Friday October 19th was concrete pouring day. I got really lucky and a co-worker volunteered her son to help do the pour. He and his brother and their friend showed up. The day worked out really well. I worked at my day job in the morning and at 10:30 I went home and got started. First was to fire up the tractor and finish the forming for the passive solar against the solar house. Then I hooked up the water, moved all the cars, and pre-wet down the spot where the mud was to go.
The boys and the concrete truck got here together. We started on the 19X28 pad, the driver helped make sure we did it in a way that involved a whole lot less shoveling of wet concrete. I took one end of the scree board and the boys took turns on the other end. When we got that all in the forms, Nick and Alec went off to work on the sidewalk while I and boy #3 went back over the building pad. About the time the sidewalk got filled up the boys started in with trowels and I went with the driver to fill up the footer I'd formed up for the studio/solar house passive solar stuff. Then I went back to the building pad. We tried the power trowel I'd rented but the mud was still too wet and it just sank and screwed up the flatness of the mud. The boys kept troweling, and I set in bolts for the building and post forms for the covered storage.
About then the boys were done, driver was long gone. So I paid the kids and kept working until I was done enough. Gave the power trowel one more shot but it just never got dry enough before I had to return the thing. Live and learn I guess.
I went back to work, then the store, then came home and covered the building pad and sidewalk with tarps and every other cover kinda thing I could find. Had to steal 2 tarps from the hay for the barnyard. The goats didn't seem to mind. :D
We left it covered overnight and yesterday I pulled forms, and tarps and cleaned up the bits of flotsam concrete.
It looks pretty good. We're going to love having a sidewalk and now I can work on the building and not have to worry about the weather.
One more bit done toward our studio. That makes me happy.
We had a little campfire by the creek last night. With family. And today I ain't doin shit.
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