

Finding Our Niche

I was delighted to see this niche at the base of the northeast tower filled in this afternoon.  The original niches had plaster, but the niches in the temple will each have a veneer of quartzitic sandstone.

I've called this stone limestone before.  Recently I've been calling it quartzite.  The final word is quartzitic sandstone, very durable and obviously beautiful.

Some of you have been concerned that the brick added to the north gable didn't seem to match the brick from the wall below.  This week the brick on the north gable wall was cleaned.  The sheen from the mortar is gone and the brick all looks good.

If you were like me, you were focusing on the quartzitic sandstone in the new arch and hadn't noticed the variation in brick color.

Brick was not the only thing to be cleaned.  Have you noticed how much clearer the air has looked from the construction cam lately?  Some brave soul reached out and washed the lens.

Watching the work around the north planter is interesting.  Styrofoam is now being placed there.  I'm still amazed that this is considered durable construction material.

From the cam we can also watch the work on the west planters.  The conduit on the left carries electrical and data wires.

The conduit leads from the mechanical building just out of view from the cam.

Workmen are very busy on the west side forming the planters.

Two masons were building arches over the new west windows.

And yes, I'm sure they are using quartzitic sandstone.

I peeked at the apex of the west gable to check on the gablet holes.

Interestingly, there are no gablet holes on the north gable.  Yes, I'll watch that.

I like to look at the pavilion.

It's now sitting amidst a sea of rebar.  Perhaps you have wondered why the elevator is not against the south steel beams.  The reason is because an elegant curved staircase will rise from the lowel level on the east to the ground floor on the west, behind the elevator.

Pillars are hurrying to fill the south lot.

Brickwork is now well underway on the south face.

The center arch above the entrance is receiving some attention.

Just because my camera can see what's going on doesn't mean I can explain it.

Dentils now flow quietly under the eaves along the entire south face.

Restoration is ongoing on the southwest tower.  I took a better picture of the supports around the staircase newel.  Notice the niche on the left which still has some of the old plaster.

The roof on this tower is being readied for tubing to protect against snow and ice buildup.

The tabernacle is completely covered with scaffolding,

Which means it's also covered with workmen.

I hope they find a minute to stop and smell the roses.