The Hazelnut Inn worksite was very busy today. Electricians were pulling wire through conduits and installing the electrical panel. The carpenters were busy building the temporary shoring for the suspended slab. Today was also the day to begin backfilling the foundation. Filling the upper garden of the North Star suite was the toughest challenge. We had stacked a huge pile of sand inside before we began the forming but it didn't go far when we levelled it out. The walls are nine feet tall and access is difficult to say the least. The solution was to put a small excavator inside the concrete box and have it spread the sand inside followed by a plate packer. The sand is dropped over the wall by a giant excavator. The first job was to get the small excavator inside the giant concrete box. It was time to test the welded steel bridge which we built last week… and it passed in brilliant style. Once inside the operators filled and packed layer after layer of sand. By tomorrow the crew will be finished and ready to make the trip back over the bridge one last time.
Fall beauty
The heavy rains of the last few days have washed away all traces of the forest fire smoke that has been hanging around in the last weeks. As I looked towards the mountain today I really enjoyed the view. Fall colours are just starting to show on the deciduous trees on the hillside. The grass in the yard was a luscious green and the sky was blue. There was a lot to enjoy.
Pouring in the pouring rain
Not every day goes according to plan at our house. Some days border on disaster! The weatherman was calling for a possible shower but it looked good enough to chance a concrete pour. All went well until the finishing crew got the concrete placed. Then the skies opened up as they seldom do in these parts. Over a period of about three quarters of an hour we got a series of four impressive torrential downpours. Finish troweling the concrete was out of the question until the rain was done. There was little anyone could do. Once the rain eased up we squeegeed the water off the fresh concrete and let the finishing crew do the best they could. The good news is the floors will be covered in tile before we are done.
