| Progress and News Continued |
Aug 30th: We got another little dose of disappointment today. Busy
doing a lot of other things, we didn't make it to the property until around
3:30 or so. The plumber wasn't there, but I could tell he had been there
because of the work that had been done. I called him, and he said
they'd, once again, ran out of pipe and would be back "in the morning"
to finish. He said they'd likely get the inspection done Friday. Another
week gets on by.
Aug. 31st: Well, typical to the roller coaster ride Tina and I have been
on for the past three years, planning and working toward the day we'd
be able to bring you a top notch boarding facility, and one where the
folks in charge are as big a nut for dogs and cats as you are, and
unlike yesterday, we had a good, positive day today. The plumber
finished today, his work will be inspected tomorrow, and our concrete
guy will be here Tuesday to get the footings and slab poured.
Greystone will either have our meter plugged in to our temporary power
pole, or we will rent a generator big enough to run our well pump. Our
concrete guy will need to mix some of the concrete by hand for the
footings, since several of the drain pipes are already in place and can't
moved, risking their draining ability. So he'll need our well pumping
water. It will take a fairly big generator, but I'm betting on Greystone
getting our meter installed and electricity flowing through our service
line, making renting a generator totally unnecessary. Tropical Storm
Ernesto, possibly soon-to-be Hurricane Ernesto, for the second time,
taking a wide swing around the Georgia coast is giving us the break
we needed.
The basement, carport and detached garage slab for our home will be
poured very early tomorrow morning, which is what we needed at the
home site to really get the house jumping out of the ground. The race
is on to see which one, the lodge or the house, will be finished first. Go
Lodge!
Sept. 1st: We chalked up another good day today! I got to the site
around 8:30 to open the gate for the plumping inspector, and like
clockwork, he showed up a little after 9:00. Everything passed, which
gives our concrete guys a go for coming in next Tuesday. Right now
they're predicting rain next Tuesday and Wednesday, so you can't get
a much better guarantee for nice weather than that! Not only did the
inspector come, but Greystone came through for us and turned our
power on today, putting a meter in our temporary power pole. So that
means we won't have to bother with renting a generator next week.
Getting the plumbing done and passing the inspection was a big hurdle
we've been needing to put behind us. Now that is done, the next hurdle
is the slab. Hopefully Chad and Jason will come swooping in next
Tuesday and get that knocked out in short order. We don't know how
accurate it is, but they said they'll be in and out of here in three days.
Things are looking up!
Our home basement, carport and detached garage slabs were poured
today! Jerry Slay said lumber will be delivered Tuesday, and he'll have
his framers here to put some wood up.
Sept 5th: I hope everyone had a terrific Labor Day weekend! We
received the dreaded call this morning at 8:00 that our concrete guy,
once again, won't be able to make it today. As soon as the telephone
rang, we knew what we were about to hear. The job he's currently
doing is in North Carolina has been delayed due to the massive
flooding from the tropical storm of last week, so he's now way behind.
How much, I don't know. Having been so impressed with Johnny Wells,
the concrete guy Jerry Slay used on our home, Tina gave Mark
Harding's (kennel builder) secretary Johnny's name and number, and
that we highly recommend him. Lisa, Mark's secretary, just called
again, and they have taken our recommendation and called Johnny this
morning to see if he can meet Mark here tomorrow to give him a price.
Johnny said he could, so Mark will be here from South Carolina where
he's currently building a kennel for Houndquarters, to meet Johnny at
our site. Concrete work for a kennel is such an important issue, since
the floor's slope has got to be exactly right, in order for all the floor
drains to work properly, and to make sure there are no places water
will pond. Tina expressed our concerns to Lisa that here, now, we're
probably going to miss Thanksgiving, and now Christmas is in
question. Lisa told Mark Tina's concerns, and he promised that the
lodge WILL be finished and open before Christmas.
We understand that there wasn't anything that could have been done
about the storm, and we tend to be patient people, but we aren't getting
any younger....well, at least Tina's not, and we need to get the lodge
finished now!
Please, folks, be patient with us. I promise it will all be worth it, once
finished.
Sept. 6th: Okay, today's the day our builder, Mark Harding, is
supposed to be here to meet with our home concrete guy, Johnny
Wells, to get a price from him to pour the footers and slab for the
lodge. It's 9:00 in the morning and we haven't heard from anyone yet,
but Mark's coming from South Carolina, and it depends on if he did his
driving yesterday or waited until today. I will write this evening if what's
supposed to have happened, actually happened. Absolutely nothing
went on yesterday, on the lodge or our house. Well, that's not exactly
the truth, because Williams Brothers delivered the trusses for our
garage and the wood to begin studding up wall in the basement, and
Douglas County WSA installed the water meter for our home. Not
being able to sit around and do nothing, I was there removing dirt from
around trees we really want to save. It's funny, but when you tie a
ribbon around trees, marking them in the hope to protect them, the very
least you can expect to happen is that they end up with dirt piled up on
the trunk. We did our best to save dogwoods, sourwoods, beech
trees, big oak trees and all wild azaleas.
2:30 PM: Man, the place is all abuzz with activity today! Mark and
Johnny met us there at 11:00, they came to an agreement, and now
Johnny's set to begin working today on preparing the lodge site for
pouring the slab! I've seen Johnny and his guys working, and let me tell
you, they don't mess around. Up on the road at our home site, they're
quickly putting up walls! This is what we've been wanting to see for a
long, long time. We got temporary power hooked up to our well this
morning, and I'll be meeting Chris Garner there early tomorrow morning
for him to get the well running and all the pressure settings set.
Sept. 7th: Combination good day and a bad day. The good part was
that there was lots of work being done on both sites all day long. The
bad part was that I met our well guy early this morning for him to get the
newly powered up well started, and get all the pressure settings set.
As soon as he turned the power on and nothing happened, I got a bad
feeling deep inside. He did some checking with his volt meter and
said the pump is running, but something's stopping the water, as if it
were a hung check valve or something. That's okay, that can be dealt
with. What can't be dealt with is when a loose rock falls from the well
wall and settles on the top of the submersible pump. Then when the
pump has to be removed, for just such an occasion as we find
ourselves in, the rock becomes wedged between the pump and the
rock wall of the well. When this happens, it makes the pump
sometimes impossible to pull out. And at a time like this, all they can
do is try wiggling the pump up and down, in the short range the rock will
allow, in an attempt to make the rock work its way on past the pump.
After it became apparent this wasn't going to work, the only option was
to try to force the pump up and past the rock. Sometimes, exactly like
this time, the rock won't budge and the PVC pipe breaks. If you're
lucky, the pipe will break close to the pump, allowing the pump to drop
to the bottom of the hole, never to be seen again. Then, after saying
good-bye to the first, expensive, pump, they will drop a new pump
down the well to a point above the lost pump. All that can happen IF
you're lucky. In our case, the pipe broke off 20 feet down the well, and
since the pump was set at the 280' level of a 305' hole, the pump plus
260 feet of pipe fell down the well. The freshly broken end is
approximately 45' down the well, making it impossible to see.
ANYway, if they can't figure out a way to retrieve that pump, our
wonderful 20 gallon per minute well is wasted and a new well has to be
drilled. Other than that, today was just peachy.
Sept. 8th: Lot's of action today, and there'll be a lot tomorrow as well!
The well fiasco hasn't changed any, and the well guys won't be back to
work on the problem until Sunday. They did, however, save us by
delivering a 300 gallon tank of water to the site today, that will be used
to mix bags of cement. Mark Harding will be there at 8:00 in the
morning to hand mix bags of cement, in order to carefully place trench
drains around the already carefully placed floor drains. The floor drains
were installed by the plumber the other day, and have been tested to
make sure they do drain properly. So nothing can touch them without
risk of messing up their ability to drain. That's why Mark, who is
responsible for this whole thing working, takes on the responsibility of
placing the trench drains. I guess he's like I am: I'd just rather do a job
myself, because I know I'll do it right, and right's the only way to do
things. Anyway, the footings were finished today and the slab has
been formed up. Once Mark finishes tomorrow, then they can pour the
slab. They're pouring the footings separate from the slab, because
we're using colored concrete for the slab, and it's so expensive, there's
no reason to waste it by using it to pour the footings. After the slab has
been poured, and before the steel goes up, that's the window of time
we have to get the well either working, or to drill a new one. Thing's
sure aren't easy sometimes.
Sept. 10th: We had a little action at the site yesterday! A specialty
concrete guy from North Carolina came and mounted the trench drains,
by hand mixing concrete, using the water that our terrific well guys
brought us on Friday. Trench drains are pretty much like it sounds.
They're a continuous drain, running the full length of the dog boarding
area, passing through each run at the rear of the run along the rear
wall. They are covered with a grate that we can remove for cleaning
out hair clumps...and stuff, but can't be removed by the dogs....no, not
even Corky! Trench drains make cleaning the boarding area twice a
day easy and quick. The drains evacuate the water quickly, taking it
safely out of the building into the sewage system. These drains had to
be put in after the footings were dug but before they are poured. That,
followed by pouring the slab, will come within the next few days,
depending on the rain giving us a break, and us resolving our water
well woes quickly. The poor guys who mounted the trench drains
yesterday worked until after dark, using the lights from their pickup to
light up the work area. Their ride down from near Charlotte, North
Carolina took them about two hours more than they expected, so they
didn't get quite as early a start as they would have liked. We have
some wet weather forecast for the first part of this coming week, but
maybe it won't be a complete rain-out. Working on walking trails over
the past couple of days, I discovered an area in our back corner
beside the Breckenridge neighborhood, that is so pretty, just covered
with wild azaleas. I will work now to make a new loop of our trail
system to take in this very pretty area. While back there yesterday
morning, being just amazed how pretty the forest was, I found myself
venturing further and further behind our property, just to see one more
thing, then another, then another. My telephone rang and it was Tina
telling me the concrete guys had finally gotten there. I looked around
and realized I was WAY back in the woods, so I told Tina to be patient,
that it would take a while to walk back. Oh well, it was worth it.
Sept. 11th: Tina and I got great news this afternoon! We had several
places we had to be today, so we didn't make it to the lodge site until
around 3:30 or later. As we drove up, Chris and Mr. Garner were
letting the boom down on their truck as if they were about to pack up
and leave. We parked the car and walked down to where they were
set up at the well, and I asked them if they had any good news. Chris
motioned down toward the ground, and with a sly grin on his face he
said, "You see all the pipe laying there, don't you?" I looked down and,
sure enough, there was a pile of PVC pipe on the ground, which could
only mean one thing! They lowered a camera down into the well and
found the end of the pipe down at the 55' or so level. They were able to
use a tool they have for just such cases to screw into the pipe. Then by
twisting the pipe they were able to detach it from the pump, leaving it to
spend the rest of its days at the bottom of our well. Now they can drop
a new pump down to a point above the old pump, then hope like crazy
this same old thing NEVER happens again! Yes, a new pump is
expensive, but not nearly so as the cost of drilling a new hole! While
there we noticed that Johnny (ye ol' concrete guy) had been back and
laid steel rebars in the footings. Wondering when they were going to
attempt to pour the footings, I called Johnny and asked him. He said
they weren't finished to call in for inspections on Friday for a Monday
morning inspection, so it would be tomorrow morning before it could be
inspected. Then they will pour the footings tomorrow morning, weather
permitting. Just between you and me, I can't see why the slab can't be
poured Thursday or Friday. Wednesday, from what the weather folks
are saying, will be a pretty soggy day, so it's not likely there can be any
concrete poured. And now that we won't be needing to get the drilling
rig back to the well area, which would have delayed us getting all the
steel put up, we pretty much have a green flag to keep things moving
forward!
Sept. 12th: Didn't get the footings poured today like we had planned.
They called in for an inspection yesterday afternoon, expecting it to
occur this morning, but the inspector didn't come until after lunch. And
by this time rain was moving into the area, so they decided to hold off
and hope for tomorrow. I think tomorrow has a better chance of rain
than today, but while we're hoping... We're going to need a concrete
pump to reach the difficult to get to areas, and it's supposed to be
delivered to the site tomorrow morning at 8:00. The concrete truck is
supposed to arrive at 8:30. Are you listening rain? When the rain
stops in the morning, we're supposed to have several days of very nice
weather, so there should be a lot accomplished both on the lodge and
our house over the next few days.
Sept. 13th: This morning was a total washout and we couldn't pour the
footings. The place was standing in water, and it just wasn't any
weather to be pouring concrete in. We'll pour the footings tomorrow
morning, though, but since we had a couple of wasted days this week,
we likely won't be able to pour the slab before next week. It seems
every week has some issue that surfaces that puts us off until next
week. I'd like to mention here that Tina and I will have a booth in
Douglas County's September Saturdays Celebration beginning at 1:00
in the afternoon for the next three Saturdays at the Douglas County
Courthouse. Please join us! See the "News" section on the first
"Progress and News" page for more details.
Sept. 14th: We got the footings poured this morning! After that was
finished, the plumber came back and tied the trench drains, that were
installed Saturday, into the drain system that leads to the septic
system. So we're all ready to pour the slab. If that will be done
tomorrow, I'll find out tomorrow. We never talked to Johnny this
afternoon, so we don't know if they will be pouring the slab tomorrow or
what. The well situation gets even funnier....in a sick sort of way. Chris
and Mr. Garner came out today to install the new pump. They put it
down the well, hooked it up and turned it on. What do you know, we
had water! They installed a 2 horsepower pump to provide the lodge
with lots of volume, and, boy, was it doing it! It looked like a fire hydrant
spewing water! The water was dingy, though, and they said they'd let it
run for a while to see if it cleared up. Nope. Instead it stopped the
pump up. So they pulled it back out, took the pump apart, cleaned it
out, then put it back down the well. Once again, it stopped the pump up
with junk from the dirt from the water. You know, it's not supposed to
be like this! Chris said once in a great while they run across a well like
this that has to be screened. He said a great many wells in South
Georgia have to be screened, but up here, not so many. Chris said
this setup will clean the water before it has a chance to get to the
pump, but it's a little costly. Not as costly as a new well, though, so we
gave him the go-ahead, and now we have to wait until the latter part of
next week before the system will come in and they can get it installed.
These guys are great! They're going the second and third mile to help
us, and you can't ask for anything more. Our house is coming along
quickly. They got second floor walls studded today and began building
the roof system. We're having the framer frame the exterior walls with
2 x 6s, giving the house thicker insulated walls, and we'll have the
insulation contractor wrap it up so well a BTU will have to look all week
long to find its way out! Oh, don't forget to come visit Tina and I at
September Saturdays at the Douglas County Courthouse this
Saturday!
Sept 15th: Nothing's going on today, but Monday will be the day the
slab is poured! Johnny will work there, maybe this evening, but some
time over the weekend for sure, to get the slab area prepared for the
pouring of concrete Monday morning. Mark Harding (builder) will come
here from his home in Ohio Monday morning to oversee the pouring of
the slab. We are using colored concrete, I believe it's called
terracotta. If you've been in the Wal-Mart in Carrollton, I think it will look
something like their floor, which, in my opinion, looks pretty good! By
using colored concrete, we won't ever have to bother with using stain or
paint on the floor. We've heard too many nightmares about peeling
paint, which can be unsafe for the pets, then having to shut the place
down while you sandblast and refinish the floor. Yeah, it's more
expensive to go this route, but by doing it right from the very start, it
should more than pay off in the long run...plus it'll look great! Okay,
knowing you are already making plans to come see us at the
September Saturdays Celebration at the Douglas County Courthouse
in Douglasville tomorrow, canceling vacations, tee times, weddings
and such, here's a little incentive to be there early before it opens: You
get to watch us make a fool out of ourselves trying to open a new
canopy tent we bought today! Seriously, it'll probably be a real hoot to
watch us do that. So don't forget: tomorrow and the following two
Saturdays at the Douglas County Courthouse starting at 1:00. And
while typing this, the folks from Douglas Oaks Animal Hospital called to
say Pete came through his being neutered in good shape, he's awake
and doing well. We'll pick him up tomorrow morning, then bring him
home to rest while we're in Douglasville. We will try to have Pete with
us on Saturday the 23rd. He's, for all practical purposes, housebroken
now, is doing well learning to walk on a leash, and is one of the most
gentle and happy dogs I've seen. What a guy!
Sept. 18th: Due to the threat of rain, and the site not being inspected
today as we had hoped for, we couldn't pour the slab. If this rain clears
out early enough, and if the inspector will pay us a visit early in the
morning, it is possible we could pour the slab tomorrow. But since we
had some pretty heavy rain this evening, with the threat of more rain
overnight, it will likely be poured Wednesday. That's okay....what's
another day? Mark Harding (builder) will be here in the morning
around 9:00, but I will have the gate open by 8:00, just in case the
inspector comes early. Johnny finished preparing the site for pouring
the slab today, and I planted some grass seed in a few places. I will be
able to get a little more serious about planting grass when the well is
up and running later this week, hopefully. I hope the seed I planted
today wasn't washed away in the heavy rain that just passed through.
We left the property around 6:30, and from what we could tell, it looked
like the framers might have gotten all the roof decking on the house
before the rain moved in.
Sept. 19th: It was another one of those days. Johnny was there on
time (as usual) and did what was left remaining in order to prepare the
site for the pouring of the slab. Tina and I were there planting some
redbud tree seeds we'd gotten from a big redbud we have here at our
current house, and our builder, Mark, called and asked me if we
minded putting off the concrete work until Monday. He said since the
rain had delayed us, and a couple other complications had come up,
he wouldn't be able to come until Monday. He explained that it really
wouldn't put us behind but one day, because his building crews weren't
coming until Monday, anyway, to get the building started, and now he'll
have them there on Tuesday. I told him we didn't mind as long as he'd
have us open by Christmas, preferably Thanksgiving. He said it
wouldn't be a problem, that he would bring enough people to have it up
in plenty of time. So, Tina and I are practicing patience once again.
We've practiced it so much, we ought to be pretty good at it by now!
Our house is really looking like a house now! I've been taking pictures
of its progress nearly every day, but I didn't get the opportunity today.
I'll be there by about 7:00 in the morning, and that will give me a good
chance to take shots and look it over before the framers show up for
work. I want to make sure and find all the creaks in the floor and get
them screwed down tightly, before any flooring is installed.
doing a lot of other things, we didn't make it to the property until around
3:30 or so. The plumber wasn't there, but I could tell he had been there
because of the work that had been done. I called him, and he said
they'd, once again, ran out of pipe and would be back "in the morning"
to finish. He said they'd likely get the inspection done Friday. Another
week gets on by.
Aug. 31st: Well, typical to the roller coaster ride Tina and I have been
on for the past three years, planning and working toward the day we'd
be able to bring you a top notch boarding facility, and one where the
folks in charge are as big a nut for dogs and cats as you are, and
unlike yesterday, we had a good, positive day today. The plumber
finished today, his work will be inspected tomorrow, and our concrete
guy will be here Tuesday to get the footings and slab poured.
Greystone will either have our meter plugged in to our temporary power
pole, or we will rent a generator big enough to run our well pump. Our
concrete guy will need to mix some of the concrete by hand for the
footings, since several of the drain pipes are already in place and can't
moved, risking their draining ability. So he'll need our well pumping
water. It will take a fairly big generator, but I'm betting on Greystone
getting our meter installed and electricity flowing through our service
line, making renting a generator totally unnecessary. Tropical Storm
Ernesto, possibly soon-to-be Hurricane Ernesto, for the second time,
taking a wide swing around the Georgia coast is giving us the break
we needed.
The basement, carport and detached garage slab for our home will be
poured very early tomorrow morning, which is what we needed at the
home site to really get the house jumping out of the ground. The race
is on to see which one, the lodge or the house, will be finished first. Go
Lodge!
Sept. 1st: We chalked up another good day today! I got to the site
around 8:30 to open the gate for the plumping inspector, and like
clockwork, he showed up a little after 9:00. Everything passed, which
gives our concrete guys a go for coming in next Tuesday. Right now
they're predicting rain next Tuesday and Wednesday, so you can't get
a much better guarantee for nice weather than that! Not only did the
inspector come, but Greystone came through for us and turned our
power on today, putting a meter in our temporary power pole. So that
means we won't have to bother with renting a generator next week.
Getting the plumbing done and passing the inspection was a big hurdle
we've been needing to put behind us. Now that is done, the next hurdle
is the slab. Hopefully Chad and Jason will come swooping in next
Tuesday and get that knocked out in short order. We don't know how
accurate it is, but they said they'll be in and out of here in three days.
Things are looking up!
Our home basement, carport and detached garage slabs were poured
today! Jerry Slay said lumber will be delivered Tuesday, and he'll have
his framers here to put some wood up.
Sept 5th: I hope everyone had a terrific Labor Day weekend! We
received the dreaded call this morning at 8:00 that our concrete guy,
once again, won't be able to make it today. As soon as the telephone
rang, we knew what we were about to hear. The job he's currently
doing is in North Carolina has been delayed due to the massive
flooding from the tropical storm of last week, so he's now way behind.
How much, I don't know. Having been so impressed with Johnny Wells,
the concrete guy Jerry Slay used on our home, Tina gave Mark
Harding's (kennel builder) secretary Johnny's name and number, and
that we highly recommend him. Lisa, Mark's secretary, just called
again, and they have taken our recommendation and called Johnny this
morning to see if he can meet Mark here tomorrow to give him a price.
Johnny said he could, so Mark will be here from South Carolina where
he's currently building a kennel for Houndquarters, to meet Johnny at
our site. Concrete work for a kennel is such an important issue, since
the floor's slope has got to be exactly right, in order for all the floor
drains to work properly, and to make sure there are no places water
will pond. Tina expressed our concerns to Lisa that here, now, we're
probably going to miss Thanksgiving, and now Christmas is in
question. Lisa told Mark Tina's concerns, and he promised that the
lodge WILL be finished and open before Christmas.
We understand that there wasn't anything that could have been done
about the storm, and we tend to be patient people, but we aren't getting
any younger....well, at least Tina's not, and we need to get the lodge
finished now!
Please, folks, be patient with us. I promise it will all be worth it, once
finished.
Sept. 6th: Okay, today's the day our builder, Mark Harding, is
supposed to be here to meet with our home concrete guy, Johnny
Wells, to get a price from him to pour the footers and slab for the
lodge. It's 9:00 in the morning and we haven't heard from anyone yet,
but Mark's coming from South Carolina, and it depends on if he did his
driving yesterday or waited until today. I will write this evening if what's
supposed to have happened, actually happened. Absolutely nothing
went on yesterday, on the lodge or our house. Well, that's not exactly
the truth, because Williams Brothers delivered the trusses for our
garage and the wood to begin studding up wall in the basement, and
Douglas County WSA installed the water meter for our home. Not
being able to sit around and do nothing, I was there removing dirt from
around trees we really want to save. It's funny, but when you tie a
ribbon around trees, marking them in the hope to protect them, the very
least you can expect to happen is that they end up with dirt piled up on
the trunk. We did our best to save dogwoods, sourwoods, beech
trees, big oak trees and all wild azaleas.
2:30 PM: Man, the place is all abuzz with activity today! Mark and
Johnny met us there at 11:00, they came to an agreement, and now
Johnny's set to begin working today on preparing the lodge site for
pouring the slab! I've seen Johnny and his guys working, and let me tell
you, they don't mess around. Up on the road at our home site, they're
quickly putting up walls! This is what we've been wanting to see for a
long, long time. We got temporary power hooked up to our well this
morning, and I'll be meeting Chris Garner there early tomorrow morning
for him to get the well running and all the pressure settings set.
Sept. 7th: Combination good day and a bad day. The good part was
that there was lots of work being done on both sites all day long. The
bad part was that I met our well guy early this morning for him to get the
newly powered up well started, and get all the pressure settings set.
As soon as he turned the power on and nothing happened, I got a bad
feeling deep inside. He did some checking with his volt meter and
said the pump is running, but something's stopping the water, as if it
were a hung check valve or something. That's okay, that can be dealt
with. What can't be dealt with is when a loose rock falls from the well
wall and settles on the top of the submersible pump. Then when the
pump has to be removed, for just such an occasion as we find
ourselves in, the rock becomes wedged between the pump and the
rock wall of the well. When this happens, it makes the pump
sometimes impossible to pull out. And at a time like this, all they can
do is try wiggling the pump up and down, in the short range the rock will
allow, in an attempt to make the rock work its way on past the pump.
After it became apparent this wasn't going to work, the only option was
to try to force the pump up and past the rock. Sometimes, exactly like
this time, the rock won't budge and the PVC pipe breaks. If you're
lucky, the pipe will break close to the pump, allowing the pump to drop
to the bottom of the hole, never to be seen again. Then, after saying
good-bye to the first, expensive, pump, they will drop a new pump
down the well to a point above the lost pump. All that can happen IF
you're lucky. In our case, the pipe broke off 20 feet down the well, and
since the pump was set at the 280' level of a 305' hole, the pump plus
260 feet of pipe fell down the well. The freshly broken end is
approximately 45' down the well, making it impossible to see.
ANYway, if they can't figure out a way to retrieve that pump, our
wonderful 20 gallon per minute well is wasted and a new well has to be
drilled. Other than that, today was just peachy.
Sept. 8th: Lot's of action today, and there'll be a lot tomorrow as well!
The well fiasco hasn't changed any, and the well guys won't be back to
work on the problem until Sunday. They did, however, save us by
delivering a 300 gallon tank of water to the site today, that will be used
to mix bags of cement. Mark Harding will be there at 8:00 in the
morning to hand mix bags of cement, in order to carefully place trench
drains around the already carefully placed floor drains. The floor drains
were installed by the plumber the other day, and have been tested to
make sure they do drain properly. So nothing can touch them without
risk of messing up their ability to drain. That's why Mark, who is
responsible for this whole thing working, takes on the responsibility of
placing the trench drains. I guess he's like I am: I'd just rather do a job
myself, because I know I'll do it right, and right's the only way to do
things. Anyway, the footings were finished today and the slab has
been formed up. Once Mark finishes tomorrow, then they can pour the
slab. They're pouring the footings separate from the slab, because
we're using colored concrete for the slab, and it's so expensive, there's
no reason to waste it by using it to pour the footings. After the slab has
been poured, and before the steel goes up, that's the window of time
we have to get the well either working, or to drill a new one. Thing's
sure aren't easy sometimes.
Sept. 10th: We had a little action at the site yesterday! A specialty
concrete guy from North Carolina came and mounted the trench drains,
by hand mixing concrete, using the water that our terrific well guys
brought us on Friday. Trench drains are pretty much like it sounds.
They're a continuous drain, running the full length of the dog boarding
area, passing through each run at the rear of the run along the rear
wall. They are covered with a grate that we can remove for cleaning
out hair clumps...and stuff, but can't be removed by the dogs....no, not
even Corky! Trench drains make cleaning the boarding area twice a
day easy and quick. The drains evacuate the water quickly, taking it
safely out of the building into the sewage system. These drains had to
be put in after the footings were dug but before they are poured. That,
followed by pouring the slab, will come within the next few days,
depending on the rain giving us a break, and us resolving our water
well woes quickly. The poor guys who mounted the trench drains
yesterday worked until after dark, using the lights from their pickup to
light up the work area. Their ride down from near Charlotte, North
Carolina took them about two hours more than they expected, so they
didn't get quite as early a start as they would have liked. We have
some wet weather forecast for the first part of this coming week, but
maybe it won't be a complete rain-out. Working on walking trails over
the past couple of days, I discovered an area in our back corner
beside the Breckenridge neighborhood, that is so pretty, just covered
with wild azaleas. I will work now to make a new loop of our trail
system to take in this very pretty area. While back there yesterday
morning, being just amazed how pretty the forest was, I found myself
venturing further and further behind our property, just to see one more
thing, then another, then another. My telephone rang and it was Tina
telling me the concrete guys had finally gotten there. I looked around
and realized I was WAY back in the woods, so I told Tina to be patient,
that it would take a while to walk back. Oh well, it was worth it.
Sept. 11th: Tina and I got great news this afternoon! We had several
places we had to be today, so we didn't make it to the lodge site until
around 3:30 or later. As we drove up, Chris and Mr. Garner were
letting the boom down on their truck as if they were about to pack up
and leave. We parked the car and walked down to where they were
set up at the well, and I asked them if they had any good news. Chris
motioned down toward the ground, and with a sly grin on his face he
said, "You see all the pipe laying there, don't you?" I looked down and,
sure enough, there was a pile of PVC pipe on the ground, which could
only mean one thing! They lowered a camera down into the well and
found the end of the pipe down at the 55' or so level. They were able to
use a tool they have for just such cases to screw into the pipe. Then by
twisting the pipe they were able to detach it from the pump, leaving it to
spend the rest of its days at the bottom of our well. Now they can drop
a new pump down to a point above the old pump, then hope like crazy
this same old thing NEVER happens again! Yes, a new pump is
expensive, but not nearly so as the cost of drilling a new hole! While
there we noticed that Johnny (ye ol' concrete guy) had been back and
laid steel rebars in the footings. Wondering when they were going to
attempt to pour the footings, I called Johnny and asked him. He said
they weren't finished to call in for inspections on Friday for a Monday
morning inspection, so it would be tomorrow morning before it could be
inspected. Then they will pour the footings tomorrow morning, weather
permitting. Just between you and me, I can't see why the slab can't be
poured Thursday or Friday. Wednesday, from what the weather folks
are saying, will be a pretty soggy day, so it's not likely there can be any
concrete poured. And now that we won't be needing to get the drilling
rig back to the well area, which would have delayed us getting all the
steel put up, we pretty much have a green flag to keep things moving
forward!
Sept. 12th: Didn't get the footings poured today like we had planned.
They called in for an inspection yesterday afternoon, expecting it to
occur this morning, but the inspector didn't come until after lunch. And
by this time rain was moving into the area, so they decided to hold off
and hope for tomorrow. I think tomorrow has a better chance of rain
than today, but while we're hoping... We're going to need a concrete
pump to reach the difficult to get to areas, and it's supposed to be
delivered to the site tomorrow morning at 8:00. The concrete truck is
supposed to arrive at 8:30. Are you listening rain? When the rain
stops in the morning, we're supposed to have several days of very nice
weather, so there should be a lot accomplished both on the lodge and
our house over the next few days.
Sept. 13th: This morning was a total washout and we couldn't pour the
footings. The place was standing in water, and it just wasn't any
weather to be pouring concrete in. We'll pour the footings tomorrow
morning, though, but since we had a couple of wasted days this week,
we likely won't be able to pour the slab before next week. It seems
every week has some issue that surfaces that puts us off until next
week. I'd like to mention here that Tina and I will have a booth in
Douglas County's September Saturdays Celebration beginning at 1:00
in the afternoon for the next three Saturdays at the Douglas County
Courthouse. Please join us! See the "News" section on the first
"Progress and News" page for more details.
Sept. 14th: We got the footings poured this morning! After that was
finished, the plumber came back and tied the trench drains, that were
installed Saturday, into the drain system that leads to the septic
system. So we're all ready to pour the slab. If that will be done
tomorrow, I'll find out tomorrow. We never talked to Johnny this
afternoon, so we don't know if they will be pouring the slab tomorrow or
what. The well situation gets even funnier....in a sick sort of way. Chris
and Mr. Garner came out today to install the new pump. They put it
down the well, hooked it up and turned it on. What do you know, we
had water! They installed a 2 horsepower pump to provide the lodge
with lots of volume, and, boy, was it doing it! It looked like a fire hydrant
spewing water! The water was dingy, though, and they said they'd let it
run for a while to see if it cleared up. Nope. Instead it stopped the
pump up. So they pulled it back out, took the pump apart, cleaned it
out, then put it back down the well. Once again, it stopped the pump up
with junk from the dirt from the water. You know, it's not supposed to
be like this! Chris said once in a great while they run across a well like
this that has to be screened. He said a great many wells in South
Georgia have to be screened, but up here, not so many. Chris said
this setup will clean the water before it has a chance to get to the
pump, but it's a little costly. Not as costly as a new well, though, so we
gave him the go-ahead, and now we have to wait until the latter part of
next week before the system will come in and they can get it installed.
These guys are great! They're going the second and third mile to help
us, and you can't ask for anything more. Our house is coming along
quickly. They got second floor walls studded today and began building
the roof system. We're having the framer frame the exterior walls with
2 x 6s, giving the house thicker insulated walls, and we'll have the
insulation contractor wrap it up so well a BTU will have to look all week
long to find its way out! Oh, don't forget to come visit Tina and I at
September Saturdays at the Douglas County Courthouse this
Saturday!
Sept 15th: Nothing's going on today, but Monday will be the day the
slab is poured! Johnny will work there, maybe this evening, but some
time over the weekend for sure, to get the slab area prepared for the
pouring of concrete Monday morning. Mark Harding (builder) will come
here from his home in Ohio Monday morning to oversee the pouring of
the slab. We are using colored concrete, I believe it's called
terracotta. If you've been in the Wal-Mart in Carrollton, I think it will look
something like their floor, which, in my opinion, looks pretty good! By
using colored concrete, we won't ever have to bother with using stain or
paint on the floor. We've heard too many nightmares about peeling
paint, which can be unsafe for the pets, then having to shut the place
down while you sandblast and refinish the floor. Yeah, it's more
expensive to go this route, but by doing it right from the very start, it
should more than pay off in the long run...plus it'll look great! Okay,
knowing you are already making plans to come see us at the
September Saturdays Celebration at the Douglas County Courthouse
in Douglasville tomorrow, canceling vacations, tee times, weddings
and such, here's a little incentive to be there early before it opens: You
get to watch us make a fool out of ourselves trying to open a new
canopy tent we bought today! Seriously, it'll probably be a real hoot to
watch us do that. So don't forget: tomorrow and the following two
Saturdays at the Douglas County Courthouse starting at 1:00. And
while typing this, the folks from Douglas Oaks Animal Hospital called to
say Pete came through his being neutered in good shape, he's awake
and doing well. We'll pick him up tomorrow morning, then bring him
home to rest while we're in Douglasville. We will try to have Pete with
us on Saturday the 23rd. He's, for all practical purposes, housebroken
now, is doing well learning to walk on a leash, and is one of the most
gentle and happy dogs I've seen. What a guy!
Sept. 18th: Due to the threat of rain, and the site not being inspected
today as we had hoped for, we couldn't pour the slab. If this rain clears
out early enough, and if the inspector will pay us a visit early in the
morning, it is possible we could pour the slab tomorrow. But since we
had some pretty heavy rain this evening, with the threat of more rain
overnight, it will likely be poured Wednesday. That's okay....what's
another day? Mark Harding (builder) will be here in the morning
around 9:00, but I will have the gate open by 8:00, just in case the
inspector comes early. Johnny finished preparing the site for pouring
the slab today, and I planted some grass seed in a few places. I will be
able to get a little more serious about planting grass when the well is
up and running later this week, hopefully. I hope the seed I planted
today wasn't washed away in the heavy rain that just passed through.
We left the property around 6:30, and from what we could tell, it looked
like the framers might have gotten all the roof decking on the house
before the rain moved in.
Sept. 19th: It was another one of those days. Johnny was there on
time (as usual) and did what was left remaining in order to prepare the
site for the pouring of the slab. Tina and I were there planting some
redbud tree seeds we'd gotten from a big redbud we have here at our
current house, and our builder, Mark, called and asked me if we
minded putting off the concrete work until Monday. He said since the
rain had delayed us, and a couple other complications had come up,
he wouldn't be able to come until Monday. He explained that it really
wouldn't put us behind but one day, because his building crews weren't
coming until Monday, anyway, to get the building started, and now he'll
have them there on Tuesday. I told him we didn't mind as long as he'd
have us open by Christmas, preferably Thanksgiving. He said it
wouldn't be a problem, that he would bring enough people to have it up
in plenty of time. So, Tina and I are practicing patience once again.
We've practiced it so much, we ought to be pretty good at it by now!
Our house is really looking like a house now! I've been taking pictures
of its progress nearly every day, but I didn't get the opportunity today.
I'll be there by about 7:00 in the morning, and that will give me a good
chance to take shots and look it over before the framers show up for
work. I want to make sure and find all the creaks in the floor and get
them screwed down tightly, before any flooring is installed.