8/6/98 The ready-mix truck holds 8 cubic yards of wet concrete, but it can't drive down the narrow quarter-mile road to where the concrete is needed. The ready-mix trailer holds about one cubic yard. Do the math: 13 cubic yards are needed, therefore two truck loads and 13 trailer trips. Two trailers and two tow vehicles were used to speed up the process. This tow vehicle is a 1969 Toyota Land Cruiser.

8/6/98 Loading the trailer from the mother truck while trying not to spill too much on the ground.

8/6/98 The trailer dumps into the hopper of a concrete pumping truck. To get enough height for the dump, the pumping truck is parked in a hole while the trailer is backed up onto a ramp. A gasoline engine turns the trailer container just like a big truck, and also tips the open end downward for dumping.

8/6/98 Dumping the trailer into the pump. The concrete flows to the forms in the four inch pipe at left.

8/6/98 It takes two men to handle the hose when it's running. Here Ray, the head pumper, holds the hose between his legs and delivers the concrete into the forms. A motorized vibrator on a flexible shaft will be inserted into all parts of the concrete mix to get rid of air bubbles and improve uniformity.

8/6/98 After the forms are filled, the top is smoothed off level with the top of the forms. Bolts are inserted into the wet concrete every 2-3 feet to fasten down the wood "sill" that will form the bottom of the walls.

8/6/98 Individual piers are poured outside the main foundation, and will support posts for the porch and the roof. Here metal fasteners are inserted into the top of the piers.

8/6/98 The porch and roof posts will sit inside the top wings of this metal fastener. Here the edge of the fastener (and thus the post) is aligned with the string set up beforehand, and the fastener is leveled with a small round bubble level placed on top of it.

8/6/98 A few hours after pouring concrete, the forms can be removed from the piers. This is looking south, and the pier in the foreground will support the northwest corner of the screened porch. You can also see (upper left) a few of the piers that have been poured for support posts inside the main foundation. The forms will be left on the main foundation for several days before they are removed.