10.23.2020

Thankfully the weather remained dry last night although this morning we had very dense fog that kept the driveway wet.  But Jim and I went out early to do our first walk on the new concrete!  It's amazing.

Jim spent his morning working on plastering in the stairwell again...

After lunch, he headed outside - first the stakes all had to be taken out (and there were a lot of stakes!).

Then the forms came off - and the sides are beautiful.  Using the vibrator should makes a huge difference.

After the forms were off, time to start planning out where Jim wanted to make the cuts so we took lots of measurements...

Once we got points marked on both sides of the driveway, we chalked the cutting lines...

Then Jim got the concrete saw and cart out and started cutting...

He has to start the cut on the driveway, so when the cut is made, he has to go back and cut the beginning.  He used the leaf blower to get rid of the dust so he could see the chalk lines.

Last short cut...

Then it was time to mark the center line...

We checked it out to make sure it passed the eye test - and it did...

So then it was time to cut...

Continuing down the driveway and almost done...

Cutting is all done and turned out perfectly.  The cart for the concrete saw was worth every penny and then some - it made a horrible, back-breaking job into an enjoyable one.  And it took much less time and mess.  

Then this job was all done except for taking apart the forms.  

High 69/Low 57

10.22.2020

It's a bit different not preparing for concrete to come early in the morning - Jim was able to have a normal morning before heading outside to do final setup and preparation.  Tools and boots are out and plywood out on the concrete for protection.

Spraying oil on the forms to help with removal...

Starting to put the foam expansion joint on...

All in place...

Eating right before doing concrete is never a good idea, so we had an early lunch on the patio - Mr Skeleton joined in as well!

Kyle had a meeting this morning in NYC and then drove up to help.  The concrete truck just pulled up and the crew is ready!

Jim had asked for our good driver again and we were lucky to get him - he makes things easier because he's  good at placing the concrete.  Here we go!

Jim used the power screed on both edges and then was able to just go down the middle...

Ready for more concrete...

Using the bull float...

The driver likes to get in the mix of things and lend a hand which is nice when Jim is using the screed down the middle...

Bottom form in place and concrete going in...

Finishing up the last bit...

Kyle starting to do the edges...

Jim and Kyle finishing up the edges...  How perfect does that look?

Time to do the clean up of all the tools...

Then it's time for a toast and a celebratory cinnamon roll!

Working on brooming the surface...

Once that was done, Kyle had to head back to NYC.  Hated that it was such a short trip but we so appreciate him taking time out of his very busy schedule to help us!

Jim used the Bobcat to break up the pile of extra concrete...

Time for the sealer/curing agent...

Finishing up with the sealant...

Wow - what an incredible looking driveway!  Hard to make it all fit into the picture!

It's all done for the night except giving the Bobcat a wash and getting all the tools put away.

Everything went textbook except for a slight worry with the weather.  As Jim was preparing for concrete, he had been watching the weather forecast carefully.  It changed frequently but Thursday was consistently dry.  Until Thursday.  Then the forecast showed possibilities of rain all day and kept changing.  You can see the clouds roll in and change in the pictures but thankfully no rain fell.  The forecast for the rest of the evening and overnight looks dry.  So we were definitely blessed!

High 62/Low 50

10.21.2020

 When the smoke alarm started beeping the other morning at 6:00 we thought it was the detector in the stairwell.  When Jim went to replace it, the beeping had stopped so he replaced the battery and all was good.  Until this morning at 3:30 when the detector in the wood shop started beeping!  Jim had to get up and put the battery from the stairwell detector in that detector.  However, tonight Jim definitely needs a good night's sleep so he took that detector and stuck it out in the pole barn - just in case!  Crazy.  We think we've replaced them all now so we should be good.  But you never know.

Jim started the morning finishing up some loose ends in the metal shop - he got all the receptacles wired up again...

Looks fabulous!

Then he worked on plastering in the lower stairwell - he's concentrating on the area from this landing to the bottom floor right now and making good progress.

Concrete is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:00 - thank goodness the weather looks perfect!  Kyle is just coming up in the morning and unfortunately will have to head back down after the pour.  So Jim spent the rest of the afternoon doing a final walk through and getting all his tools ready.

High 66/Low 44

10.20.2020

We had another incident to support our theory that smoke detector batteries only die in the wee hours - the stairwell detector started chirping but thankfully it was about 6:00 this morning and wasn't horribly loud.  But Jim got the battery changed promptly.

He also installed a Nest thermostat in the wood shop this morning - he'll put the one we had here down in the metal shop.

All installed and working - now he'll be able to control both the apartment and the wood shop with his phone.

He did a little more plastering in the stairwell this morning but then after lunch he headed to the Drywall Center to pick up more J-channel and some different screws.

Once he got home, the light drizzle had stopped and he headed out to do a little more driveway work.  He set up the end area with a stake in the center and blocking on either end.  Then he just did a little more tweaking with curve and elevation until he was happy.  He also started getting equipment organized in the pole barn.

Now that he has J-channel, he wanted to finish this edge underneath the upper landing.  He has tried a couple different approaches but hasn't been happy.  But putting the J-channel here was just about impossible.  He had spent about an hour by the time I took this picture and it still wasn't on.

This area has layers of heavy-gauge steel so once he got it attached, putting in the screws was another challenge.

Put finally done and starting the first coat of plaster...

First coat finished...

High 58/Low 46 - little drizzly