Extension Progress - Footings Poured!

Tuesday night it was 10 o'clock and I was stood in about 8 inches of water, with a flood light and a laser level trying to get pegs ready for the concrete that was booked for 8 in the morning. I didn't go to sleep feeling very happy about how prepared I was.

I woke early the next morning and had breakfast, I was outside just after six and there was my dad in the trench, already working, bucketing out the water. He was coming to help but I had no idea he'd be there that early, I was lucky that he did, as between us we got set up just in time before the concrete came. 

Both lorries turned up at once, just to add the pressure! 

Both lorries turned up at once though, just to add a bit of pressure. We had two dumpers moving it and between us we kept up well. 9 cubic meters of concrete, the footings took about 7.5 and the rest went to be used for a step on the patio (more of that in another post) or a slab outside my workshop. 

Poured in with the dumper, this made the job easier.  

In and levelled off

 We placed boards where we were tipping to prevent the splashing and had a the vibrating poker to make levelling the concrete easier, although we still had to use rakes and shovels as well!

The other side showing the step as well. 

It was a hard and long morning but we got it done and I feel so much better now it's all concreted.

I couldn't have got this far without the help of my dad, he has been an absolute legend in helping me (and pushing me late at night to do more). I sometimes look at him when he's working alongside me and wonder how he can still work so hard now he's 60, he's a machine and someone I always aspire to be more like. Having his skills and knowledge alongside my own in a project like this is amazing. 

Now I've got to wait a couple of weeks for my bricklayer before we can start building up higher!