TT:
That tower ain't goin' NOWHERE!
This afternoon Bill N3RR and Pat, my neighbor's son, came over to help
with the concrete. After we waited for over two hours, the truck finally
arrived. The best way to describe Roland, the driver, is jovial. He walked
from the street into the back yard, looked up at the tree limbs forming an
archway between the street and the hole, and declared, "I'll back 'er right
in along side." I didn't need the Georgia buggie I had rented (but they're
still charging me for the whole day anyway - the bandits!)
My job was to hold the chute against the tower leg while the mud slid
into the hole. Pat vibrated the mixture as it clumped at the bottom. N3RR
oversaw the entire operation, because he'd done this a few times before, and
photographed Pat and me.
When all was said and done, I ran out of concrete! The hole was filled
just to grade level. I didn't have enough to fill the cap (remember - the
cap is ten inches deep on the downhill side.) Half an hour later a second
truck backed in along side the hole (The driver said, "If Roland can get in
here, so can I.") with a yard and a half more concrete. I could go on, but
suffice it to say that I now have a HOT block of ten and a half yards of
concrete, with a tower base stuck in the middle of it, curing in my back
yard (which has been turned into an ugly mess, in case you were wondering.)
I want to express my thanks to N3RR for giving his invaluable
assistance and expertise to the project today.
I think I'll take some time off from tower work (and reporting on it).
Next update will be when the tower has been constructed and I receive the
final OK from the inspector. Until then
73 de
Gene Smar AD3F
P.S. I'm sure glad I have room for only one tower on the property!
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