Posted By FarmerJ on October 13, 2009

We took another step in the Recovery Program!  Yesterday, ‘the guys’ showed up to begin preparation for the shop pad to be poured ~ thankfully the snow we received on Saturday had melted and the ground had dried out somewhat.

I don’t think Darling Husbie and I really knew what we were expecting, but I can say with certainty we were not expecting the guys to dig a three foot trench for the footing!  But they did ~ they had a really cool trencher that made rather quick work of it.  Seeing the trench really put into perspective for me how big Husbie’s new shop is going to be.  I’m so glad.  After this disaster, he deserves a terrific shop!

Today, the guys showed up shortly after the sun woke up to do a little last minute fine tuning to the trenches before the cement arrived.  It was a cold morning ~ about 23 degrees with the windchill and misty.  They were ready for the cement within 40 minutes, but the cement wasn’t ready for them.  They decided to wait it out in the warmth of their truck.  It’s a good thing, too, as it took nearly two hours for the cement to arrive.

Once the cement arrived, though, things moved right along.  Here, the guys direct the truck along the trench.

The Bobcat filled it’s bucket full of cement and dumped it into the trench on the far side, since this cement truck couldn’t quite reach it.

About thirty minutes later, the second cement truck arrived.  I could tell right away, this driver had an entirely different ‘style’ than the first driver ~ more of a get ‘er done type of style.  He hopped out, spoke to the foreman, observed driver number one, gave some feedback and then took action.

Driver number two waited until the guys were finished with driver number one, and then moved right on in.  He had the guys place their ramps over the trench and guide him back.  I think they were glad to work with driver number two ~ he was definitely making their job easier!

Er…at least it seemed that way…according to the weird woman peering from the second story bedroom window…snapping photos every now and then.  I wonder if they ever got that ‘ever feel like someone is watching you’ feeling.

Once all the cement was poured into the trenches, the guys set in the rebar and the conduit for the new electrical wires.  The temperature was dropping, the wind was picking up and the rain was falling.  The guys worked on.

The crazy woman in the window upstairs was preparing to take the guys some hot cocoa ~ except that by the time she got the water hot, the guys were driving down the driveway.

Perhaps tomorrow…

Categories: Shop Disastrophy & Recovery
Tags: