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06 October, 2015

Pool House Expansion Project - Day Ten - 01/10/15

Day Ten - 01 October, 2015

Ok. Here we go with pouring concrete for the foundation. This is the first of the two major pours. The second will come when the foundation walls are built up and the whole floor for the house is cast.

Bright and early. Everything is almost ready. The gravel and sand are in place. Water barrels need to be filled, and the wheel barrows are ready for a workout.
Almost Ready for the Pour
Here comes 'the machine' as they call it. The mixer and it's operator, or 'Maestro' as they call him. Not sure if he's the actual owner of the machine or not. In any case, he really orchestrates the mixing process.
The Maestro Positioning His Machine
Getting closer to being ready. Here they're positioning the cement bags for ease of use while the mixing is going on. This is what they call a one-bag machine. A whole bag of cement goes in, along with a little water, and buckets-full of gravel and sand (I think six of each - I really didn't count that close). A couple minutes later, and the mix is ready.
Getting the Bags Ready
Here, we're all set. The water barrels have been filled and the crew is getting ready. It's really quite a ballet that doesn't stop till the pour is complete.
Maestro About Ready to Roll
And, the action starts. The crew (provided by the Maestro) begins vigorously filling five-gallon buckets of sand and gravel - about six of each.
Feeding the Machine
As soon as they get their buckets full, they begin heaving them into the machine. Nobody gets in the other's way. It's quite something to watch.
Working Fast and Smooth
As soon as they empty all their buckets and the Maestro puts in a bag of cement, the whole process starts all over again.
Smooth Choreography
In short order, the mix is ready. The Maestro rotates the drum and it begins filling the barrows.
Filling a Barrow
Once the barrows are filled, they immediately head over and begin dumping their loads into the trenches. Hard work for sure. But they work at a feverish pace, maintaining it clear through to completion of the pour.
Manpower Moves it Along
As you can see, it moves right along. This pour was maybe two hours long, of some quite intense work. Don't forget the temperature is in the mid-ninties, in direct sunlight, and the humidity hovers right aroun 78- to 85-percent.
Fill Moves Right Along
As soon as a barrow-load is dumped, Carl's crew comes along with shovels and tamping sticks, and begin smoothing out the newly poured concrete.
Another Load in the Trench
Omar ensures that as the pour progresses, that the correct height of the pour is consistent throughout. He also does the final smoothing of the pour as it moves along.
Smoothing the Pour
No coffee or smoke breaks while the pour is going on. It's just continuous and sustained hard work from start to finish.
The Pour Continues
Here's Omar with his large float, doing a final smoothing of the poured concrete.
Omar Doing a Final Smoothing
And, finally the end of the pour approaches. Only one or two more barrows to be dumped.
Last Load of the Pour Is In
There. Finished. Now, there's still a lot of work to be done. All the tools and equipment has to be cleaned up. Trowels, floats, barrows, and the machine all must be cleaned. The the Maestro and his crew load the machine, their barrels, and their hose back onto their trailer and away they go. Our job was early enough and small enough, they may have gone on to another pour. Who knows?
All Done
There's many more photos than appear in each posting. You can see all the photos of the construction project on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/gp/winjama/0wVc3s. There will be new photos added each day of the project.

2 comments:

Wilma said...

Very exciting!

Dave Rider said...

Hi Wilma,
Thanks. We think so too. This is something that we've wanted to do for a long time. It's nice to see it moving along as fast as it is. I know it will seem to slow down once the raw construction is done, but for now - full speed ahead!
Cheers,
Dave