Posted By FarmerJ on November 15, 2009

Yikes!  I’ve been remiss in keeping you updated on the progress of the new shop.  We’ve been extremely fortunate with mostly good weather, and the work crew has been hard at it.  They’ve been working steadily for two weeks, with the exception of two days, and the progress has been phenomenal!  In this post, I’ll catch you up on the progress during Week One (2 – 6 November), and then I’ll post about Week Two (9 – 13 November) separately ~ you’ll need to hold onto your socks, though, because it’s going to blow you away!

Actually, I showed you the progress the crew made on their first day ~ remember Darling Husbie standing in his new ‘shop’?  So, we’ll pick up at Tuesday and carry on through Friday.

Tuesday:  The crew arrived eagerly and quickly began fitting the remaining steel beams in place.  They had the last 20′ x 40′ section in place before their 9:00 a.m. card game and coffee break.  Then, they proceeded to install some insulation and siding ~ you know they’re experienced Nebraska boys…they put the north wall up first to block those evil winter northerly winds.

By days end, all beams were in place, reinforcement cables were secure, the north wall was complete and the front entry door was installed.    [That evening, when Husbie got home, we ventured out with the girls to gaze upon this miracle.  Hysterically, despite the entire building being open, Peanut and Abigail both ran up to the door and stood there waiting for Daddy to open the door so they could go 'inside' the building.  Creatures of habit, or just plain knuckleheads? ]

Wednesday:  A ‘busy work’ kind of day.  The crew scurried around the building doing busy work ~ you know, like tightening the hundreds of bolts that hold all the steel beams in place.  A couple of the guys had also begun preparing the forms for the center concrete pad inside the building.  The crazy lady who peers from the upstairs window I called Husbie at work to give him a heads-up on the progress, knowing that he had some things to coordinate with the work crew on behalf of the electrician.

While Husbie was on his way home, the owner of the business (who the crew works for and the guy Husbie’s been coordinating everything for the shop with) came out to view the progress.  His timing was perfect, because Husbie was able to ‘sign off’ on a couple of changes that made things easier on the work crew and better for us in the long run ~ and he was able to coordinate with the guys to have a couple of steel beams installed horizontally in the concrete floor in the 14′ door bay area…his ‘weld and pry’ beams.  Sweet!  My man is tickled pink…er…he’s very excited.

Thursday:  The cement truck arrived bright and early.  I’m not sure how the driver fa-niggled his way into that position with all of the stuff laying around out there, but he did.  And, in a matter of mere minutes, the center pad of Darling Husbie’s shop floor was poured, complete with ‘weld and pry’ beams.

The crew continued to work on tightening bolts, and they got the tracks and mounts installed for the 14′ and two 10′ overhead doors.  They also got the forms in place for the cement approach to the 14′ bay and half of the 20′ x 50′ cement approach along the front of the building.  Oh, and they relocated an outdoor water faucet that was sadly out of place ~ it’s now very conveniently located just outside the 14′ bay door area.  Yay!

Friday:  Yet another cement truck arrived and deposited its load, officially providing us with the approaches described above.  The day held more ‘busy work’ and some time to regroup, reorganize and get ready for ‘next’ week.

You’ll notice how the sky has changed in this photo as compared to the others earlier in the week.  A little front had moved in making it windy and drizzly.  The crew had a very productive week and they were at a good stopping point.  They knocked off a little early, after informing Husbie they’d return mid-week ‘next’ week, as they had another job to finish up.  The weather was supposed to be less than cooperative, anyway.

We were happy.  ♥

I almost forgot…I just wanted to share with you what the Prairie Farmstead Construction Lot looks like lately on any given day.  You’ll see Bobcats, boom trucks, trailers, trenchers, welding trucks and scaffolds ~ not to mention the saw horses, ladders, wheel barrows, shovels, rubber boots…and, of course, insulation rolls and building materials.

Fun, fun, fun!  It all equates to progress ~ and Darling Husbie’s Toy House.  [He'll cringe when he reads that...it's not nearly 'man' enough!]

Categories: Shop Disastrophy & Recovery
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