Groundbreaking

[Semper Paratus]

Well they have finished clearing the building site, spread the chipped trees and by lunch time were 1/2 to 2/3 the way done digging the footings. Where the digging was complete they have started with the three courses of #4 rebar with Chairs and driven anchors of rod holding it positioned roughly in the middle of the pour. According to the PM they will finish digging and setting rebar this afternoon. Current plans are for the county inspector and the project manager to inspect in the AM with a concrete pour late morning or early afternoon.
The footing crew are Latinos (Mexican I think) and they spoke politely to Mrs. Paratus and I and then were back to work...only paying enough attention to us to make sure we were out of the swing arc of the excavator. Hard working dudes. The 10-12000# Kubota excavator had a 24" wide 6-8 cubic foot bucket on it and every 20 seconds or so here came another scoop of dirt. I had helped hand digging some footers in the past...Shovels, pick maddoxs, wheel barrows, optical transits and witness sticks...heck of a lot better with this crew. Especially since I was not on the dumb end of a shovel.