While the driveway progressed, we made a batch of strawberry jam and I spent some time clearing out the pond, which is overgrown from years of neglect. It sits near the north edge of the property and, if you don’t interrupt, the bullfrogs converse. Below it, you can find the remnants of a fence, and I followed its line into the woods until I located the survey marker at the corner of the property. I thinned the trees with a chainsaw, cleared low brush with a blade fitted to my trimmer, took out eye-level branches with a snipper, and hauled all the debris into a big pile. A year ago, I was clearing brush from the site of the rock wall in Westford and hauling it into piles. I like it when history repeats itself. The pond needs work, but whoever built it did a really nice job of it. I am itching to get started, but with the house gaining steam, it is the wrong project to take on right now.
The driveway was close to the house site by now, and we had one last chance to site it. We’d staked it out too close to the mound, so we moved it up the hill 40′ and turned it 15 degrees to the left, for the view. They set up the laser level and we decided how high the foundation walls would be, and then the dozer moved in.
First step was to stockpile the topsoil. In Westford, there was about 3 inches, with rocks everywhere. Here, there is over a foot of topsoil, and no rocks to speak of. By the time it was stripped, there were 3 impressive piles set aside. Here’s one.
The excavator moved in and started digging the basement hole. He dug for 2 days. This was precision work, and nary a clod of dirt was out of place. One guy ran the machine and one guy ran the level, raked out the surface to dead flat and spray painted it when it was perfect. There was no ledge except for 1 huge rock in the path of the drain to daylight. The soil barely began to be wet at the deepest spot. All the dirt was groomed by thursday.
Friday morning, they built the forms for the footings: 2x’s staked onto the dead-flat level ground and trued up. It didn’t take long: These guys are good.
Mid-day, the pumper showed up. I’d never seen one in action before, and they are amazing. They aren’t particularly huge, but by the time it unfolded, it had a reach of about 80′, enough to park by the patio and pump to the farthest corner of the house.
With all the prep work done, a train of cement trucks showed up, backed up to the pump, and they filled off the forms. One guy controlled the pump. Two guys guided the flow. Two guys followed behind, troweling, and another putting in re-bar. It didn’t take but 2 hours, and the minute it was done, the whole crew disappeared, leaving only the pump guy to clean out his rig. Very impressive and professional.
