I packed up the Subaru on Monday, October 21 and we drove over to Astoria to prepare for the big day.
Tuesday morning dawned clear and sunny. We couldn't have imagined more perfect weather for the installation. Gorgeous, dry day in Astoria in late October? Wow!
My installer for the project was Brad Laidlaw, of Campbell's Custom Tile. When I arrived, he was prepping the surface for installation. He needed to float some thinset to get the level up to the perfect setting height.
The stainless steel band was not 100% perfect, so I had to pull out a few tesserae and cut some new pieces to better fit the space. On one other edge, Brad used a diamond blade cutter to trim some excess, so it would all fit. Then, we were ready to set!
Next week they will install the big stone pavers that will complete the paving around the mosaic.
I was hoping to go back on Thursday morning to get some shots of the mosaic with one night cure on the grout. But when we arrived, the mosaic was covered with the tarp, and they were using big trucks to shoot in topsoil in areas near the mosaic pavilion. There was also a huge crane truck that was being used to move pre-cast concrete blocks into place. So, we'll have to wait till after Thanksgiving to visit the garden when it's complete!