Stu and I were back in action after our two week break, starting work on a single storey extension in Peterborough.  As it was our first day back, we didn’t want to do ourselves an injury or over do things, so we had a ride out to Ramsey to get some tools, then we got a few materials in Peterborough.  That took us up to lunch time, so we had a half day to break ourselves in gently!  On Tuesday our first job was to break out several large concrete slabs.  As we are in the middle of our English summer, yes you guessed it, it was raining!  It was chucking it down.  We had a coffee hoping it would pass, but it looked set in for the day.  We had a delivery of materials from Jewson, and then our hired dumper and digger arrived.  After that we had some more coffee, and the rain started to ease off.  So we got out the breaker and started on the concrete.  Just as we finished off the last slab the heavens opened again, so we packed up and called it a day.

On Wednesday our first skip arrived, so I got on the digger, Stu got on the dumper and we started to fill the skip with the concrete slab.  By lunch time we had the skip filled and couldn’t do anymore until a fresh skip arrived the following day.  We set up our profiles and marked out for the trenches to be dug out, then had another early finish.  On Thursday we got the trenches dug out, and the Building Inspector popped by to sign them off prior to them being back filled with concrete on Friday.  Friday morning we marked out for our levels in the trench so we knew where to fill the concrete up to.  I booked in the concrete, but they couldn’t get out until early afternoon.  So we had coffee, read the paper and waited.  Just after three, the concrete arrived.  Due to poor access to the rear of the property where the extension was, we had to fill up the mini dumper with cement, and Stu then took it round the back and tipped into the trench.  While he was doing that, I was raking the concrete about to get it level.  About two drops into the procedure, the heavens opened once again and we had ten minutes of heavy rain and we both got absolutely wet through, and we turned the client’s garden into a scene from Glastonbury.  But we couldn’t stop as we had to get concrete lorry unloaded.  Sixty minutes later we had the last of the concrete from the lorry.  We tampered down the concrete to get it level, gave our tools a good wash down, packed up the van and headed home looking a sad, sorry wet through state!

After the on off weather of the previous week, the TV weather people got their predictions correct as a mini summer heat wave hit, and it was bloomin hot!  On the Monday and the Tuesday Stu and I finished off the brick work on the porch area.  I was at the front of the property doing the brick work in the shade, while Stu was around the side of the property mixing up muck in the sunshine, although it was more like an oven!  We were certainly getting through the bottles of sun cream.

On Wednesday we had the Rain Water Tank being delivered, 20 tonne of hardcore, plus the digger and dumper were being returned.  The digger and dumper arrived first, shortly followed by the hardcore.  I got on the digger, which is normally the best place to be, but with no air con and no breeze coming through the windows; it was more uncomfortable than usual.  I set about levelling the hardcore around the drive area, while Stu followed along with the ‘whacker’.  By lunch time we were all done, and just as we finished our sandwiches the Rain Water tank turned up.  We went through the check list and prepared the tank ready for the following day.

We pumped the excess water out of the large hole prior to the tank going in.  Well we tried to pump it out, but I don’t seem to have much luck with pumps as they always seem too jammed up and don’t work.  True to form, the pump wouldn’t work, so we had to ‘pump’ out with buckets instead.  Cutting edge modern technology!  The concrete lorry turned up with its 6 metre cubic load so we could encase the tank with the stuff.  As we could only back fill around the tank as the tank was filled up with water, so the tank would keep its shape, we had to pile up the concrete on some sheeting on the drive.  This was ok when it was in the shade, but as the day got hotter and the temperature rose, the concrete had the risk of setting where it was.  So we had to keep hosing the concrete down with water to keep it wet and workable.  Stu was in the hole tampering down the concrete in and around the tank, while I used the digger to back fill with the cement.  It was a tough old day, but we got everything done, and make good the drive area again after I had messed it up with the digger.  Digger drivers! We now have a couple of week’s holiday now, and on our return we head back to Peterborough to start work on a single storey extension.