Job update

We have all but one small pour done on the big job. We are in negotiations about that last pour since it was mislabeled on the plans, and we did not bid it. Until we get confirmation that we will be paid for it, we are considering our part done. At least the placing and stamping part.

We spent the better part of last week pressure washing, scoring joints and sealing on two big sections. There is over 14,000 square feet of imprint on this job. It had to be scored on 4 foot centers each way. Baby, that's a lot of scoring, I don't care who you are. DH has a nifty saw called a slab crab that is self propelled. It rolls merrily along scoring the concrete without much work on the human's part. You just have to make sure it stays on the line and watch it go. It's sorta like a roomba for sawing! ;)

Once the slab crab has crawled over the slab, you have to go behind and score the low places it missed. This has to be done by hand with a diamond blade on a grinder. Let me tell you right now that this is NO FUN. After spending entire days squeezing the trigger of the pressure washer, my hands did NOT want to hold the grinder. It is really hard because it has such high RPM's that it tries to twist itself out of your grip. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, this can be sheer agony. It is like someone is driving hot icepicks into your wrist and hand. OUCH! Once all the lines are scored, then they have to be painted so that they look like real mortar joints. Fortunately my little monkeys can do that reasonably well, so I didn't have to have a huge knee from crawling around on the concrete.

Anyway, enough whining. Here are some pictures of the job. The part that looks black has had sealer applied. This is going to be a very cool thing when it's finished. It will look great until the first time a car drives over the white sidewalk and leaves tread marks. The architect did not specify sealer, so after a few days/weeks the white concrete will be dirty gray. Oh well.... :)

Here is what the contrast will look like with the white concrete sidewalks They are not colored, but actually made with white concrete - white sand, cement, and rocks. It costs a fortune. The white diamond shape at the bottom of the photo will be filled in with polished granite. This is one of several things that I don't believe were well thought out. Polished granite is slicker than greased owl guts and some idiot *will* slip and fall on it when it's wet. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? At least it will look stunning :)

Here are some of the lines that were scored and then painted. I am sure there are miles of them. I will let someone else figure out just how many, as mathematics are not my strong suit :)This is the bollard brigade. I know each one of them intimately, and hate them all. What a fricking pain in the ass they were. I shall not miss them. I will not be happy when we start getting calls to repair the concrete when people hit them. It will not be cheap!Here is my DH sealing the concrete. This is really hard on his back. Walking backwards, bent over at the waist is bad juju for someone who has sciatica. Everything has to have two coats. Bummer man!

This has got to be THE most brilliant thing I have ever seen! NOT!!! There is a scant inch and a half cover over this pipe. In some spots, it is much less. I can guarantee that it will crack the concrete. I would be willing to bet $5000 that it does. I do not gamble lightly. I never make a bet I can't win. I wonder which trade will end up being hijacked over this. I promise you that it won't be us. We had no choice. We were not responsible for grade or base prep, so it's all on someone else. Isn't that just unbelievable? I can't even imagine anyone thinking it was ok. Oh well :-)