Thursday, August 16, 2007

going crazy with concrete

Every summer I spend a little time doing construction projects, usually for the same neighbor. Since I have already built decks which totally surround the octagonal house, Jim wants me to pour cement slabs under all of the high decks. The house is built on a hillside, so this necessitates some hefty retaining walls. This past month I have been recalling basement foundation techniques from my building days and putting the boys to work on mixing and moving cement. Because of the inaccessibility of the pour site, we used all dry bags of cement and mixed them with a mixer. All in all, we hauled over 200 bags of cement from the lumber yard, through the mixer and shoveled into the walls. I have done enough damage for the summer, and Esther and I plan on taking a 'bulthuis road trip' before starting school. Stay tuned for the blow by blow.

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