Rock & Bobcat

Yesterday we got some work done in the prep for the concrete slab, but not nearly as much as we'd hoped -- because it rained!  Wet ground is much easier for bobcat tires to sink down into.

K got everything organized right in the morning -- rented a bobcat and a plate tamper, and arranged for the delivery of a bunch of Class 5 rock.  She had gotten the 3rd side of the form built within the last couple weeks, so now we needed to level and compact the ground that will be beneath the concrete slab.  The Class 5 rock was to be put on top of the soil -- it compacts together very tightly and makes a strong, dense layer.

Delivery of the Class 5 rock

K was zooming all over in the bobcat, using the shovel to scrape down the dirt.  It was a fairly small bobcat, kinda light, so it didn't quite have enough weight to really move the dirt without a few passes.  But once the rain started, the thing really sunk into the ground and the tires made deep ruts.  So I suppose it's better that it wasn't a heavier model.

Another glitch was that the plate compactor/tamper quit on us fairly early in the day.  It was working for a bit, but then the engine was quitting and wouldn't restart.  I got quite a bit of the rock compacted, but as the rain continued and the bobcat drove over it again, a bunch of the rock got churned into the ground.

Right before the compactor quit and the rain got heavier

It was a very long, grueling day.  I have no pictures from later in the day, because we were trying so hard to just get done.  We finished in the dark, after we used all the rock, and were very frustrated with our progress.   Poor K was beYOND annoyed.

Luckily, we're getting a credit from the rental place on the tamper, so we can continue and hopefully finish up in the next couple weeks.

Concrete Form Day 2

Late start on the concrete form today, because it rained again.  Quite a bit, actually, in the early afternoon.  Eventually, we ran over to Home Depot to get some more wood for the remaining sides of the form.  As soon as we got back home we started working on the back side of the form.  One of the boards that looked pretty straight in the store was actually giving us quite a bit of trouble -- too much bowing and twisting.  We worked until it was dark, and then K brought a work light outside so we could keep going.

The lights behind the trees are a train going by  

It was actually kind of fun once I got a sweatshirt on to keep warm.  We had the radio on, lots of good tunes, and I was dancing around whenever I needed to warm up.  K was determined to get that side done tonight, and we did it!  Eventually got things all straight and square.  Should make the other two sides easier to complete.

So... one side of the form per week, so far.  Plus leveling some of the dirt and adding the gravel and rock after that...   Means we'll be ready to pour the concrete in, like, November?  

Excavator Madness!

Yesterday afternoon, K sends me this text:

        " This happened today :) "

Yup, that is an excavator in our backyard, digging up the stump and roots left over from our tree removal.  I was beyond excited when I got that text!

There have been 2 things holding up any further progress on the garage--
#1:  Figuring out to do with that stump.
The tree stump absolutely had to be removed.  With the way the plans lay out in the back yard, the stump would lie half under the concrete slab of the garage, and half under the asphalt driveway, which will eventually lead to one or both of those surfaces cracking as the dead wood rots away.  It's possible to change the plans, sure, but neither of us wanted that, if we could get the stump out instead.
#2:  Getting the plans OK'ed by the city.  (I don't think she has brought the plans in, yet, so this still remains.)

K asked the excavating subcontractor that they use at her job if, since the job site they're working at is 5 miles from our house, he would come over and see if this was something he could do.  She said he was working on it for about an hour, but got the entire stump and most of the root system up and out of the ground, evened out all the dirt in the area, and then used his shovel to pack down the loosened dirt into the hole left by the stump.  Amazing!!

Here are some pictures and video of the process:

And the result:

Look at how tall these roots are!