There wasn't a ton of progress made on Day 5, and I didn't get any pictures, so you'll have to take my word on that. They filled in the trench and got all the drainage in place, but still didn't finish all the concrete forms or the rebar.
Which meant that early on Day 6 (around 6:30am), there were fifteen workmen in our backyard, trying to get everything ready before the concrete showed up at 9am. They added a layer of compacted sub-base (the hard-packed stuff under the concrete) and finished the forms and rebar for the right patio and the right side walkway.
Which meant that early on Day 6 (around 6:30am), there were fifteen workmen in our backyard, trying to get everything ready before the concrete showed up at 9am. They added a layer of compacted sub-base (the hard-packed stuff under the concrete) and finished the forms and rebar for the right patio and the right side walkway.
Then the concrete truck showed up and deposited its load into a big hopper in front of our house. This was connected to a high-pressure hose that they snaked all the way around the house. They started on the left side and worked their way across the back patios and down the right side of the house, so they weren't "painting themselves into a corner."
To begin, it just looked like a lake of mud in the backyard, but they quickly created the score lines and detailing to give each patio some definition. This picture shows how they would measure out the distance between the score lines, then snap a string across the patio to mark where each one should go. Then another guy came by and actually cut the grooves with a sharper tool on a long pole. Finally, they came out on their hands and knees, using special knee pads that held them from knee to toe and distributed their weight across a large surface. They touched up all the smooth surfaces and carefully carved the edges.
When it was done, they left it to dry. It will take a few days for us to be able to walk on it without worry, and it will dry quite a bit lighter than the color in these pictures. We think it looks great, though, and we can't wait to be able to use our beautiful new patios.
On Day 7, they just came and removed the forms around the concrete. On Monday they'll lay the irrigation for the lawn and planters, and then the sod will go in that afternoon or early on Tuesday. Planting and touch-ups will continue for a couple of days, so we should be done by Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
I took a lot of pictures during this portion of the job, mainly because I found the concrete process fascinating, and they were doing such a great job turning a river of mud into a great patio. I've posted some of the pictures on our photo site, along with descriptions of what was happening. If you're at all curious how all of this gets done, take a look.
I took a lot of pictures during this portion of the job, mainly because I found the concrete process fascinating, and they were doing such a great job turning a river of mud into a great patio. I've posted some of the pictures on our photo site, along with descriptions of what was happening. If you're at all curious how all of this gets done, take a look.
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