A short day with a new work crew.

It was nearly 11 AM on Tuesday when a new work crew showed up. Angel and his crew, who had done most of the work, had started a job up in Winthrop, about 90 miles away. The last time I saw Angel, he’d told me about how they camped out up there and partied every night. Corey told me they went fishing, too. It seemed like a lot more fun than they’d had at my job site.

This crew would be framing out the deck. They arrived, spent some time waiting around for the boss, got the directions they needed, and got to work.

I was out again so I missed most of the action. I spent the morning with Gary, a pilot who was working for me in Quincy, and his wife Lori. We’d gone out to an early breakfast and then toured an orchard while picking was going on. My client met us there and said some nice things about me to my companions before answering all their questions about growing cherries. Afterward, we tried to take the boat out but it was having battery issues; I guess it’s time to replace Ron’s battery.

The time-lapse camera was running, and that’s how I know how long the workers were here and what they did. It was a short day and they didn’t get much done. But they did start work on the side deck; work on the front deck has to wait until the two missing pieces of metal arrive and are installed.

Here’s the time-lapse:

The four small doors go in quickly.

I didn’t even see most of it happen — it was my birthday and I was busy with other things. Relaxing indoors, writing blog posts, and just taking it easy in the morning and then going out to be treated to dinner at Cave B in Quincy by four pilot friends and two of their wives.

The crew of four guys put my garage doors on: all four of the small ones. I should note here that the “small” garage doors are not all that small: they measure 10 feet wide by 8 feet tall. I wanted them to all be the same size and I needed them to be wide enough to fit my one-ton Ford pickup, which is pretty darn big.

I stopped by early in the day to take a photo for my scrapbook and to answer questions about where I wanted the windows. We decided on the top of each door so lots of light would get in but the casual snooper wouldn’t be able to look in without a ladder.

The garage doors come in panels and are assembled onsite.

The big garage door isn’t expected to arrive until July 15 or thereabouts. The crew will need a man-lift to install it, so they wouldn’t have been able to install it on Monday anyway; the freshly poured concrete needs a full week to cure before vehicles can be driven on it.

The time-lapse shows how the job was done; note the bees on the lens at the very beginning of the movie:

Finally, the concrete slab goes in.

I was up early on Friday. I’d been out late the night before and didn’t set up my time-lapse camera inside the building before going to bed. That meant getting it squared away before the builders and concrete guys showed up.

Fortunately, I’d already run an extension cord into the building, slipping it through a crack in the corner that hadn’t been finished yet. This kept it out of the doorway and off the ground. Corey had tied into my cord for his lights. I spent about 15 minutes in the dark trying to get the camera set in a good position to capture the action. In the end, as the guys started arriving, I gave up trying for perfection and just crossed my fingers. The outdoor time-lapse was still in position and running.

What followed seemed like controlled chaos. Builders began arriving at 4:45 AM. Then the concrete guys arrived. And then the first of four concrete trucks.

I think what amazed me most was that they were able to back a concrete truck into my RV garage. I didn’t realize the space was that big — but I guess it has to be to fit the mobile mansion.

Why yes, a cement mixer can fit in my garage.

The first pour was into wheelbarrows that needed to be moved into place and dumped. Two of the builder’s guys handled that chore while the concrete guys spread the concrete into place.

To get the far corners, they had to move the concrete with wheelbarrows.

The crews moved remarkably fast, with the next truck waiting each time a truck finished up. One of the workers told me that the concrete wasn’t waiting that day — I guess that meant it was setting up quickly. That would explain the urgency in which the concrete guys worked.

By 7:17 AM, they were in the far corner of the building, right beneath the time-lapse camera I’d set up 3 hours before.

Because they knew they’d have concrete leftover, they framed out a small pad in front of my shed and poured that, too. This is great — it’ll help reduce the amount of dust I track into the shed.

The last thing they poured were the post holes for the four front deck posts.

While the last bits of concrete were being poured, the concrete guys were inside, hard at work smoothing and grading the surface. The RV garage has a drain down the middle of it and the concrete surface needed to slope down toward it on all sides. The other garages also sloped gently out their doors. The guys worked with pads and trowels and other tools and equipment to get the surface just right.

Pouring was just half the job — the easy half, I think.

When they were all finished, they sprayed a sealer on the surface. And then they left.

Want to see a time-lapse of the concrete work? Here you go:

Meanwhile, outside Angel’s crew was hard at work adding trim to the building corners and around the windows and doors. The usual time-lapse camera caught the action; you can see it below.

I went out to do some shopping; I was having a big party the next day. When I got back late that afternoon, Corey had just finished cutting expansion joints into the perfect slab. He explained that this would help prevent the concrete from cracking. There was at least one cut running to each of the 36 posts inside the building.

He told me I could walk around inside if I wanted to, so I did. It looked wonderful. He warned me not to drive on it for a week. But yes, it would be fine for the party the next day — and for storing all of my possessions.

My finished floor. The shiny surface is from the sealant they used to help speed up the curing process.

Here’s the regular time-lapse for the day. It doesn’t show much of the concrete work, but it does show the trucks coming and going, as well as the trim work Angel and the guys did.

Getting ready for the big pour.

The last Thursday in June was busy with various crews of workers doing a few last things before the big concrete pour scheduled for the next day.

First, Angel and the guys came by to set the posts for my front deck. The deck had been left off the original plans so the posts were never set for it. That was probably a good thing anyway — it gave the crew more room to work around the front of the building. Since deck framing wouldn’t happen until later and this deck didn’t have an overhang, the posts weren’t really needed until the end of the project. It made sense to set them and pour concrete when the slab was being poured.

Once the poles were in place and supported above their holes, the inspector came. We chatted for a while before he left. Nice guy.

After lunch, one of the concrete guys showed up. He needed to do some form setting for the job. He didn’t stay very long.

Corey showed up later. He spent most of the time setting up lights in the RV garage/shop part of the building. The pour was supposed to start at 4:30 AM and it was still mostly dark then. I didn’t watch because it started raining and I got called out to fly. He was just finishing up when I returned.

I wandered around the building site later in the day. The interior had been completely cleared out except for a few concrete forms. There was an air of expectancy about the place. Friday would be a busy day.

I went out that night and, when I got home, I was almost surprised to see my building all lit up. Corey had left the lights plugged in. I debated shutting them off and decided against it, mostly in case I overslept and the builders arrived before me. There was something eerie and wonderful about seeing the place glowing with light.

Corey left the lights on when he left so the place would be lighted when they arrived in the morning. I didn’t mind at all.

Here’s the time-lapse:

Grading, compacting, digging more holes.

On Monday, the builders worked mostly inside the building shell, prepping for the concrete pour. They had a number of tasks to perform.

First, they needed to grade and compress the gravel pad inside the building. The grading was required for the RV garage, which has a 24-foot drain down the center of it. They needed to not only put the drain I provided into the floor, but to slope the floor toward the drain on all four sides.

The garages were also gently sloped toward their doors. I was told that the slope was too gradual to get water rushing, but if I ever parked inside with a wet or snowy vehicle, the water would eventually find its way out.

They also needed to set forms at the door openings to hold the concrete in. (Other forms would come later.)

Outside the building, they needed to dig four holes for the posts that will eventually hold up my front deck. Those posts had been omitted at the beginning of the project because they did not appear on the original plans. They decided to wait until the concrete delivery to dig the holes and plant them in concrete.

In order to dig those holes, they needed to level the area and compact the soil. That entailed using the bobcat to move a mound of soil where my driveway will eventually go to a low spot under the future deck. This was good for me — it would reduce the amount of earth moving I’d need to get my driveway and outside concrete pad in. They ran yellow caution tape around the area to prevent people from falling into the four-foot deep holes.

Angel’s crew prepares to dig four more post holes.

In the leveling process, Angel “found” my septic system end pipe. (Oops.) The damage was minimal. I gave him a T-post to mark the spot so no one would run it over in the future. Chances are, it will be slightly relocated anyway when I connect the stub outs to the line.

The crew also had to move a pile of wood and remove the pile of gravel that had been put in front of the RV garage door by the excavator who did the pad preparation. They needed to clear the way for the concrete trucks, which would need to get as close to the building as possible. To get rid of the gravel, they spread it on various parts of my driveway that needed it, which is exactly what I was hoping they’d do.

When they were done and left, the building was completely empty except for a wheel barrow and the plumbing stub outs. They took the bobcat with them.

I didn’t know it then, but it would be three days until I saw a worker again. Angel and the crew started a job up in Winthrop. Angel later told me that they were camping up there and had a party every night. Made me feel a little like I’d let them down by simply providing beverages, cookies, and energy bars every day.

Anyway, here’s Monday’s time-lapse. The RV at the beginning belongs to a friend; gotta love it when overnight guests bring their own house.