Yes, I know the new started last week but there was not a moment to mention the New Year's resolution in the last post. The second week of the new year started off just as busy as the end of last year.
Monday, at home, rocks were delivered from a local materials plant and the Banjo fittings that had been on back order since forever ago finally arrived and were installed. Having rocks delivered is a funny thing. These rocks aren't local even though they are bought locally. These rocks come from the great beyond. To guess, probably from big city #1 or there about. Rocks of this nature are limestone meaning they are well-traveled rocks. The closest limestone quarry is two hundred miles away. It might have been cheaper to buy these materials straight from the source but time is of an essence and buying locally helps supports the economy. Besides, the week is busy enough without traveling for the sake of rock purchase.
Tuesday, sand was picked up from a different local supplier. Sand! We are surrounded by sand yet had to buy sand. What a wacky world. What is the difference in this sand? Well, this sand is sifted and cleaned. There will not be any broken pieces of hermit crab claws or mullet teeth. The process used for concrete sand is similar to that for playground sand. This sand just happens to be more coarse than playground sand.
The kid was beside himself. He has been warned and threatened within inches of his life to stay off the sand. Playground sand he is not allowed to play in, on, or near. Let's see how long that lasts. What's your bet? A week? Two?
Teeth were removed from the larger backhoe attachment for the tractor and the very first hole was dug.
This process went surprisingly smooth. Having two people to do the job would have been nicer but one made do, it just took lots longer. Having to stop every few bucket fulls to ensure proper width is time-consuming , however, having holes too large costs more time and materials to refill. Not too big, not too small, it has to be just right little bear....
Wednesday, hole two and three were dug with the same process. Water from the high tide table seeped into the first hole and filled about three to fours inches in depth. Sorry, no picture of this was taken. Gonna have to work out a solution to that problem before concrete can be poured.
Upon completion of the third hole, mats for the concrete tubes were created. Mats are easy to make and the kid was a great help. Rebar was delivered in 20' rods. Mats are 3x3. The Planner does the cutting, the kid creates the mat, and together they tie it together.
While not completed, mats still require chairs to hold off the bottom of the hole, they look professional. Learning how tight to tie the wire took some trial and error. As you can see by the picture some bars are crisscrossed with wire and others are not. Won't know what works best until the first mat is installed in the hole.
Thursday and Friday, concrete cages were assembled. Not completed, but mostly. Where the mats were easy to make, the concrete cages were a bugger and a half. Lots of explicit words were stated during this process. Pre-fab rebar hoops were not the same size making cylinder lopsided and difficult to work.
Wires were cut and retied when cage shifted during set up. And sometimes, well, so far just one time, the whole cage fell apart at pick up and was promptly chucked across the workshop. Wow, the racket made during that show of patience was deafening. Let's not do that again, please and thank you.
The rebar feet (L bars, if you want to be technical/professional/correct) were cut and bent but not attached to the cages. This will be done right before they are dropped into holes.
Lastly, a concrete chute was assembled to assist in pouring concrete into the holes and concrete tubes. It was a busy, busy week and the fun has just begun. Tomorrow, we pour concrete.