Back on the rock. Sometimes I feel like Barabbas returning to the mines. I know this sounds preposterous but it is hard to take a month off. I would rather not stop. Once I stop and the feet go up it is hard to stand up again. It's not just the physical. The mental will crush you if you let it. It is a long way between the shack and Broadway in Pacific Heights. Chanting "you can do this" only goes so far. Just remembering where I left off and what was on my punch list is tiresome. It takes about a week to get productive again starting with a trip to St. Trauma for supplies. Net, net, with the week prior to leaving, the four gone and the return week spent getting organized it adds up to six weeks since the last "nail" was pounded. Throw on the extra girth I added while gone and it all adds up--not a pretty sight.
The company I keep...
Slothing around, I will work alone until Thor returns in mid February. Ryan is long gone but says he might be around in the late spring. I plan accordingly. Sex, drugs and rock and roll fall downs might interfere with a planned schedule. Thor is pretty dependable as long as a sailboat delivery does not get in the way. Winters are pretty nasty in Maine. With that I start pulling wire working on the electric. Should delays happen I'll hit the plumbing next.
Thor showed up. This must be his third time down by now. We work the "great outdoors" together. I have no choice but he seems to genuinely enjoy it. Truth is, without him the work would have killed me by now had I done it alone. We jump into the cisterns, clean them out, chisel everything where necessary, round the base joint with concrete and finish everything up with three coats of thoroseal. The tarantula above was living in one. Who knew, they can live up to thirty years.
The grand plan this time around with Thor is to excavate the remaining section of the patio and side of the house, grade everything, form up the necessary retaining walls and put a cap on the septic. With some luck we'll also erect the front porch. I need help from the weather and the concrete gods. I have two months or so before he hops a sailboat delivery.
I basically left the thoroseal to Thor while I did more electric. What we were doing is waiting for Jose with his track hoe to show up in Coral Bay. By timing my work with his schedule I save up to $500 on a delivery charge. I know it's nothing to you Rockefeller's but it all adds up. I can go into some very strange pretzel shapes to save money. True enough, you always run the risk of being penny wise and pound foolish but very rarely.
Jose shows up. The rain only caused a few days delay. The excavation sails along. We use the removed dirt to back fill the existing patio retaining wall.
The temporary retaining wall/steps in the above pic will be removed as the entire area is excavated to widen the patio and give access to the side of the house.The soil is being removed up and over the corner to be put behind an existing retaining wall. The blue tarp is hanging on the wall in question. You can see the new fill.
The side of the house is taking shape. The wooden retaining wall is still up.
Once the side of the house and the patio are squared away we'll then frame up the new retaining walls and side patio which will ultimately lead to steps going to the lower level. What you are not seeing in the pics was the deconstruction of the 32' ramp we had been using and the wooden retaining wall.
This was the temporary wall being built the year before. It did its job--no molten mud ever made it into the downstairs!
In the middle of all this Denise showed up as planned with our nephew Clark from Australia who has been freeloading around the US/Canada after working the Winter Olympics in Canada. He plans the same for the 2012 summer Olympics in London. The shack got a little crowded. 12' x 12' only goes so far.
Clark was pretty good at this....Thor and I were still able to get in four or five hours a day. Denise rented a car for the first week so she could be independent and show Clark the island.
With the patio excavated and leveled we formed up the retaining walls etc and finally assembled the last of the red iron--the front porch. As usual, you can see from the elevated wall I'll be pouring the wall and patio at the same time.
With the porch we rebuilt the ramp. The tonnage that has come over this thing makes me tired thinking about it.
The rush was on to get in a cement pour before Thor left. He had a fixed departure date. Once again, weather permitting, we would pour the walls, patio, upper retaining wall left over from the year before and the cap to the septic. About 22 yards. Majestic owes me eight so the damage at $260 yard won't be so bad this time.
The opening at the back is where the stairs will come in from the parking above. The ramp rests above.
The septic with its formed cap waiting for concrete.
Cistern inlets and the main power conduit. For aesthetic reasons, among others, I don't want any overhead wires etc. Speaking of aesthetics a new view materialized along the ridge to the house.
Rainy day view...Sunny day video. The music is whatever is playing in the truck when I pullover...
Some local color down on the flats...
The wild brood continues to expand. They love my rice.
Well if you have read any of these blog entries you already know where this going once concrete is involved. I went to Majestic about two weeks prior to when I needed a pour date. In the past that has been plenty of time. Hmmm, Patsy is acting a little strange. They are not certain about pour dates but they still want the money up front. Not this time Patsy. I'm not liquidating any stocks etc until we are fixed. In fact if something should go wrong, delays etc, I will want all the money back including the eight yards they have had on the books for almost a year. You know the rest. Bad weather--it is true it has been raining ALOT, no gravel, a shortage of sand and finally no concrete. Thor sails away. Welcome to my world. The truth, Majestic was in the beginning throes of going under. More on that later.
On the bright side the cisterns are done. The walls, patio and septic cap have been framed up. The front porch has been erected. The back retaining wall with drains in place has been back filled. The ramp has been reconstructed--no small feat with only two people and a lot of the electric has been completed. All this including a 12 day visit from Denise and Clark, who I have to pick up and deliver to St Thomas. Did I mention the rains?
Here's what Caneel Bay looks like on a sunny day.
This guy takes the sting out of everything!