They came for the dome early

It's 20:00 and we just had visitors. It was 3 guys from Terra-Dome. Tracy Allen (Jacki's husband) was one of them. It was nice to meet him. He and the other guys are here to pick up the stuff left behind by Jerry's crew, but they said they wouldn't do it until tomorrow morning.

I'm glad they're not taking the jacks down for another night, because we're barely at the 7 days that the concrete gains 80% of it's strength. I will say that Jay committed to leaving the jacks up for the 7 days, but he also committed to calling me and giving me warning before they'd come down for the jacks and the dome trailer. We never got that call.

To verify that the guys were who they said they were, I called Jay and verified that someone was supposed to be down for the equipment. He verified it, but never mentioned forgetting to call me and warn me they were coming.

No big deal, at this point. I just wish that the communication were a little better, but in building a house before, we learned that few of these guys communicate as well as in our lines of work. In construction, it just doesn't work that way.

They said they'd be back tomorrow morning and pick up the equipment left behind, the dome trailer, the forms, etc. I'm grateful for another 24 hours of the jacks holding up the garage overhangs.

Tracy complimented us on the house, saying he really liked the layout and the size of the place. He and the others gave us a few tips about waterproofing, and they also brought down several rolls of the Paraseal, which is the bentonite membrane that Terra-Dome recommends for part of the waterproofing.

I spoke with Jay about the jacks supporting the overhangs

I called Jay today because I was concerned that he'd send someone down for the stuff that Jerry and the crew left behind. This would include the jacks holding the overhangs up, and I'd like to see those jacks in place for a week or so. Concrete gains 80% of its strength in that time and it would be good for the overhangs to have that time to strengthen up.
Jerry left the dome trailer in the garage, the jacks supporting the garage front and back overhangs. There are miscellaneous small forms and other stuff also left behind. A truck will be down for these items later. Jay said that it would be at least a week before he'd send the truck down, and that he'd call and warn me ahead of time.
This is a relief. I was worried that the guy would come for the rest of the stuff this weekend. Tuesday will be 7 days, and Jay said that the earliest would be Tuesday, and it would likely be longer before he'd send the truck down.
By the way, that truck will have our bentonite rolls.

They Poured the Garage

We heard the concrete pump truck arrive at 5:30 Tuesday morning. They usually arrive 30 minutes prior to work, so that the driver can set up and be ready when the first concrete truck arrives. We rushed to get ready too. I decided to take off work for half a day to watch this pour from beginning to end. It would be my last opportunity to do so, as this is the last module of our house to be poured.
They were started at 6:00. I took lots of pictures, some much like from previous pours. Still, I wanted to be there. Things went smoother, for sure, with the 4th guy there (Lewis) working. It was a big help.
One truck came right after another, so they were rushed to work the concrete as fast as it could be pumped. When one truck emptied, the driver would pull that truck away to wash out the excess concrete, while another drive backed up to the concrete pump to get work resumed.
The last truck took 45 minutes to arrive, so the guys had a bit of a breather, but the existing concrete was setting up and it would've been nice if it had only been 15 minutes. That was enough of a break. While they waited, they smoothed out the surface of the concrete that was already poured.When the final truck arrived, the mix was very wet. So after pouring the front overhang of the garage, they had to wait before they could pour concrete into the parapet walls (because it was so wet that it would just pour out below and overflow the overhang. They must've waited an extra 20 or 25 minutes before they could pour the parapets. Even so, they used as small pressure as the pump would allow, so that the concrete wasn't moving so fast (hoping that it wouldn't push out beneath the parapet forms and into the overhang). It worked out.
One nice thing about the wetter concrete is that it mixed into the existing concrete better, which meant for there to less likely be a cold joint in that location.
They finished around 11:30 and began putting a few things away and wanting to go back to the house they'd rented (they rented a house in Okmulgee, rather than getting apartments. It was better living conditions, and cheaper for the entire crew).I went back to our house, took a shower and went to work.
I'll say that I'm concerned that they already have another construction job lined up, and that there's going to be a rush to remove forms (as well as jacks holding up the overhangs) so that they can move on to the next job. I was told early on, that the jacks that support the overhangs need to be there for about 7 days. Removing them sooner doesn't seem like quality to me.
I also know that Jerry is in a rush to go on vacation with his wife. He's supposed to drive and meet up with her in the northwest somewhere. I think it's in the Seattle area, but I can't remember for sure.
Anyway, I do know that Jerry isn't going to the next construction project, but that the other guys are. I also know they only have 2 trucks here, and they have 3 trailers (the 2 they originally showed up with, plus the dome forms truck). Jay says he'll send down a truck for the extra trailer, but that still means that Jerry will have to pull one trailer to the next construction site, before he can go meet up with his wife. So he's going to be in a hurry to wrap up things here and move on. I believe he deserves it, but I don't want it to be at the expense of quality on our project.
Jerry and the guys have done a terrific job on our house. I want it to stay that way.

They'll probably pour on Tuesday

Jerry said they'll probably pour the garage unit on Tuesday. They have most of the rebar in place. I got a few pictures before they put up the inner parapet forms, and I'll post as soon as I have time. We also had a brief rain, and so this gave me the opportunity to take pictures of any places that might allow water to puddle. I'll take care of those areas prior to covering with dirt. The goal is to create paths for the water to flow, so that it'll flow off the roof.
In a week or so, I'm sure the Terra-Dome crew will be gone. Jerry, Jason, Justin and Lewis have done a great job on these last two modules (we've got 4 modules in all).
I started moving more gravel into the house to be situated below slab (of course). It was notable that the modules are large enough, that I was literally able to drive a tractor into the house, spread gravel from the loader and then turn around and drive back out. I did it in the first 3 modules several times today. How many people can do that in their living room or bedroom? (No big deal, really, but Rachel was a bit amused when I turned the tractor around in the master suite.)
I want to apologize about only having the one ip-cam. I have a second but had trouble with configuration and haven't had a lot of quality time to devote to getting it set up prior to this pour. Technically, it's an indoor cam, so although I likely wont have it operational and on the network by this pour, I will get it running and will have it mounted somewhere inside the house so that work going on inside will be visible.

Comments on recent rainfall

For the amusement (or bewilderment) of family in Kansas and Colorado, who rarely see much water in the Arkansas River, I thought I'd remind everyone of the unusual amount of rainfall we've gotten recently. Check out the YouTube video of the Arkansas River. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B6jadD358g)
I'm also including a link to my friend, John's photo album documenting recent flood stage of Keystone Lake, which is on the Arkansas.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jhall218/KeystoneLakeFloodingUpdate

The mystery visitors mystery is solved

We poured the 3rd module this morning at 6:00. It went smoother now that it's a crew of 5 instead of a crew of 3. In visiting with the pumper truck operator, I discovered what the deal was with the mystery visitors that our son couldn't tell us anything about.
It turns out that the operator had stopped by and wanted to contact Jerry. Not being able to contact Jerry, he hoped that I might be able to leave Jerry a message and so he wanted to contact me. He told our son that he was going to leave a business card on Jerry's truck (parked on our property). Our son evidently was so out of it that he failed to mention that to us. Also, we're not sure where our son got the notion that the guy wanted to do any drainage work on the property. We suspect that was something he dreamed.
The main thing is that now, we know who the mystery visitors were, and it doesn't seem to be an issue to worry about. No one was on the property to steal from us, although the thought of getting some volunteer help in draining the property appealed to me.
Luckily, I dug the final part of that northeast trench on Saturday and the site drains fine. Once the house is bermed, that drainage will be less of an issue because of the umbrella (look up PAHS (passive annual heat storage) to learn more) that we're planning for over the house, extending out over the berm. That umbrella should keep things beneath fairly dry (and a fairly constant temperature).

The mystery visitors are still a mystery

We still haven't determined who the two guys were that showed up claiming to know Jerrry and I. I wish our son had bothered to notice more about them, but he didn't even get the company name on the side of the truck.
It's the beginning of a weekend and I had planned to finish digging the northeast trench. I had a minor surgical procedure this afternoon and now have an open wound that I have to keep clean and protected over the weekend. So how am I going to get the work done? Our son wont do it. He hasn't even mowed the dog yard that his mother has been begging him to do for over 2 weeks. I'll have to do that this weekend too. I have to. It needs to be done and we can't get him to do it.
Oh... and I need to put in 8 hours at work this weekend too.
I need a vacation.

Rain

Thunderstorms moved into the area this morning and dumped rain on most of northeastern Oklahoma. The guys had showed up and had started work just about the time the rain hit, and since lightning was going on, they had to get in out of the rain, and weren't able to work. (After all, the forms are metal. The rebar they're working with is metal). It's not good to be out working in a thunderstorm.

They're back to work

Jerry returned this morning. I joked because I saw he had 2 new guys with him, and Jason and Justin weren't there. I asked, "Did we scare them off?"
He said that they'd be back in a day or two. These other two guys are here to keep on schedule, and probably help move things a bit faster on the pour of these last 2 modules.
Rain is in the forecast tomorrow and Friday. I hate that.
I called Joe, our neighbor (the mayor of our small community) to see if perhaps he'd referred those two strangers that appeared yesterday. He knew nothing about them. So it's still a mystery as to their identity or their motives. At least Joe knows and will be watching out. We also notified the sheriff and he said that he's got us on a list for his officers to stop by here every time they're passing nearby. That, along with the fact that we have a son living on-site and home during the day.

The guys will hopefully return soon

I spent the weekend breaking up rock. The northeast trench needed to be finished, and I had to do it by hand. As luck would have it, I left off just inches from a boulder that was a foot to two feet thick and about five feet across.
I wish I'd had a machine to get it out of the ground, because it would've been a fine landscaping specimen. However, without the machine, I had to get it out somehow. I spent a lot of time beating the thing with a large iron spear-like tool. It takes anywhere from 35 to 50 hits before the rock would crack, and then I'd have to work on it a bit longer to wedge the iron bar into the crack and work it apart from the rest of the rock.
Wedged in with all the dirt and smaller rocks around it, it would take me a while longer to get it to the point where I could get my hands under it and lift it out of the ground.... and then I'd start over with another piece of the rock. These smaller pieces were around 200 to 300 pounds apiece, but it was workable. I was exhausted afterwards, but I didn't hurt my back like I did when I worked on larger pieces.
We're waiting for the Terra-Dome guys return. They've been off for a few days.
One bad thing that happened today, is that two guys showed up in a pickup, telling our son that they were here to see Jerry (they asked for him by name, and then asked for me), saying they were here to "drain the job site".
It took all day, but we finally got a hold of Jerry and he didn't know anything about it. So what were those guys here for? It's a bit spooky. It's spooky to know that there were strangers on our property, and they knew Jerry's name and they knew my name, but we don't know anything about who they are or why they were really here.I'd open to free help, but I honestly doubt that someone was showing up to help out (while we were off at work). It's spooky.

The guys took off for a few days

The guys took off for a few days, here at July 4th. The footings for the garage were poured yesterday, and after the guys got them taken care of, the took off to head home. I'm told that they'll be gone for a few days, but I'm not sure when they'll return. I'm hoping it'll be by Monday, at least.
In the meantime, I'm continuing to work on drainage of the site, but this time, I'm having to do it by hand. I resumed work on the trench at the location of the water line to the garden. As luck would have it, digging a little more I found one of the boulders. So I'm having to break it apart and pull it up in pieces. I kept hitting it until I broke it in half, and then the remainder was still too big to handle, so I started breaking it down further. I managed to pull two large pieces away from the rest, but they're too large for me to lift out of the trench on my own, so I left them for later. Maybe when I'm not so tired, I'll be able to get them out of the trench and can continue to work on the rest of the rock to finish the drainage trench.
On another note, the mayor is angry at us because the concrete truck drivers cleaned their trucks out with a hose after the pour, and dumped concrete on the side of the road. This messes up drainage of the road, and also makes it difficult for the county maintenance workers to grade the road from time to time.
The mayor wants us to do something about it, but I don't feel that I should have to. I dug a hole for them to dump the concrete into, and it's not my fault that they chose to dump elsewhere. I did due diligence and don't feel responsible for the concrete in the road.
Hopefully, the mayor wont push the issue further. I'll just stay home from work on the next pour, and make sure that they don't dump any more concrete where they're not supposed to. However, people have got to realize that they have to dump the left over concrete somewhere. They can't just leave it in the truck, or it hardens and makes the mixer useless. So they dump whatever is left after the job. I dug a hole for this purpose, and am hoping that I'll get a free slab out of the deal.

Rain: 21 of the last 23 days

It rained again. As if the ground can hold any more water. We've had rain 21 of the last 23 days and I havne't seen that there's any end in site. The guys were wanting to pour the garage footings today but held off until tomorrow so that I could get gravel put over swampy areas, in hopes that we can get a concrete truck or two in tomorrow. Even with the gravel, the earth just moves around just walking on it. I'm hoping that even though the concrete truck will sink into it, that they wont get stuck and that we can get the job done. I know the guys are wanting to take a few days off and go home, and that they'd like to get the footings poured before they leave.