She's not going anywhere.....

 Today was a BIG day.   It started peacefully enough, sunrise over the valley, cool temps...

The plan for pouring the foundation footings was for three cement trucks, each loaded with 8 yards of mix to keep the truck lighter given the impact of the weight on the driveway plus it's a bit steep and it's not good to have the concrete on a slope cuz it'll try to pour out of the truck apparently!  The setup involves a truck and a pump - and those guys jockeyed those rigs amazingly smoothly on a narrow driveway, it was like watching synchronized swimming!

A bit of a visual aid for the point about weight - check out these tires, that should give you a clue as to the weight of the load - they're not flat by the way!

The truck pours concrete into the pump that send it out to the foundation in a big giant hose..the guy who handled that is unbelievably strong, and deft!

It's poured into the form boards and oozes out to fill the trench below.  It's over filled, then another tool is used to pump air down into the muck so it all condenses down and compacts.

Next, they come along and smooth over the surfaces by hand.

And they keep going, until they get all the way around.  There's another tool, looks a bit like a jackhammer, that vibrates and it helps keep the form boards exactly where you need them after the concrete goes in and tries to widen them out.

It's really like watching a great ballet or something...they are so smooth in their movements, so skillful in the task.  And in the end, we get this:

They remove many of the supporting boards so they don't get fixed into the concrete and tomorrow all of the form boards will come off.  It'll be a concrete foundation ring!

I can't think of a more dramatic image of the slope!  It's look more level by the day to my mind's eye.  Can't wait to stand on the slab that will be poured into the middle.

It only took about two hours for the pour, a bit more to finish up.   That house is not going anywhere!  Next, the footings and support for the side patios will be framed up and readied for pouring which we hope can happen in conjunction with the slab pour.  Plumbing has to get their pipes in and walls have to be mapped out for the stubbing up of water and wastewater pipes before the gravel and sand can be put into fill up the interior and be ready for a slab.

Stay tuned!