Week 9, day forty-one

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Here comes the rain again...

A few formwork shots, for those who get a thrill...

Boy has it been raining. Not necessarily that hard - bar last night and when it absolutely bucketed down this morning - but just this constant on and off drizzle and mists. On our way to school this morning, not long after looking hopefully out the window at a patch of perhaps less heavy cloud, it pelted down - we drove past The Block and a few fluoro-vested tradies were huddled in the neighbour's dilapidated garage. Sigh.

So the plan was for James the Plumber to return from hols yesterday and get cracking on the hydronics, finishing the piping and then pressure-testing the whole shebang. He's a stoic sort, but I guess yesterday's constant drizzle put even him off - no action on The Block yesterday. However Charlie, our friend and architect, did turn up on the doorstep for a surprise lunch and site visit though, which was a very good thing. His summation was that all was looking fine, thank goodness. I think he even called our bricks a 'coup', which makes me happy...

The whole shebang, ready to be buried

This morning the concreters were there bright and early (to finish up the formwork for tomorrow's scheduled pour, I guess) but were looking less than long-term as we passed. Turns out they scarpered not long after - wimps! But then, a mountain miracle mid-morning: blue sky and sun, as if from nowhere!

Two new footings...

Tuesday is Jem and my busy day: music class then swimming, then usually a run at the food co-op and Coles. After knocking all this off we drove back to Blackheath, with fingers crossed... Yes! The sun had brought plumbers out of the woodwork. So while James ticked off his jobs, seems tomorrow's concrete pour is in for another delay. When the skies opened up this morning, Chief Concreter was under pressure to make a call on whether or not he wanted the very-expensive-crane-pump-pourer-thingy for tomorrow. I don't really blame him for delaying another day - this morning I would have said it was going to rain for the entire week too.

...for mini garden walls

So stay tuned, peeps: seems that THURSDAY will now be slab day (cue Hunters & Collectors song 'The Slab' - one of my top 50 Aus songs of all time - which is going to run endlessly through my head until this bit is done and dusted). We stand poised with video camera at the ready...