The First Sod?
17 February 2003

Does the garage count as part of the house? If so, then the first sod turning is happening now!

beginning the excation
I never thought I'd get excited by a couple of machines tearing up the ground,
but it was fascinating to watch the big green machine digging up the very solid ground,
and then the little red 'bumble bee
' swoop in and trundle off with a mouthful of soil,
adding it to a steadily growing mountain of earth.

jonni and mark setting out
Jonni talking numbers with Mark, the concretor.
(Numbers give me a headache, so I make myself scarce on these occasions!)

completed excavation
The 'hole' is complete by the end of the day.

ready to pour slab
By the end of the second day trenches had been dug, platforms of sand appeared
and were covered with plastic. Next came little 'upturned flower pot' looking things,
and finally the mesh stuff inside the timber frame. (please excuse the technical jargon!)
The building inspector came and declared it "perfect".

smoothing the slab
The concrete was poured at 7am next morning, so you can guess why there's no photo of that bit!
I was amazed that by lunchtime, Mark was able to walk on the slab
and set to work with his helicopter to smooth the surface.

mark and heath
I hope that all the people who work with us on our new home take as much pride
in the quality of their work as Mark Kaempkes (from Narbethong) and his offsider Heath Lewindon.

next - The Garage Frame

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