02-28-10. Nice day for a visit to the zoo. I mixed 12 bags of Quikrete and finished the deck footings this morning. I'm actually not quite as sore today as I thought I might be after battling rocky holes yesterday. After finishing up, we decided to head for the zoo to get the kids out of the house. As usual, a good time was had by all. Kate made a nice lasagna for dinner. My belly is full. Kids are bathed and sleeping. Time for me to hit the sack.
02-27-10. Broken. First day of deckbuilding. Goal for the day- dig 5 holes in the crappiest soil ever. I've dug a fair number of post holes in my lifetime, but these were the toughest. After measuring and laying out all my holes, I started digging. 6 inches into the first hole, I hit a sizeable chunk of limestone. Breaking it with the crowbar would have taken awhile. Digging around it would have made too big of a hole. Solution- rent a jackhammer. 20 minutes later I returned from the rental store with a jackhammer. It made quick work of breaking that huge rock into pieces. 10 minutes later, the rickety old post hole diggers finally gave out. 12 minutes and a trip to Lowes later, I'm back to digging...slowly. Each hole took a considerable amount or work with the shovel, post hole diggers, crow bar, and jackhammer. Needless to say, this out of shape desk jockey is worn out. While I had the jackhammer, I also busted up about half of the old concrete patio that was now going to be in the way of the new deck. That part of the project was actually kind of fun. I returned the jackhammer after 4 hours of use, and I picked up a few other supplies (including 14 bags of Quickrete.) We'll see if I feel up to mixing concrete tomorrow.
02-26-10. Yellow Tools. I'm preparing for my deckbuilding project. The small deck on the back of our house is pretty much worthless, and it is a bit shaky too. I've envisioned something bigger and better ever since we moved in. The new deck will be 10x30 on the first and second floor with a set of steps connecting both levels. I'm hoping to have it done by spring.
