After spending over two months detailing all the work that was put in to rebuilding our large retaining wall, a few remaining items are worth mentioning.
The work would not have been possible or as easy if we had not located on Craigslist a small skid steer that met our needs in both use and budget. We named it Giggles, as it looks like a giant baby toy, and I can just imagine a giant baby grasping it and running it back and forth all the while giggling maniacally. It has become our go-to vehicle for a lot of work around here, as its ability to lift and carry things is wonderful–so much so that we purchased strap-on treads for use during the muddy season and forks that can be used instead of the bucket.
As part of the deal to buy Giggles, we also picked up a small compactor. Between the two of them we were able to move and mush a lot of dirt, and get the trench floor nice and level. Since we now own the compactor we’ve found many other uses for it.
One temporary item we had on site was a “facility” for the workers to use. Since several projects were going on at the same time (wall replacement; dry rot repair on the great room and studio buildings; perimeter fencing work), everyone could make use of it, but I must admit I did not do so.
Another extra note: the engineers responsible for “designing” the wall miscalculated, and we ended up with extra concrete blocks. Two of them were used to shore up the access ramp we created from the driveway into the west pastures (pic 1). The rest, including two half-blocks, are out behind the garage; we are sure to find a use for them soon enough.
Agent Smith spent some time using the excavator before we had it picked up. He used it to move some of the rubble and flatten out the fresh dirt at the southwest corner of the wall. It convinced us that we would want to buy our own similar unit sometime soon so we could do other (granted, smaller) projects on our own timeline and power.
Lastly, with all the trucks (almost two dozen 18-wheelers, the porta-potty service truck, 7 dumptruck loads full of rocks, and three or four trucks transporting 30 cu. yd. dumpsters), we only had one “accident”–and of course it was the very last thing to happen. When the United driver came to pick up the excavator, he crushed the christy box for the irrigation valves for the northwest garden area. Not only did it create a mess, I couldn’t remember where the shutoff from the house to those valves was located, so I had to go up to the well tank to shut off the main line since I couldn’t reach the main cutoff behind the garage. Still, the driver’s insurance wrote us a check for the damage, which will cover the cost of sorting out that area’s watering needs in the future.
So there you have it, the end of the Great Wall of Purgatory saga. It really was an ordeal, but we made it through and now we have a proper wall. It was time to move on to the next disaster.