Just a few weeks before Kai was born, I was 'advised' that it would be a good time to start the conversion of the back garden from the split level affair to a nice flat area for our children to play on. For the last three years, I been digging in the garden. Not all the time, but somewhere between 200 and 300 hours. I think I have moved about 50 to 60 tonnes of soil and rock with a bucket, spade and wheelbarrow... Based on the average weight of each bucket, how many buckets to a barrow load and how many trips I made. Yes, dull stuff, but then when you are digging in the wet and cold, with the mud sticking to your spade, your boots sliding in the wet, midges, sun, heat, ice and snow these things keep your mind off how much fun you are not having.Possibly more as I moved some of the soil at least twice due to the joys of not knowing what I was doing and poor planning. Not digging stuff in the right order meant that the rain washed soil back into the trenches I had already dug out. I know how Sisyphus must have felt.
I have also mixed 5.5 tonnes of concrete and poured it - it mostly went well until the last meter or so where I lost my levels and put in an extra 40mm :(
Finally it was all ready to start building the wall. Got an awesome brickie in, who after one full day and 2 half days has built about half the wall, dealt with my wonky footings levels, curved walls and not quite 100% vertical end post with admirable ease....
....and has now this raised a question...
....why did it take you so long to dig out the dirt to get to this point? ;)
But it is awesome to see the plan in my head unfolding for others to see!