Monday, August 27, 2007

If at first you don't succeed

We have been doing bits of garden landscaping each month but the most eagerly awaited stage will be the laying of the patio. At the moment when you walk out into the back garden from any one of the three patio doors you sink ankle deep into mud.

Paul booked a week off his normal day job last week to lay our patio with two of his work mates. It rained solid all week... A brief break in the rain at 7am on Friday had all three guys standing around in the mud debating whether to cancel that days concrete delivery. The chances of the concrete truck sinking were high and with a $1000 recovery fee if the cement mixer got stuck they decided to call it a day.

Luckily the weekend was dry and at 7am this morning we had a second attempt. It was pretty chaotic with Paul, Mitch and Shane running back and forth with wheel barrows spreading the concrete from the cement truck which was balanced on the edge of our retaining walls. All this while another guy in a three wheeled forklift was whizzing around delivering pallets of patio slabs within a hairs breadth of the cement mixer.




I left on the school run at 8.30 and missed the dramas of the cement truck getting stuck and pulled out of the mud as it tried to leave. By mid afternoon a layer of cement had been poured all over the patio area as a strong base for the pavers to be laid on.


This photo was taken from above but through a pretty dirty window so excuse the blurryness! It gives a good idea of all the mud...

Tomorrow at 7am should see the return of the three stooges (Sorry Paul!) and a truck load of packing sand. Anyone want a bet on the chances of it making it in and out of our mud swamp without sinking...

Watch this space!

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