That's A Mouthfull!

Entire electrical system, improved, updated and moved. Check.

Entire plumbing system, improved, updated and moved. Check.

Entire phone system, improved, updated and moved. Check.

All systems currently functioning. Check.







Monday morning, as promised, the excavator showed up at 06:30. I know there are excavators much bigger than this one, but I have officially named this one Digosaurus Hellatious, more commonly called One Hell of a Digger.











There is an existing pad of cement that went under the doublewide, and that had to go. But everyone was betting there would be no rebar, since the primary function of the cement was to make a managable crawlspace and get rid of a potential mudhole.



Wrong.

There was probably enough rebar in that thing to put U.S. Steel back to work. But that giant mouth of a bucket grabbed onto slabs of the concrete and slammed them around until either the rebar gave way or it was exposed for one of the workers to cut it with a metal saw.

As Robbie Ohrburg was running that excavator, he was spinning it around like a top, to the right, to the left, around in a circle, whirl around the other direction. I had to stop watching because I was getting motion sickness just looking at it. That guy must have eaten cafeteria lunches as a kid because anyone else would be queasy.



They wouldn't let Ed play with any of the big toys but they did let him be the stick-guy for the laser level

. It made me a little nervous to have him down in that hole, with the big bucket swinging around like a tether ball, but Robbie knew what he was about, and didn't smack Ed once. He really had amazing control and was able to move it very delicately. I told him later, "You could put mascara on with that thing!"




All the busted up concrete and all the dirt was carted down to the east pasture and dumped in neat piles. The pile is about six feet tall and about eight feet across, and I couldn't even guess how long it is..100 yards? It's like having my own personal Hadrian's Wall. Later, Ed will take the tractor down and distribute the dirt around to various places. It's mostly clay and rubble rock, that hasn't seen the light of day for a few hundred years.












By the end of the day, we had a basement dug. I can't even imagine how long that would have taken us with the tractor and the gator...months.



Sometimes it's just worth it to have the pros come out and do the job.















This morning, we had some sand brought in as a base, and to try to cut down on the mud. Of course, the cats thought it was the best sandbox ever!









Ed got out the tractor and started pushing the sand around. Sometimes I think he just thinks up these projects so he can play with the toys.
Once he has the sand spread around, he'll switch from construction hat to farm hat and take care of a few things he's been putting off.
The weather man says we're scheduled for rain next week and that means the blackberry vines have to be sprayed this week.
Next week we'll probably start some inside jobs.
The list is endless, but here are a few items.
1. Tile the coat closet and the pantry. Grout.
2. Lay hardwood flooring.
3. Run lumber for baseboards and window trim through the planer.
4. Rip same.
5. Stain and seal same.
6. Install same.
7. Install cabinets.
8. Tile counters. Grout.
9. Spoil Theresa rotten.


Needless to say, it won't all happen next week. Stay tuned.