The Slab is Poured

Well today was the day.  They started at 8:00am and were basically done at 9:30.  These guys are real pros and it helps if you have the right tools.  It was supposed to be sunny but it was a mix of rain and sun all day.  Somehow they managed.  Monty manned the boom where the cement was poured from and Richard and Keith handled the cement finishing with a crew from Kona.  They decided not to finish the garage yet because of the uncertainty of the weather.

Just before the finishing touches, Richard invited us down to have food with the crew.  He has a ranch on the back side of Mauna Kea and he killed a wild pig and we had pork, rice, slaw and some sort of "Chili Water" to put on the rice which was very good.  Crissie mentioned that our son-in-law, Miguel, was the son of a butcher and would have loved all this.  Richard told Crissie to invite him to the Island and he'd let Mika shoot a cow and cut it up.  So Mika, if you read this, better get that cleaver ready and go to the shooting range for practice.

A slab that size is prone to cracking, so tomorrow or the day after, they'll cut a slit about an inch deep across the slab every 12 feet or so for expansion and contraction.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

44 some odd yards of cement with a cement boom.
The cement comes out of the truck up the boom and then down on the slab.
You can move it all around to fill in the forms.

Monty, the smallest guy, runs the cement tube.

Smoothing the side out to Hawaiian country music.

More smoothing.  Notice the tent in the back.  Richard set up the food tent.

Richard is washing off his boots after sloshing around in cement. Notice the drain, toilet and electrical plugs sticking out of the slab.

Monty and I discuss the weather, curing, etc while I eat the pork dish.

Keith in red and helps are cementing in the garage foundation wall.  Later they'll drop 4 inches of concrete to finish the garage.

They take off their cowboy boots for gumboots That's Richard in the green calling everyone to eat.