Day 111

…And that thermometer is in the shade. But luckily Big Tub’s air conditioning unit was finally connected, and I made good on my promise to relocate our bed from the Music Room. Since the inaugural night came on a weekend, the Airstream’s accessory cots were brought in so that sleeping in the new addition could be a whole-family affair:

While Decolores’ painters are just plain talented to start with, they still have their tricks-of-the-trade to expedite the process. In the picture below, the three ladders might mean that two of Gil’s crew members are on break while he sprays the A-frame. But in actuality, only one person is assisting Gil, and that man’s job is to reposition the ladders so that Gil can step across to each of them as he sprays a given area. I need to remember to share that trick with my brother…

Deciding it was snack time, Jared keeps an eye on the action in air conditioned comfort:

I had to smile when I found out that professional painters do not care for multi-paned windows much more than I do for many of the same reasons; They, however, just turn the extra time into money, and move on. But the painters were clear up front that the storm windows would need to be removed before their arrival as they had apparently had too many instances of being blamed for damage. I fully understood as I had personally removed & reinstalled many of the storm windows several years ago, and knew that the frames could be tough to work with. Luckily, I now have able-bodied youngsters willing to learn new skills:

Even though the weather was a bit warm for streak-free window cleaning, it would have been stupid to pass up the opportunity to wash off eight years of cobwebs. For cleaning windows, Heloise recommends using a vinegar/water/alcohol cleaning solution wiped off with yesterday’s newspaper. While that may work for some people, my experience gained while working for the fast food joint who, in the late seventies, brought us Speedy McGreedy, was that a squeegee is a whole lot faster at letting sunshine back in one’s life.

As already noted, while I personally do not care much for painting, I was hesitant to call professional painters to work on my house because of the poor workmanship (paint on brick, smushed plants, etc.) so many of the “pros” consider acceptable nowadays. Of particular concern during the freshening of my 35 year old house’s exterior was the health & safety of my rare hosta thomaswilliams plants. I am pleased to report that they survived unscathed:

Readers with a green thumb know there’s a joke in here somewhere. Gil & his crew dramatically exceeded my workmanship expectations, and the house & landscaping both look great. The two hostas with orange markings in the picture above used to be one big hosta, and was located in the path of the new concrete patio. The coloration came from the spray paint used to mark the new patio’s boundaries.

Gil’s crew finished up just as another crew was moving in to form the patio & sidewalk.

These guys (T&J Concrete Finishing) were awesome. Not only did they go to the trouble of setting up a transit to shoot elevations for proper drainage, they graded both the patio & sidewalk areas by hand with picks & shovels. Talk about hard work!

Yes, the forms match exactly with where the garden hose was:

Normally, a concrete truck just backs up to wherever the forms are and dumps concrete from a chute. Through a series of avoidable events, the builder opted for the use of a concrete pumper truck. While I had seen such trucks on the Discovery Channel, this was the first time I had seen one in operation. Basically, the operator parks in a convenient spot & extends a connected series of 3-inch diameter rubber hoses from his truck to the area where concrete is needed. The concrete truck driver simply backs up to the pumper truck’s hopper, and dispenses concrete as the hopper’s level drops:

The working end of the pumper truck’s hose requires a fairly physically fit person to control it as the concrete dispenses in surges. If the hose should get loose, and the man in the white shirt does not hit the radio-controlled stop button located on his waistband quick enough, things could get messy.

Ever wondered how far eight yards (one truckload) of concrete will go? These guys are doing what they can until the next truck shows up:

Timing was critical at The Friend’s Entrance as the elevated porch area had to be poured before continuing work on the sidewalk. The height of the volume being filled in the picture below will come to about the kneecaps of the man in black boots before the fill is complete. If too much time is taken to trowel the porch, he runs the risk of inadvertently being fitted for a set of cement overshoes…

You may recall from an earlier log entry that, due to what I was told is current code, the addition’s footings are unusually deep in areas. The porch area is one of them in that its footing is about five feet deep. So after today’s concrete pour, when the answer Alex Trebek gives is “39,000 pounds”, you can say, “What is the combined weight of the porch & step footings at the Friend’s Entrance to Kim & Tom’s house?”

It was nice to smile for a few days while watching conscientious tradesmen practice their craft. While observing the guys with Creative Marble install the cultured marble surrounds on Big Tub’s previously-constructed pedestal, I had every reason to think it was going to be a red letter week for Project Big Tub progress. But then Big Tub was set in it’s new home, and everyone’s face sank – The pedestal had been built too short.

A first reaction by some was to add some sort of trim around the perimeter to cover the gap. But since the tub was designed to be supported both on the floor & at it’s edges, trim was just not going to hack it. The only right solution is to remove all the cultured marble, and add some height to the pedestal. The first part is easier said than done because the folks at Creative Marble install their product like Fred Terry does hardwood floors – it ain’t coming up without a fight. The builder is working the issue, and currently appears to agree with us on the proper solution.

The same crew who finished the concrete is also signed up to lay brick for the three sets of steps associated with the project. Since the concrete needs to cure a bit before that can occur, I will wait for that to happen before posting more pictures. With luck, Big Tub’s pedestal will be corrected, and I can then show off Rodney & Dennis’s tile work in addition to the rest of the fine craftsmanship the project has seen lately.