Tuesday. 7:30am. The crew returns. The cement truck arrives and parks out front. Have you ever watched how this works? It’s pretty cool. The drum has big fins inside, spiraled in (Or out, depending on how you look at it.) They spin the drum one way to mix the cement up good, then turn it slowly the other way to deliver the cement. Precision. They poured the cement into wheelbarrows all morning and never spilled a drop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFuLPQ20My4
Over where the cement is delivered, it’s a busy place. Wheelbarrow dumping, cement spreading, stomping, mesh lifting, dirt wetting, boarding. An intricate dance. A Concrete Ballet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbYoC_r1lIg&NR=1
More spreading, boarding, and tamping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sof2ogNInRw
Smoothing with a giant trowel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5rI7lp_1nc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Smoothing with hand trowels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA0ZsWyOM78&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Once they got through the pouring and the truck left, the crew got progressively smaller. For hours afterword though, they troweled. Even when they were all done, a couple guys waited and watched. If anything happened while the slab was drying, they were right there to take care of it. And Voila. The finished product:
And it all happened under the watchful eye of Henry. He never left his post.
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