Sometimes things are scheduled for difficult but in the end are relatively easy. Sometimes things are scheduled for easy but then turn difficult. Sometimes things are scheduled but then the whole thing schedule falls apart. When Boxes in Fields poured concrete footings for the Shop Box with a hand mixer, we were fully aware the work would be hard and time consuming. The work was what it was but in the end was not as difficult as originally thought. When Boxes in Fields poured concrete footings for the Work Box with the assistance of a concrete truck, we were not prepared for the work that was required. Turned out the concrete truck only made for more work in a shorter amount of time than by mixing and pouring by hand. The concrete truck had the wrong mixture and dry concrete had to be added and mixed into the tubes in order to create the correct texture leaving holidays in the tubes. None of those were anything like the mess that was yesterday.

Before the Great Freeze of 2021, when the concrete crew left they still needed to fill in missing concrete chairs to reduce soft spots in the rebar mat and readjust one of the rebar cages that was too close to the perimeter. That was on the 11th, yesterday was the 23rd, those things are still not done, and the pump truck had arrived onsite. The day was already off schedule at 9:36am.

Concrete chairs and rebar cages were set according the Planner specifications and the pump truck was in place and waiting on the concrete trucks. The day is still off schedule at 10:28am.

Concrete truck #1 finally arrived, the middle ditch was filled and vibrated to remove air pockets. Concrete truck #2 arrived shortly afterwards and the front ditch was filled. The day’s schedule fell apart at 12:03pm and the whole process came to a screeching halt.

To effectively set a concrete pad the concrete must be poured within set amount of time so that each batch of concrete adheres to the next. To pour a concrete pad with the use of a dump truck this set amount of time is reduced even further as the concrete will set inside the pump truck. To pour a concrete pad with the Planner whose job it was for many, many years as the engineer on site for concrete pours, this set amount of time had long done passed. Just as the foreman on site, the Planner, and pump truck driver called off the pour, the third truck rolled on site. At 1:19pm, over an hour after truck #2 left, the concrete was pouring again.

Concrete trucks #3-5 finally did arrive but not fast enough for either the Planner nor the pump truck operator. Just short of 3pm, the last of the concrete was pumped out of the truck and the concrete crew set about finishing up the hand required jobs of cutting corner edges and end bed plate cutouts to relieve stress for cracking potential and smoothing out the surface.

By six pm there was just a few concrete crew members left. They would stay to continue watering and polishing the concrete. The Planner said this had to be done slowly as to ensure the concrete did not dry out from top down.

By nine pm additional concrete members returned along with their light boxes, music boxes, dinner boxes. There was a work party going on until just after midnight. Conscientious of my neighbors they did reduce the volume of the music but nothing could be done about the noise from the polishing machine.

First thing this morning before the sun even came over the tree line the Planner was outside watering the concrete pad. Nothing about this concrete pad pour went as planned. Nothing. There are many areas that will already need to be fixed and there are many areas of concern that cannot be identified until the forms are erected. When the forms are pulled this concrete pad has a very high potential to have to be removed if the layers of concrete did not adhere due to the untimely pour schedule.

As of right now this is concrete pad is only fit for skating. What a damned disaster. Hire the professionals and the result is a professional mess. UGH.