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| Week five started by digging the footings and
placing the rebar. The forecast of rain, and a light shower early in the
week worried us, but it wasn't a problem.
On Thursday morning, we had our first visit from the building inspector. Mark said he hadn't worked with him before, but said that he was a nice guy. He looked around, checked the plans, measured a few things, then approved the construction so far. They're cleared to pour concrete on Friday. Had the inspector found something wrong, he would have "red tagged" the job, meaning construction could proceed no further until the defect had been corrected. (Look at the condition of the wood on the garage, where the green tag was posted. The city won't let us tear this building down, no matter how rotten the wood is.)
Of course, there's no drama in good news, now, is there. I told Leisa that the job had been red tagged--that the hole was the wrong depth and the excavation guy was going to have to come back over, refill it to the correct depth, then compact the soil. The footings would then have to be dug out again. Bad news like this has the same effect on Leisa that pulling a tightly-wound string on a gyroscope does. Leisa starts spinning at about 3600 rpm, just like a gyroscope. I could amuse myself for hours with a gyroscope when I was short. I've outgrown my gyroscope now that I'm old, so my amusement is found now in pulling Leisa's strings. "April fool's," I told her, and she scowled at me. |
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| Friday morning the cement trucks began arriving and they
began pumping twelve yards of concrete down into the really big hole.
Mark, Ernie, and some guy from the cement company were down in the hole, working with the cement. The guy holding the hose is standing just about where Leisa's nightstand will be located. Note that the only thing being poured is a footing. A monolithic pour would have occurred if the footing and slab had been poured simultaneously. But the plans didn't call for that. |
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By late afternoon, the footings were poured, finished, and
on their way towards curing. That afternoon also saw a curiously
out-of-season dust storm, as well as some light rain. It got very cold and
overcast, hence the marginal quality of the photo. I was in shorts and a
polo shirt when I took the photos and was very cold and couldn't wait to
get back into the warm car. Leisa mocked me for my poor sartorial
decisions.
And I had a brief, but pleasant chat with Roberta, who was in the process of feeding the cats. |
 You can see how cloudy it was, as well as how cold it looks. That's Brittany, who had the good sense to wear a jacket, standing atop the mountain of dirt that's still in the backyard. Week Six is Christmas week, and I'm not sure what's on the schedule. I'd be guessing that some block will be delivered and work will begin on the walls. |
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