For the upcoming 5 minute drain inspection, we had to install temporary stairs to the basement (that's right before they are ripped out by the concrete guys!). Luckily I always seem to have some stair segments laying around, so it wasn't a huge investment :-).
Tony, Mario and Rui were in today to start the drain system. Hopefully we can finish up tomorrow.
Miguel gave new meaning to the "Just In Time" business process mantra by successfully delivering the completed first floor floor late today (complete with the coolest little sliding access hatch to keep the weather out!).
The telltale arrival of the black trailer means Miguel and the boys have arrived to start the first floor floor. Miguel leaves for vacation back to Portugal this Sunday, so timing will be tight!
The guys (all guys, sadly) really came through for me today.... it was magic. The waterproofers (predicatably missing yesterday after getting slighted on Wednesday), showed up around 9am to start and complete the installation of bitumen, membrane, and weeping tile....
... then Mohammed, the City Inspector, showed up and passed the waterproofing, pending some photos of gravel to be shot later in the day to protect the weeping tile. 10 minutes later, George and the gang arrived to start backfilling, though we were still waiting for the stone. However, the outside wall of the garage was a place to start while we waited...
.... then the stone slinger guy from Rock Concrete showed up and expertly shot 12" or so of gravel around the house to protect the weepers.
...Finally, George was back at it working on the backfill. Don't try this at home - this was a busy, complicated day, but it has worked out really well!
There's a time to compress the schedule, and a time to leave breathing room. I've compressed this week, for a number of reasons. I've been lucky enough to build some good relationships with key trades that can sometimes delay things for some time - today, CoXCo, the City subcontractor, was nice enough to jump a huge queue in order to do my sewer/water upgrade on site.
Doing this meant I was potentially pissing off the waterproofing guy, and subsequently everyone else (even the crane guy to remove the forms...which should have been done yesterday). To make a long story short, the day worked out ok, though now I've put even more pressure on the schedule for the rest of the week. Fingers crossed!
Fred's crew from Rock Concrete was in today to remove all of the forms. Unfortunately the crane broke down so we couldn't get them removed...which should make tomorrow interesting - more on that....tomorrow!
As promised, Rock Concrete was here early this morning to start the foundation wall pour. If the weather is decent, we'll be able to strip the forms tomorrow, waterproof Wednesday and start to back fill as early as Thursday. Sweet!
We are ready for concrete, and even though the weather is good today, we've been reshuffled and will not be pouring until Monday. However, the weather looks good, and with the way I've got things scheduled, we should be good to get things closed up soon.
