Driveway Progress
Well yesterday was very busy here at the studio, with our driveway project! I spent the day overseeing the cement preparation and pouring; no, I am not an experienced cement worker, but I do like to see how things are done! The crew arrived at 7:30am to move dirt and start framing out the sidewalk and driveway. After the dirt (dropped off by dump trucks) had been spread and compacted, the surface was ready for the cement. The cement trucks (two so far) arrived later, around noon or so.
So, of course I had to document the project (to have proof, you know!). So here’s a series of images throughout the day. I’m going to share my favorite first. Instead of writing initials in the cement, our contractor mentioned insetting a 2008 penny! So… we now have a penny in our driveway; make sure to look for it the next time you’re at the studio.
And now back to the beginning. Most projects begin with excavation — and this one was no different. I’m just glad I wasn’t the one doing the digging this time! The straight metal thing behind the shovel is a bendable form (for making the edge of the concrete curve).
There were two dump truck loads of sand delivered. Initially there were plans to have the dirt delivered early (Wednesday) — we parked on the street that day, wouldn’t want to be trapped behind the big pile of dirt!
When moving dirt around, it is important to prep the surface by compacting… so that the cement driveway has a solid base. So that’s what this worker is doing:
Finally, once the dirt was compacted and the forms were finished, it was time for the cement! It took two cement trucks to complete the driveway from the back end to just past where the sidewalk will connect. At that point, the workers finished prepping the job site for the remaining 2-3 cement truck loads that would be needed (another day, of course). But I’m getting ahead of myself!
Here’s the cement being poured. The workers were very effecient in getting the cement pushed around — of course, the longer you wait to move cement, the harder it gets to move!
The cement truck driver got out of the truck to help get out that “last bit” of cement:
Another shot of the driveway and the cement truck:
After the workers smoothed out the cement, it was time to add the contraction joints. The crew put in three joints running away from the garage (the other 2 joints, running perpendicular, were actually cut into the cured cement the next morning). Then, they prepped the surface of the cement for the final textured finish.
And here is a more “all-inclusive” view of the slab that was poured yesterday. The worker on the left is brooming the concrete (to add those little lines for traction/texture), and the worker on the right is touching up the contraction joint.
All in all, yesterday was a productive day! This morning, the crew was here at 7:00am. Unfortunately, because of the forecast, the remainder of the job won’t probably be done today (impending rain). Work will likely resume on Monday — and since everything is prepped — it should *knock on wood* be completed in just one more day of construction! The driveway that is. The next step in the plan will be to make things look green and pretty ;).
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