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                                   Building Our House in the Caribbean                                                 

                                                           
                                        
                                    We got off to a bad start when the concrete truck couldn't make it up the hill.  Boo hiss. 

                                               
                                                     So now we're ready to go again...this time we have Trent pumping for us. 

                        
                                                                 
                                                         
                          

 

              We had plenty of crew on site with Cowboy leading the team.     It's a lot easier using a pumper for concrete!

                    

                       
                           

                 

                               

     

                               

     

                                     
                                     

                                    Cowboy really knows what he is doing, but we certainly had tough conditions with wind and sun.

                                     
                                                                          
                                                     The first pour is done; Big Keith comes back and cuts the concrete control joints.

   

 
   
                                Chip stripped off the forms, while Zuni tested out the second section of the driveway.

                          
                                          Chip installed the dowels that connect the sections together.

                                      

 
                                       Chip prepped the drainage boxes so they could be poured with the next section. 

   
                 Keith and Chip formed up drainage area and the next section to be poured.  Zuni loves the attention he gets.

     
           Zuni tested more of the driveway.              Clada and Chip installed the steel mess, rebar and plastic.   Ready for another pour!

                         
                                                            
   The M&M crew plus Cowboy poured the next section.  This one was a challenge; the second truck cancelled, but then came.       

                               

             

                                                          

      
            The third pour was going so well, we decided to go for it and finish it with just a truck and no pumper.                           

        

              We had to scurry and put together the bottom of the driveway so we could finish the fourth pour.

                                                    
                                                 Cowboy and Chip measured the color by hand to dump it in the truck. 

   
  Clada is so happy everyone agreed to work longer and finish the pour rather than schedule another one.  Thanks, Cowboy!

    

We had to shovel up the excess cement, and later we picked up all of the dried chunks.  Then Keith cut in the remaining control joints.

       

                                                    

Clada had lots of work to prep for landscaping, starting with relocating the topsoil pile.     

                  

                           

                                                              
              The topsoil was moved by bucket to back fill the edge of the driveway.  Hills are especially tough to backfill.
 
                        

 
            Clada ran out of topsoil before she got to the bottom of the hill, so this remains a work in progress.  

                                           
                               This was a lengthy project that Chip used his civil engineering skills.
                   Clada loves walking her bike down the driveway instead of slipping and sliding on dirt and rocks, too.