Segment 5 (and 5 1/2): Job Complete

[kevin_standlee]

This afternoon about 2 PM we started working on the fifth and final segment of the carport-widening project.



Here's what it looked like when we were done. The carport/RV parking area is now 4.4 meters wide, and it's going to be a lot more convenient, even with the travel trailer's stairs deployed.

Today's job took about four hours, and consumed almost twice as much concrete (14 bags) as any of the previous pours. Fortunately, after a week of doing this, we sort of have the hang of it.



Here's what Segment 5 looked like just before we started mixing concrete. Before we did so, Lisa used the grinder to cut off the metal spike embedded in the old concrete. From the signs, it looks like a previous owner had outdoor carpet held down with this spike. We didn't need it, so we removed it.

Because this segment was bigger than the others and needed more concrete, Lisa was doing finishing as we went; otherwise, it would have started setting on her before she got back to the first part. I took a picture that unfortunately didn't turn out that well that shows the half-finished segment with her working hard on getting it right.

When we got the segment poured, there was still concrete left, which allowed us to take on an optional project I dubbed "Segment 5-plus."

Remember the ton and a half of concrete?



This is the last sack — and the fourteenth bag we mixed today. (No previous segment used more than eight bags.)



This area between the end of the extension and the rear gate has always been a bit inconvenient. It's rough concrete with a 'decorative' rock embedded in it. Besides being bumpy (annoying when rolling things through on a cart), it's also a bit of a low spot, and in the winter moisture pools here and freezes, making for a hazard. Lisa allowed as she was up to using the last bag and two-thirds of concrete mix to cover this up and raise the area slightly to improve drainage.



Here's what it looked like when Lisa finished. While it's maybe not as pretty as the decorative red rock, we expect it to be more useful and convenient.



And finally, after five days (plus "Segment 0" as a test pour two days before that), the carport project is done, and about time, too. While we did manage to pace ourselves to the point that we weren't nearly as tired as we were after one of the early pours, this still is wearing work. Lisa helped me out of my coveralls and boots and sent me off to buy us pizza for dinner.

There's no way we could have worked this into my Day Jobbe schedule, so having me take a week off from work to stay home and do this project has been a good use of my time. And we did need to get done by today, as there's a storm coming and we want the concrete curing to be well done before the rain comes. We also could not have waited much later in the year, because you're not supposed to pour concrete in freezing weather. As it happens, we got pretty lucky with the weather, which was just about perfect.

Tomorrow we do no more home-improvement projects, for it is our wedding anniversary.

Comments

[solarbird]

Congratulations on getting finished and happy anniversary!

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

This is an anniversary gift to themselves they'll remember and use for many years to come!

[clothsprogs.livejournal.com]

Happy Anniversary!

Teddy

[k6rfm.livejournal.com]

I'm in awe, that's a lot of concrete to do in a wheelbarrow. NWS has put the rain off until later Friday so you should be fine (doesn't really hurt the concrete to get wet, as long as it's set enough that raindrop craters don't form.) I worry about the thinness of 5+... but it doesn't look like you'd be driving over it.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a lot of mixing. It was better once we realized that we should only mix one sack at a time, even though two bags will fit in the wheelbarrow. It was just too hard on my back and arms to mix two. We got faster at it as well once we got the hang of the amount of water to add.

As you surmised, the last bit is not a driving area, only a pedestrian walkway, and we expect the edges will probably break up under stress, anyway. But it's still an improvement. The alternative was trying to chip the whole thing out, which wasn't in the cards at this time. Among other things, we don't have a sledgehammer.

While we're unlikely to drive over any part of the rest of the extension, we expect that it could handle it once it cures, given that most of it is actually thicker than the original carport/driveway. In places, it's more than 15 cm thick.