July 25th at 7:30 AM, the first of many concrete trucks arrived. The crew from RSC had been here for while finishing the final details of the pour. Shawn (RSC owner) was pleased that I had 14 foot high doors. The trucks were able to drive right in. Yes, I said drive, as these trucks poured from the front. It was quickly obvious that both the crew and the truck driver were very experienced. Hardly a movement was wasted. Seven+ crew members were easily pouring, spreading, screeding and smoothing. Very little direction was need from the boss. For me, I just stayed out of the way.
First truck out and hosed off and DTFR (look it up). Soon the second truck arrived…rinse and repeat. The crew never blinked.
While this was going on I was spreading coins from my fathers collection. He had saved coins from his travels, both from his time in the navy as well as his and Moms travels in retirement. I wanted to put some of the family in my shop. As I work in the finished shop, my Dad will be part of my foundation.
I did not forget my Fire Department family either. The crew placed an Anne Arundel County Retired Firefighters Challenge coin in the concrete just as you enter the shop.
Third truck, more rinse and repeat. Prior to its arrival, I asked if we could form up a pad for the door I use the most. No problem done and poured. Then everyone that worked on this project was asked to “sign my building”. Everyone did. Thanks crew!
With the last truck done and gone, the finishing commenced. Each overhead door was given a small ledge designed to keep and water from running in the shop. The edges were smoothed while the main part was machined smooth. This process was repeated with various machines until the surface was smooth as glass. Later that day the entire surface was sealed. It turned out shiny but not as slick has you might imagine. From a distance it looked like ice, but walking is easy, it is not slippery at all. We’ll see how this is after the first liquid spill I have, and I’m sure I will have a few of those.
Rain was predicted on this day so the front apron had to wait a few days. A smaller crew showed and made short work of this pour. They added concrete to my PVC Bollards and sloped the surface away from the door and to each side of the apron. A day later it rained and the water went where it needed to go. Another great job by the crew of RSC.
After the concrete was down for a few days some crew came back the do the cutting. Concrete cracks due to expansion and contraction as the temperature changes. The cuts tell the concrete where we want it to crack. This is a common practice in the concrete industry. A diamond blade make short but very dusty work of it. This was repeated on the apron a day or two later.
A few weeks later my good neighbor Ken came over and leveled the new gravel in front of the apron. Now its smooth sailing in and out of the shop.
Now, I’m one happy camper and need to get busy organizing the inside and building my office space. Oh, and you can see all the pictures and videos in our SmugMug album.
Stay Tuned!
