The Big Dig

We’re one week into our two-day project and what a week it’s been. It started out as planned, a bunch of guys, a couple Kubotas, and a sunny day.

They made quick work of the brick walkway in the front although to be honest, the bricks were so loose I could have lifted them out myself. It was mainly the old concrete sidewalk under the bricks that was the hard part.

We did have some problems when they pulled the walkway out from under the porch stairs. The stairs are still in one piece and functional but the stringer on one side split so we’ll likely have to address that later.

The back started out fairly easy—a good portion of the concrete was only a couple inches thick which was why it was cracking. However, the main section just off the house was clearly over engineered—the concrete was very thick and had rebar running through it. It took the rest of the day to remove it so they didn’t get a chance to build any of the forms.

Wyatt’s been completely perplexed by the entire operation.

Since part of the reason we need to redo our patio is drainage issues, we decided the best way to shuttle water away from the house was through the side yard. Since they were there, we decided to trench all the other downspouts as well.

That said, the entire project came to a halt while we suffered through three days of flash floods. We’ve been marooned by a slurry of mud and the dog is miserable. Good news though—the ground is finally dry and the guys are all back at work!