Week Two

So, the 2nd week of our holidays saw more big machines and busy work!

The first load of "A" gravel, which will form the base of the cement pad.

The gravel is spread and packed.  Amazing to watch Ralph at work; he is an artist with the backhoe!  He smooths it out bit by bit, and forms an almost perfect rectangle, just using the bucket very skillfully.

Jean Paul is an excellent worker!  Here he runs the packer.  Not an ounce of fat on this guy.  He just goes and goes and goes.

And then Iain spoke with the slab guy, who, it turns out, has his own way of doing things, a way inconsistent with nicely prepared "A" gravel.  He waned to put the forms on top of this gravel, not dig them in like every other slab layer in the area would do.  Not that he would bother to explain this BEFORE all the work was done on the base.  So then, Iain (with Jean Paul's very necessary assistance) had to dig out the trench for the forms.

Iain and Jean Paul posed when they stopped for a quick break.

There were so many large rocks in the gravel, that a pickaxe had to be used to chip away at them before digging them out.  This had to be done for just about every shovel-full of dirt.

At the end of the first day, Iain was so exhausted he could hardly move!  After two days of work, they were finally done preparing the gravel bed.