The big day arrived on Tuesday with a crew of 7 and the cement truck. They wanted to bring the truck in across the golf course again, but we said no to that and made them wheelbarrow it in down the side of the house, as their boss had originally promised they would. So two guys worked pretty hard while the other five got to do a lot of standing around!
The cement work starts, in the far corner of the patio. You can see they've laid heavy wire mesh down first for reinforcing. Having poured a concrete floor once myself (not without problems) I was interested to watch the process.
It moved steadily along and they started finishing it off as they went.
Having done this that one time, I know how swiftly you have to get it smoothed out before it starts to set!
Before I knew it they were at the end, pouring the square at the bottom of the ramp, This is where they feathered the cement up against the bottom board, and I was very pleased with the results.
And that point they all had to wait while it started to dry out.
About an hour later it was ready for the stamping. We chose a random uneven pattern that comes embedded in big rubber sheets. They place these down and use heavy stamps to impress the pattern into the cement. It's light grey in colour rather than stark white. Late in the afternoon they got to go home while we stayed and 'watched the cement dry'!.
The next day the clean-up crew arrived and removed all the wooden boards and stakes. I thought some of those stakes would be hard to get out, but not for these guys! They also cut the pressure lines to reduce the risk of future cracking, a dusty process, so I stayed inside.
The boss came to the door asking for immediate payment of the full amount, but we said no until they finished tidying up the mess. They reluctantly moved the excess topsoil around a bit to satisfy us.
And they even got out a pressure washer to clean it off. We paid them and they were done.
I thought the boss was pretty unprofessional, but we got what we wanted, a finished patio true to Mrs. F.G.'s original sketch. Now
our work begins. We have a couple of young guys coming this week to get it started.
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It's been raining steadily, heavily at times here, and it's a very welcome rain because we need it. The rain is supposed to continue all day, and parts of tomorrow and Tuesday, so by then we should be nicely saturated!. I'm sure a lot of farmers will be very pleased, as well as all the creatures big and small who live in our streams, rivers and wetlands. Hopefully the little now dry stream at the end of the street will have flowing water again, perhaps a lot of it! A wonderful and welcome break in the weather.
What an intricate process. I'm glad you took the pictures and described it so well. I don't think I was cut out for this kind of work. :-)
ReplyDeleteDo you have to let it cure before you ride on it? It's a great idea to enlarge your outdoor living space. Sounds as if the crew was good, the crew boss not so much.
ReplyDeleteWe sure are needing this wonderful rain. You are going to enjoy your lovely patio so much. And what a lovely way to end the summer, working on getting it all set up and planted for your enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteThat patio and walkway turned out beautifully. You can be very proud and happy of this wonderful addition to your property. I bet you and Mrs. F.G. can't wait to design the flowers and shrubs around it. I am looking forward to see pictures of the ongoing beautification.
ReplyDeleteSo rude to ask for payment before finishing off. I do hope you enjoy your patio.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that you didn't let them cut too many corners. I did a lot of laying of concrete bases when I worked on the farm - these were for all kinds of buildings and I got quite good at it in the end. I don't think my back would stand up to it nowadays.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you waited till it was all done before paying, how rude to ask earlier. It is a lot of work, and you will now see plants and shrubs round the perimeter, the plan you had , has all gone as planned ( no pun intended) ""
ReplyDeleteNever pay before the job is finished to your standards! Good for you!
ReplyDeleteThe rain has stopped here and the sun came out!
Well, I guess my guess of a heli-pad wasn't too far off. You now at least have the concrete pad. That will make another great outdoor spot for you and I bet it will be tempting to put a little ramp down to get on that golf course. Just think, once on the those smooth fairways you could soon be mixing it up with the golfers. You could actually become an honorary 'old Duffer. Now I did say honorary not ornery:))
ReplyDeleteThat is hard work and it turned out great.
ReplyDeleteI've done my share of cement work over the years!
Years ago, when I had A/C installed in my first house, the rep said "you aren't a lawyer, are you?" I said "No, why?" his reply: because I charge lawyers double. Then when I get a check for 50% and the rest when you do the following, with a list of 10 or 12 items I've already been paid and ignore his list.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteIt looks really nice, I hope you are very happy with your new patio and walkway. Take care and stay safe! Enjoy your day, have a happy new week!
it's good you stuck to your guns about the cement truck, they were perfectly capable of wheeling the concrete to the back. it's just so much easier for them to have the cement shoot the cement in place. but i know the truck would have made a mess of the grass!! i get that "2" guys working, the rest standing around!! i am also glad you did not pay them until they were done. it is so rude to ask for payment before the job is done. it looks like it came out good!!!
ReplyDeleteHaving dealt with a lot of contractors in an earlier life, I've never had one ask for payment in full before the job was completed and the punch-list items taken care of. The fellow who built our house didn't even ask for payment for for a few extras until H contacted his wife.
ReplyDeleteThat is hard work...but they got paid well I am sure.
ReplyDeleteThat new patio is looking very good. Nice that they even cleaned it with a pressure washer when they were done.
ReplyDeleteGreat views! Thank you for sharing this helpful detail with us. @Flortek Co.
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