July 30 and 31, putting up the canopy

On July 30 I began putting up the canopy frame to shade my slab from the intense solar irradiation which combines nowadays with 100+ degree heat in the daytime.  That cannot be good for my poor slab, which was not designed as a patio and does not have any expansion joints.  I'm thinking now that building will not be resumed until sometime in September.  I have to find another builder, get estimates, and I have other things to deal with now also.

 Just a couple days before, I had quickly moved all the canopy parts from the backyard patio (where I put them shortly after arrival) into the house and garage.  Each pole (and there are about 50 of them, because the fit together to make larger poles) had to be shaken and carefully inspected for bugs.  I did not want to be bringing bugs into the house, or even the garage which is attached to the house through an often open door.  The forecast had been for rain on July 29 and 30 resulting from a tropical storm.  Well, false alarm, there was no rain.

But having all the poles inside the house in the cleared out living room (after party previous weekend) made it easy to start putting the poles together as required.  With the comfort of air conditioning.  And that was helpful because although I didn't start until around 11pm, it was still above 90 degrees and very hot, humid and uncomfortable outside.  It was hard to imagine ever getting it up, but once started such projects seem to drive themselves, and I had the frame assembled before 2am.

Then on July 31, after I had been doing yard work and gate repair all evening since about 7pm, I began putting the cover on the canopy frame at.  It was even more hot and uncomfortable, but I got the canopy frame braced with stakes and the cover put on before 2:30 am.

Then on August 1 I got some pieces of wood to cover the portion of the slab not covered by the canopy.  I had a 4x8 sheet of the cheapest plywood available cut in half.  I was a little afraid that I would not be able to fit the full 8 feet of plywood into my car, so I had one foot lopped off one end.  Then I used that extra piece to bridge the gap (mostly between the two sheets of plywood.  There is still a small gap which can be filled with one of the pieces of 2x4 Ronnie left behind.  The plywood sits on 4 cement pavers that sit on top of the plastic on top of the slab.  I has still not removed that plastic.