Diagon Alley Project – Day 5

Today was a shop day because of the rain. Perfect because I needed to figure out how to make the Ollivanders turrets.

Was getting a little frustrated with the cracking plywood when I tried bending  it around the structure, so I threw the parts in the pool for about and hour and that did it.

Wet plywood bends easier.
The bases of the Ollivanders turrets nearly complete.

My neighbor Bill showed up today to check out what I was doing, I put him to work on Eyelops. He says he is coming back when he can, win!

Diagon Alley Project – Day 4

Ian showed up to help today so I decided to put his creative construction skills to work.

Ian “Roopdogg” ready to go.

Together we started building out some of the facades on Quality Quittich Supplies and Florish & Blotts.

Good progress on the facade work today.

Diagon Alley Project – Day 3

James, one of my oldest and dearest friends, showed up today to help with his boy Reilly, who got to skip class today for a lesson in creative construction.

James and Reilly

I love working with James because we know each other so well that I don’t have to explain things much with him, he gets me and how my brain works. Because of this we were able to put up nearly all the walls today.

Most of the walls are up, now how do I keep them from staying up in a wind storm?

After lunch I was looking at the weather forecast and decided that I needed to build some more structure to keep the coming wind storm from blowing the walls over. So we headed to Lowe’s and got supplies to build a sky bridge.

James on the sky bridge.

Worried about the wind a bit, I am going to keep the structure low for now and build it up after the incoming storms.

Avery is home from school and approves of the sky bridge.

Diagon Alley Project – Day 2

Friends showed up big today! We had nearly 30 show up today to help, drop off supplies or help keep the troops fed. What and inspiring community effort it was.

The boys building panels
Hazel showing up with a load of paint buckets.

We had a real assembly line going with the adults and some of the older kids building the panels, while the kids were priming them.

The first wall is up! Justin is its support currently.
John and Chris starting the Ollivanders turret structures.

We finished nearly 20 panels, built and painted. The first of the walls went up and the vision is becoming reality.

Today great progress was made, together.

Diagon Alley Project – Day 1

Today I drove to Lowe’s and filled my truck with as much plywood and lumber as it could handle, about $640 worth. This is it, I am committed now.

My biggest fans.

Also, I put out a Facebook post with a picture of my haul and asked for help putting together the 24 panels that will eventually make up the basic structure of the alley. Michael and Zoe showed up to help out, yeah my first volunteers!

Zoe and Michael, my first volunteers!
Daisy wants to help too.

I got started on the panels and got 8 of them finished and ready for paint. I am going to need some help to get all these done!

Helping out and learning how to build.

Friends are committing to help tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be amazing. Am giddy with excitement.