Wednesday, July 25, 2007

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.

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