Buildlogue #6 – Man alone

Friday 20th June: Construction Day 3 of the project. We wake up to icy frost on the lawns and biting crisp air. But, oh, what an absolutely clear and warm summer day barely one day from the winter solstice! Sitting in the conservatory writing this, I even find it necessary to open a couple of windows…

Last on Buildlogue… You will recall that we left the building site flattened with about two and a half cubes of hardfill in position, awaiting the “second layer” and finishing off, which could not be completed because Gary The Younger’s dump-truck developed track trouble.

7:30am Friday and we are patiently waiting from the Gary and Gary team to arrive with a pneumatic-tyred Bobcat to move and spread  the remaining three cubes.

(Above): This is the target at which Builder John is aiming – placing the formwork to cast the floor slab, which also details three footings for the 100x100 pillars, the slab edge detail and the slab detail at the junction with the existing slab.

The first job on the list for Gary was digging the trenches for the floor slab edge foundations.

(Above and below): Gary The Elder busy digging the foundations to the specified dimensions using the Hitachi Zaxis. Rather faster, neater and more accurately than a team of guys with spades…

(Above): Gary the Younger delivered this Bobcat S130 as a replacement for the dump truck with the blown track. The bucket looks considerably smaller than the previous truck he was using.

(Above): The Bobat being used to cart away the material excavated from the foundation trenches. Hee-Haa! Ride ‘em, Cowboy! Man, this operator certainly enjoys this machine, even spinning it around through 360° on the spot, doing neat wheelies with an empty bucket. Hee-haa! Like an intoxicated teenager in the skate-park.

Gary The Elder gets a call from his boss Bryce that Gary The Younger will be delayed at another contract, and will in all likelihood not get to our site today. Bummer! Gary will have to drive both machines and do all the digging work on his own. Not a nice end to his week, I’m sure. But, on with the work, a job’s a job that needs to be done by someone, and circumstances have determined that it will be done by our Gary!

(Above) Bryce should be pleased to know that his men work entirely without supervision under all conditions. Gary set about bringing in load after load of hardfill from the front lawn by Bobcat, then spread the heaps using his Zaxis digger, finally compacting with the machine in this phone. He also went off in his truck to collect two more loads of hardfill from the Waikanae quarry.

(Above): Fridays Gary leaves at 4:00pm to travel back to Wellington to drop off the truck for the weekend and to collect his ute (LDV). He will be going pig hunting with his brother-in-law this weekend. The photo shows the extent of Gary’s work today. On Monday, they will lay the final accurate “adjustment” coat, followed by the specified sand coat, before laying the polythene waterproofing membrane.

(Above) The Zaxis parked neatly in the bedroom, ready for work on Monday morning.

(Above): View of the site from the secret garden showing the track cut up by the earthmoving equipment, almost like a muddy farm road. If you look carefully, you will see the TARDIS still parked in the background behind the lemon tree. That’s neat, a lavat-tree behind the lemon tree!

G-Men B&B

If you were to meet our G-Man Team face-to-face, I am certain your comments would be nothing but very favourable. They are two of the friendliest creatures around. Really they are.

When I called on them between showers this morning, Jacko (above left) was still in bed, dozing a bit, while Beebs (above right) ventured out to the fence to greet me. He gave a couple cute little bleats, as if in conversation about his late-sleeping friend.

“Today is the day that I go to Mr Palmer to get your scoff, Beebs,” I mentioned to him quietly, as if in confidence.

Beebs nodded knowingly, as if he understood. Who am I to query whether he understands or not?

Around 1:00pm I met Mr Palmer in the parking lot at Kapiti Signs in Waikanae – our meeting might have looked a bit like a drug deal going down, I suppose. Our consignment was one of weed, on the back of his ute (pick-up), covered with a grey waterproof tarpaulin, which made it even more suspicious…

(Above): A short while later I arrived home with the G-Men’s supplies: Bed and Breakfast – perhaps more accuratel0y “S & H” instead of “B & B”: Straw and Hay. Our Toyota Wish is described as a seven-seater wagon by the manufacturers. However, in livestock farming parlance, I guess a 4-baler would be more accurate… It is a tight squeeze, but the 4 bales fit quite comfortably when the back seats are down.

(Above): Straw is … well… As light as straw…. not very heavy. A full bale is considerably heavier than one might think – similar situation when handling a bale of wool, I’d guess.

(Above): From the car outside, I shifted the food and bedding out of reach of the adverse elements into the garden shed by trundler, straw (comfy) bedding at the back and hay (yummy) breakfast in the front. Although Jacko has a habit of chewing fresh straw as well.

Its a bit like your monthly shop, I suppose: clean sheets from the laundry and Weet-Bix from the supermarket…