Framing in the Basement and North Lot

I was pleased to see the basement cleaned out today.  I think that indicates the next stage is imminent. 

I noticed some framing on the south side.  It looks too high for a new slab.  

Maybe the wild ladders are going to be fenced. 

I was beside myself with glee to see the crane in motion!

I watched the work in the north lot for quite awhile.  It's now covered with a neat and tidy bed of gravel. 

In the back corner I saw these two men stuffing wood into a box, and then I realized the box was connected to the crane.

Always working in stealth  mode, the crane lifted the box up and away!

I captured this picture from the construction cam so you could see how nice the north lot looks.  But notice that it is being framed, too.

These are the steps they took before pouring the slab in the basement -- pipes, gravel and then frames.  Maybe it's time for a slab here, too.

This view from the south shows that the slab won't be a rectangle.  I watched Baby Front End Loader run up and down the west hill as he raced between the south and north sides of the tabernacle.

This is the first time in weeks I've seen the northeast corner dry.  I believe the green rods are on top of micropiles, and the fact that this spot is finally dry tells me that they are all connected to an underground drainage system.

Here's another view of the northeast corner.  Baby Track Hoe, who you can see on the left, is working in a box supported by the piles which were driven last week.  A knowledgable onlooker predicted that an elevator would be in that spot.  That sounds good to me, as long as that corner stays dry.  Otherwise it will be a mechanical dunking booth.

In a version of mealtimes I've seen far too often, Baby Track Hoe handed dirt to Mama Track Hoe, telling her he didn't want to eat it.  So as to not waste it, Mama Track Hoe put it in reach of  Junior Front End Loader.  Unseen in this picture, he passed it off to Baby Front End Loader.

Since he didn't have a dinner plate under which to hide the dirt, Baby ran it down the hill to the south side and had the men spread it around.  Back and forth he went, and he got away with it, too!

In actuality, there were plenty of trucks on hand to carry the dirt away.  I continue to be impressed by the work these trucks have done at the site.  Just a reminder, last fall the ground level was above the retaining wall in the background.

I think the trucks take ballet lessons at night, because their work is all choreographed during the day.  The truck on the left was just filled by Daddy Track Hoe on the west side.  The two other trucks drove into the south lot and in a graceful one-point-turn, turned around.  As the far truck passed them to exit, they waited patiently.  Once the path was clear, they backed into the west lot for more dirt. 

This part of the east side retaining wall was built while I was at the site this morning.  Notice more green rods being assembled.

The retaining wall along the east and south sides is stretching out in both directions.  There are no I-beams in front of the brick wall on the right side.  Maybe it will get some special treatment.

Notice the white vertical pipes in the ground at intervals along the east wall. 

I was happy to see the drilling machine at work.  I couldn't see that he was drilling mud and I thought that was a good sign.

But when I got closer, I could see why he always drills up mud.  He's making it.

I'm thinking he was designed to drill mud.

When he was finished, he gave himself a little applause.

When I returned along this route a few minutes later, a white pipe was stuck in the hole.  I'm starting to see a pattern.  I'm slow, but I get there.

I am mystified by work in the upper north lot.  Wood and workmen have been making lots of noise there for several weeks.

Today I watched them build a coffin.

I think this is for a Houdini act, because they took great pains to make sure that what they locked in can't get out.

Perhaps it's for one of the wild ladders.

Work on the underground garage entrance progresses.

As I left the site from the post office, I took one last look at the majestic crane.