Thursday, February 3, 2011

Concrete!

At last, the plumbing and electric conduits are in, the walls are finished and concrete is being poured.  That means the bottom floor of the barn has reached the stage where carpenters can take over and the work can really start to move.


This was the horses' view this morning--a big claw reaching over the building.  Who's to say it wasn't coming across to pick up Suzette and feed her to a giant?


On the other side, two concrete trucks, a fleet of pickups and the main character in this drama, the concrete pumper truck, waited for the big event.



This crazy apparatus pumps concrete through a hose into the openings in the block walls.  That's my very handsome mason, aiming the hose.


Looks easy, doesn't it?  Except that it's 37 degrees with a windchill of about 25, and he's standing twelve feet in the air on scaffolding.


This part of the barn--the first level floor and walls--has taken more than six months.  Now we have about 4 months to get the rest done, before we host a wedding in June.  The carpenters assure me this will happen, that the rest of the work goes much faster.  Once the roof is on, we don't have to worry about weather anymore.  And I'll get to start making all the fun decisions--stain colors and paint colors and paneling and doors and floors. 

Chilled but excited,

Cheryl