Set in Concrete

Well the concrete's still setting, but there's no going back now!

At almost exactly 10:30 on Saturday morning, our concrete truck arrived after a mad dash for us to get all of our steel posts level. We had exactly half an hour to wheelbarrow the concrete from the truck into each of our metre-deep holes, because they would charge us $4.40 extra per minute after that.

We could have got a concrete pump which would have been a lot less effort, but they cost about $500 to hire, so of course we went for the more difficult, cheaper option. Tom, his brother Phil and I loaded, ran (and balanced) the wheelbarrows, tipped them into the holes and ran back for reloading constantly for the full half hour, finishing almost exactly on the dot.

Unfortunately it was so crazy that I didn't get to take any action shots. I tried at one point and Tom practically snatched the camera out of my hands and threw it away (not really, but he was emphatic to say the least). So, you just get to see the relatively calm aftermath.

Let me just say that if you want a REALLY hardcore workout, run around with full wheelbarrows of concrete for half an hour. We were all so exhausted we sat around like zombies for hours afterward. And remember, that's us. On the only day of the weekend that we're allowed to make noise. Pretty serious, huh!

And don't even talk to me about the state of my biceps now.

Tom and Phil washing out the wheelbarrows.

Doesn't that look forlorn?

We can hardly believe that we've actually got the concrete in the holes. That light at the end of the get-the-house-to-liveable-standard-again tunnel is burning brighter!

 

So what happens next? The concrete needs three days to set, so we'll leave it until Wednesday to get the house lifting guys to come and remove the timber stacks and drop the house onto the steel poles. They're hanging (although not really hanging so much anymore but sitting in their concrete) from loosely done up bolts that we tightened or loosened during the levelling process to get them at just the right height. So, there's a bit of a drop from the house's current position to the actual top of the posts.

When the stacks get taken away we'll need to prop up the house temporarily with acrow props near the places where we still have to dig a few more holes (and hang posts, and pour more concrete), but that brings us so much closer to being able to connect up the water and electricity! We're nearly there! Stay tuned. The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty full on.