Numerous Important Tasks

After picking up the rebar bender from the post office and a tamper from the hardware store first thing, Phil had a productive day, directing all of us in a range of tasks.

First, he dug out a hole under the foundation boards and put in drainage pipes.

Then I shoveled out all the rubble from the trench, removed the stones, and flattened it as much as possible. Phil had the harder job: he took the heavy tamper and flattened the foundation area all around. I can hardly lift the tamper, so to have to lift and drop it repeatedly all around the foundation—I'm glad it was Phil and not me.

After that, the boys and I plugged the bottom of the boards as much as possible. If we hadn't done that, the concrete might pour out the bottom and make a mess: in any case, we will have to mix more concrete than I'd prefer. The threat of more work was quite motivating.

Abraham and I tried to drive screws in to the pieces of board that we shoved into the bottom; it didn't work too well: the shims had little overlap with the boards in most cases.

The rest of the day was spent in other tasks. Isaiah would move 20' rebar into the foundation, and Jadon would twist the tie wires to connect them.

Phil would use the rebar bender so the rebar could turn corners. That was one of the more strenuous tasks today.

We measured the precise places for the cleats, which will hold the form boards 18" apart. If the form boards, due to warping, were more than 18" apart, we used a clamp to move them closer together, then screwed the cleat on. If they were less than 18", we hammered an 18" piece of board into place, forcing the boards apart until we could screw the cleat on properly.

(The first side we forgot to do that, and, on measuring, the boards were closer to 17" than 18" apart. Tomorrow we'll fix it.)

There was more measuring and testing, but that was the bulk of our accomplishments today.

When I would bring wheelbarrows of 2x4s down from the piles of materials left over from the metal building, I would cross the little bridge. Going over with a full load, the boards always go down. Clever!

We enjoyed the new access to the hole: a ladder from the part of the hole closest to our living quarters.

The older boys made snickerdoodles, and we enjoyed that. Abraham had a chance to play "baseball" with Phil, using an Irish hurling stick as a bat, and an old, deflated large ball.

I found the ball destroyed later in the day, presumably chewed by Shadow. I'm glad it had one final day of pleasant use.