Back on the Chain Gang

January 5, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK3uf5V0pDA

As "luck" would have it, a rock runs through it - and just where we want to put the cistern. We  can't leave it as that negatively affects the amount of water (think future baths) we'll be able to store. Our comfort and yours is at stake. Dynamite and jack-hammering are expensive - but M & H have a new trick up their sleeves.  

After a bit of research, they decided to try a new (to them) method of removing some of the big rocks limiting the volume of the cistern. They rented a rock drill and bits and purchased a product called Ecobust (EcoBust.ca). The very cool idea is to drill 1.5” holes in the rock and pour in the product; as the EcoBust sets, it expands with a force of 20,000 PSI and cracks (we hope) the rock into manageable pieces.

They started drilling Saturday afternoon, hoping to remove a few parts of the offending - I mean protruding- rock in the cistern area and trim and slope another. As you can see from the pictures, the biggest rock runs along the west edge of the cistern. It is much too large and too hard  to remove it all, so the plan is to "carve it" to increase the volume of the cistern and facilitate the pour of the floor and the forming of the cistern wall. 

H did most of the drilling on Saturday, and they were able to fill a few holes with EcoBust before it got dark. By Sunday morning, there were already signs of cracking. Apparently, EcoBust needs 24-48 hours to work its full magic, so the early cracks were pretty encouraging.

Look Ma - no more rock! By Tuesday, the rock had cracked and they were able to use the jack-hammer to finish the clean-up. 

Crudely put, that's "FM"! Too bad Chrissy's chain gang didn't have access to this stuff.

Still, busting rocks is not for sissies - glad that M&H celebrated in Nanaimo with a burger and a film! 

In the beginning, there was a hole.

Hey - what happened to Strong? 

December 16, 2012 

In the beginning, there was a hole - to be precise, a hole to throw money in.  

M & H took delivery of the first batch of materials and got the tool tent set up (this makes their commute even shorter and allows room on the property for future deliveries). 

Next step - string out lines for the walls. These show the position of the house in relation to the property lines and the rocks (ah yes, the rocks - more about those in another post).  Turns out they needed to inch the house over a little to maximize the cistern volume and avoid a big boulder (well, at least that's what we thought). 

They also scraped the entire bottom of the hole to remove all organic material and any loose rubble. Remember that other than help from Bob and his big machine, it's just the two of them. Very impressive.  

Powering Up!

12-12-12 Let there be light (well, at least power). Here's Bob setting the service pole.