I took a half day off today to start laying out the radiant floor heating system, and dad came to help. Imagine my dismay when I discovered upon arriving home that the gravel guys, instead of filling to 5.5" below the foundation wall like I asked them to at least three times, filled right up to the top of the interior footings, leaving no room at all for the 1.5" insulation that's supposed to go below the slab floor. I left two messages for Jason, and finally called the guy at the gravel company directly. He says he didn't hear about the 5.5" until they were halfway done. If so, why did he keep doing it wrong? He says all of his guys are now gone on four-day weekends, and he can't have anybody come fix it until next Wednesday. Having already taken a vacation day for tomorrow, and having dad here to help, that just won't do. And with the slab pour scheduled for Wednesday, I can't afford to waste the three solid working days between now and then.
Since there didn't seem to be any help coming, dad and I headed over with shovels and the wheelbarrow to start removing the 1.5" of extra gravel across the entire floor. We started by digging down 30" along the wall between the mud room and garage where the gravel guys allowed some gravel to get behind the wall insulation, leaving a dead space behind the insulation. After we fixed that problem, we started in the entry way, removing several wheelbarrow loads, and seemingly barely making a dent. It's amazing how many loads it takes to go down a tiny 1.5 inches.
We worked until dark. Rather, we worked until the wheel on the wheelbarrow became completely inoperable, which was almost at dark. With several man hours already spent on this unplanned project, and so little of it done, I left a message for Jason letting him know that if he can't send someone first thing in the morning to help dig us out, that I'm going to go rent whatever equipment I need to do it, and I'll expect whatever the rental amount is off of my bill.
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