just like a layer cake

This is the last trench post!  That 2x4 around the pipes is what Chris built as the base for our subwall behind the sink, which  will house all this stuff. The plumbing, venting, electrical is done, so it's time to fill in the trench. 

Just like a layer cake, one step at a time.  First some fill dirt.

Then cover it with plastic sheeting (or cut up contractor trash bags in our case).  This layer keeps the moist dirt separated from the concrete so it doesn't suck moisture out of the concrete and cause sinking.

Then start on the concrete.  Scout was around to shoot some photos, proving that I actually do help out and don't just take the pictures.

 

This handy little wheelbarrow was given to us by Mr. Schorlemer - the previous owner.  Turned out to be perfect for mixing concrete and wheeling it inside.

Borrowed some trowels from my Pops to smooth everything out.

Trying to get everything super smooth and level.

Nice closeup

This is a bittersweet moment.  Diva was leaving her mark on our heart and home.  Unfortunately she is no longer with us :( More on that when I finally get around to posting about our chicken farm.

Isn't she a cutie? We named her Diva because she looked very cheetah-ish, especially when she was younger, and her markings looked like she had eyeliner around her eyes.  Unfortunately she didn't have enough weight to really see prints.

All pretty and smooth... 14 bags of concrete later (that's 1,120 lbs... which is almost exactly half a ton!!!)

Chris is now working on the wiring for the oven relocation.  As soon as we finish one thing, it's on to the next.

Leaving our own prints now...

Beaz was playing with Maize at Scout and Ben's so we had to leave her impression for her.  And you can barely see some little chicken feet prints in the upper left if you look closely.

I get by with a little help from my friends (and fam)

Several folks have been helping us out here and there... Scout and Ben have been solid advisers/assistants, my dad and Chris' dad, Wes, and of course Beaz, when she's not mad at us for her play time being greatly reduced.

Once Dano and his guys had finished the plumbing, we needed to test it. We don't have a plumbing clean out on our property, so we put one in in the front yard for pipe testing purposes, and also for the future to make our life easier should we have any issues with plumbing.  Not sure why we didn't have one in the first place?  So Chris got to digging...

 Beasley and I "helped".  I had a bum wrist from digging concrete out of the trench so wasn't of much use, and Beaz just wanted to play.

 I should have taken a better "after" picture with our shrubs back nicely in place hiding the pipe...

 Putting the last piece of drywall up now that we're done with the vent and electrical that went up this wall.

Scout giving the sweet SENCO screw-gun a whirl while the boys watch and drink a beer... typical :)

One Friday, we had another group of helpers show up... As you can probably guess, not much work got done with them around.  Greta and Farah mostly played in the chicken coop. (I promise I didn't pen them in there... don't report us to CPS.)

 Farah isn't quite as fast as the chicks.

 Greta and Chris feeding skeeter-eaters to Chicken Nugget.  (Greta named her that, which is much more clever than her previous name - Chicken Little - although a little morbid.)

 My dad's the only one who really did any real work.  He brought freon to test the line that Ricardo and Clyde had sealed.  I wasn't paying much attention, but I think it had a little leak which he sealed up. Middie and Mom supervised while Grampy was checking out our furnace and AC units.  Happy to see that the previous owners knew the superior quality of Rheem/Ruud products.

 Farah discovered the temporary kitchen. From the looks of the coconut and brown sugar... it seems she's maybe going to make some ranger cookies?

 Beaz - look at all that concrete and rock and dirt you dug out of the kitchen.  Good job!!!

still in the trenches

Trying to finish up all the trench work and end the misery as soon as possible.  Tired of waking up to a dust-filled, grimy house... Dano gave us his smaller chipper to pick away at the smaller, more fragile areas. Chris is picking around the freon pipes here.

 

Below is the super-deep hole where the drain goes underground.  It's to the left of the foundation beam and has to move to the right and back toward the back of the house.

Chris is cutting out the framework in the wall where the vent pipe will now have go up.

The drain hole, even deeper, and you can see the beginning of the pipe work being stretched up and to the right.

The drain pipe is to the upper right.  To the left is the new piping.

Ricardo and Clyde are back.  Chipping away more slab and ready to finish the water pipes, vent, drain, and fix our little freon mishap.

View from above - you can see the drain pipe has been moved from the upper right (where Ricardo's hands are) to the other side of the beam (see the Y in the PVC there in the bottom of the trench).  And the vent pipes have been put in place. 

Since our sink is in the island, we're doing the "island vent method" for the drain to keep the stink and gross out, as pictured in the diagram below.

 

 Here's a look at all the pretty new stuff from above - pretty new copper!

 Fixing the freon line.

Add a little pipe insulation...

 

Those pink strings in the rectangle around the pipe are where we'll build a pony wall behind the island to house the pipes.

Beaz takin a peak... is this done yet?