The Big Dig

This past Saturday was quite productive with the help of some industrial equipment - a bobcat and a 90 lb. jackhammer. We needed to remove a significant amount of dirt and concrete to have an adequately sized crawl space under the addition. We had a bit of a rough start. We had to break out about 50 sq/ft of concrete patio in our backyard where the new kitchen will go and discovered that the concrete was at least 10" think in some places. It was clear that the builders of the patio did not try to level the ground before they poured the concrete. They just filled all the unevenness with more concrete. Anyway, after switching to a more powerful jackhammer my dad was able to get it all broken up. I have to give him a huge thank you for spending all morning doing the most labor intensive job. The bobcat made quick work of removing the concrete and dirt and by mid afternoon we were starting to dig the trenches for the foundation footing.

Unfortunately, I don't have any action shots of the work on Saturday. I need to get better about taking pictures. Here are a few pics showing how things look now.

This Saturday I will be digging the trenches for the foundation footings. If you want to get dirty and do a little back breaking manual labor, come on by. I'll be starting around 9am but you are welcome any time. Bring a pick, shovel and gloves if you have them. There will be food and drink for all.