LET THERE BE CONCRETE!!

Got a little bit of rain last night, but it wasn't enough to postpone our first big pour of this season! First step is to pour some of our decorative stamped concrete, then we can come in and pour the grey broom finish once that's complete. See photos below, and simply click on each one to see it larger (same goes for previous posts, by the way):

Concreations pulled their truck into the tunnel, with the pump behind it on a trailer. The concrete truck then backs up to the pump (clearing the overhead barrel vault by a scant 8 inches, and the trench in the middle by a scant zero inches!!), and the concrete is pumped to the proper location through the heavy 6" hose (see below).

It takes one or two guys just to help hold the concrete line (kind of like a fireman crew), as they begin to pour our stamed sidewalk. As you can see, the sidewalk continues where we left off last summer, straight through the driveway and into the center island (see previous posts below for overhead photos). The surface of the sidewalk is the London Cobblestone stamp (see below), and it will be flush with the driveway on either side.

Once the concrete is firm enough to hold some weight, but still soft enough to make impressions, the crew begins with the stamp. First they apply a powdery "release". This is both a colorant and a non-stick powder for the heavy rubber stamp -- kind of like flour when working with bread dough. Once a few days have passed, the crew will then apply a sealer, and the sidewalk will be safe for walking.

We hope to begin pouring a few of our covered, unheated patios tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be a bit rainy, so we've saved these because they're under a porch or a roofline. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to make progress with the rain.

Marching on!!