May 22, Real work begins: Plumbers and sand

After waiting and waiting…… Finally the planets aligned.   Or more exactly the weather and the plumbing contractor were on the same page.    My excavator is having troubles with his dump truck, so he recommended I go straight to the gravel pit and order a bunch of fill sand for the the remaining buildup that needs be done around the foundation, and to eliminate the mud pits when it rains.    So I had called in the order to the Johnston Bros for sand, and last night they warned me the truck would appear shortly after 7AM, and yesterday afternoon the CPE Inc guys showed up to reconnoiter and inform me they were arriving first thing in the morning as well.   So sure enough it was a productive day.  The pipes are in the sand, and inspected, and I have 5 Triaxle loads of sand deposited on site.

More sand!

The crew plotting their strategy

Working on the network of drains for kitchen and bathrooms

Digging in the drains in the machinery room floor in the house.

Last load of sand arriving on the driveway

Nearly done, all the pipes sticking up for the various connections in the Master Bathroom.

The finished pipes in the workshop bathroom.

Kelly putting the sand back in place after the inspection.

Spring has Sprung! Driveway Progress

Well it has been a long snowy/wet winter, and a very wet Spring, but finally things have sort of dried out. In a brief dry spell a couple weeks back, I had my excavator put in a catch-basin and a length of 4 inch pipe connecting it to the storm drain. This was in anticipation of the driveway being built, and obstruction of drainage from the north side of the lot to the storm drain, and from there to Haggerty Creek. After that event however the monsoons decended again and I was feeling like Noah in the rising waters. I was able to borrow a sump pump and have been pumping out the trenches around the partially back-filled foundation to speed the drying process.

The new catch-basin.

Looking from the driveway to the storm drain.

The driveway and parking pad involved the 4 triaxle dump truck loads of sand, graded to an even slope to the front of the garage/workshop foundation.

Spreading the sand before compacting.

The first two loads of sand were placed on Monday, and the rest of the work finished on Tuesday.

Compacted sand with "driveway fabric" in place

Now ready for the gravel on top.

Dumping the gravel at the front of the driveway.

Then carefully spread, and compacted.

Spreading the "B" gravel on top of the "driveway fabric"

Finally it is done. Now settle for a while before the final gravel layer gets placed.

The finished compacted gravel driveway.