Footings and Fences

It's cool and overcast outside, I have coffee in arm's reach, and it's a beautiful day for blogging.  We are so blessed to be able to stay with friends in such comfortable conditions.

I'll start with Sunday's progress on the house.  Our friend James came over to help Mike cut the concrete where the posts for the beam will sit.  His son wasn't feeling well, so he cruised by the pool.  I arrived after most of the cutting was finished.

There were two things I didn't realize about this project:

1. The concrete saw is extremely loud, so both Mike and James wore ear muffs.
2. You have to use water when you cut, so it's also extremely messy.  

They cut the footings in a little under two hours and the rest of the slab will be excavated via chipping gun.

  

Slab is cut.

James getting the job done.

Wyatt hanging out by the pool.

Once the concrete was cut, I used the shop vac to get all the sludge from the floor.  Meanwhile, he starting chipping away at the outer wall.  Specs say we have to go 12 inches deep with the footing in order to attach re-bar to the existing slab.  

Self-pic vacuuming up the sludge.

Thankfully we didn't have to remove the outside wall.  We just cut a foot on each side of the house.

Mike chipping away at the inside.

We call this the back-eotemy.  You'll need one after digging at this angle. (Outside of the house).

On Sunday, Mike worked well after dark and came home a few hours after I did.  After wearing safety goggles all day, during his last ten minutes at the house, he managed to get cement in his eye.  He didn't sleep well that night, so after a midnight trip to Walmart Pharmacy he decided to stay home from work on Monday.  I took him to Kaiser and the doc said it's just extremely irritated, but nothing else was in the eye.  He gave him some eye drops, we went to see Star Trek, and then we headed back up to the job site :)

I worked on removing all the chicken wire from the back and trimming the California grass encroaching on our fence from the empty lot behind us.  Now my wrist is sore from all the twisting!

This was a process, but I'm glad it's done.  Someone literally went nutso with the staple gun!

I have experience with California grass from my many island hikes.

Chicken wire = gone.  It's the little things...

I also removed the lattice and wire from the back.  It was just worn and junky.

BEFORE:  closed off and cramped.

AFTER:  opened up.  Once I get in here with the pressure washer it will look awesome!