It’s 8:57 pm on Monday, August 7.
We’ve (HUGE shoutout to my parents and brother for all the help – isn’t family amazing?!) been busting our asses for the past several weeks on all things garage-related and I’m currently typing this out sitting on a stack of block [not so comfortable], intermittently filling Brett up with mortar or broken blocks for filler.
We know you’re jealous and wish you could be spending this quality time with us because the fun level is at an all time high here at the ‘ole Nest.
When we left you last, we had just received the surveyor results and were told some great news about having more property than we originally thought [helllooooo larger garage, you’re lookin’ mighty fine!].
In case you’re just joining us, check out part one and part two of this wonderful garage adventure we’ve been on.
And if you haven’t figured it out from the introduction, we got the permit (!!!) and are knee deep in mud, block and mortar.
We kicked off this dirt party the weekend of July 22 by renting a skid steer and digging out the trenches and laying in the forms for the garage. This involved a LOT of digging, losing a few pounds of body weight in sweat and a few blisters [but the smiles were still there!].
After the forms were in, Inspector Dennis stopped by that Tuesday [7/25] to check on our work. We passed the first of many checkpoints and also made a new friend 🙂
Random side note: Be nice to your inspector and don’t be afraid to ask questions. More often than not, they want to help you.
After the green light on the forms, it was time to pour cement [7/26].
Not that I would ever admit to women being inferior to men in any way, this was definitely a job for the males of the family. My mom and I tried our best to help, but who knew cement was so damn heavy?!
Once everything was dry, Brett ripped off the forms and prepped for the dreaded block.
Delivery was scheduled for Monday, July 31. They didn’t specify a time, but we assumed sometime in the afternoon.
I was home from work around 3:30 and our yard was empty.
Brett got home around 4:30 and still nothing.
My parents came over around 5:00, all ready to be put to work and still nothing.
Finally at 7:45 the delivery truck pulls in and unloads the umteen-million pallets of block and…cement. We ordered mortar.
Of course he’s too busy to come back that evening with the right product so we call it a night and get ourselves psyched up to start the next day.
And that’s what we’ve been doing [nearly] every day since.
Brett and my dad have the job of block stacking and mortar filling while my mom and I make sure the dogs don’t throw themselves into traffic, haul the block over to the guys and mix together the mortar.
It’s quite the handy system and if it wasn’t for the fact that the block weighs 867 pounds and the mortar can be a bit tempremental when mixing, everything would be great.
Someday when we finish the block, Inspector Dennis will be making another stop by and if we pass, we can begin to fill all the dirt back into the hole. Then we put up the forms for the actual foundation, which will hopefully be poured August 19.
Yes, one week before the wedding. Because, why not? We love the chaos and JUST planning/prepping a wedding is not nearly enough to-dos for this household 😉
And with that, we’re off… to lay more block.
All our best,
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