De building, It be rising!

       After beginning construction only a short three months ago, the house is now starting to look
like a building. They are starting to frame the main floor walls and the roofing material is being ordered. Once they put on the roof beams they will pour the main walls. The roof beams have to be in place because they are embedded in the concrete. Can anyone say Fort Bunker?

      Here you can see the septic tanks going in below the driveway. At left they were just put into the ground. At right they filled around them. Hardly visible. And a retaining wall supporting the parking area will completely hide them. Cars will park around to the left of the pool.

      The photo at right shows our closest neighbor. And you can just make out a car coming up the hill towards our place. So we will have plenty of time to get ready for guests. We are debating the need for a doorbell. Perhaps we'll just get a donkey to 'he-haw' a warning?
      Today we started looking into flooring tiles and roofing wood. I make a trip out to the site almost every day because something or other has to be decided. I can't imagine building here and not living nearby. No wonder some of these homes take years to complete.
      Some exciting news below!

      Yes, Bob and Jim have been accepted into The St. John Yacht Club. And we were given a burgee and a boat bag. Better than some cheapo yacht clubs in other parts of the world! Don't I look dashing?
Now all I need is my boat to fly the flag.
      I was asked to go out on the committee boat for a regatta last weekend. This was The St. John YC 'Island Hopper'. I thought being on the committee boat would be boring. Not! There was quite a bit to do... set up the starting line, fire the canon, raise signal flags. The committee boat is a 35 foot Tiara. Sound familiar to anyone? As the boats came across the finish line we recorded their times. All of a sudden we got a distress call. One of the J-24's had been dis-masted! We went out and pulled them back to port. Then it was off to a local bar where everyone met for a drink. One or two, or...you know sailors! I had a blast, to say the least. Maybe next time I'll get on a race boat as crew. Better start pumping that iron.
      Just a little reminder to all of you up in the Continental US...it's averaging 85 degrees down here every day. Aren't I funny? And dashing.

Deja vu all over again.

      If you think you've seen cement trucks pulling up to our construction site before, this may look familiar. Yesterday they came again. This time there were 12 of them.

      The pumper truck was a different kind this time. No elaborate crane flying high in the sky. The cement went up a tube laying on the ground. Actually this method seemed more efficient. Plus the men could move the filling tube around the site easier and more quickly.
      The pour took care of the entire main floor slab and staircase down to the lower level. Also footings were poured for a retaining wall running behind the house. Here are the guys smoothing out the area that will be a covered pavilion next to the swimming pool. It was a hot day! Gallons and gallons of Gatorade were consumed.

      The work started at 9 AM and the guys were finished at about 5:30 PM. That's a long day of pushing concrete around. These guys work hard. No wonder they all look like linebackers. Below is a panorama of the whole main-level site. In the foreground is the master bath, master bedroom and outside deck. This will give you an idea of the view from the bed! The cluster of guys are working in the Great Room area.

      We will be able to walk out on this slab today. I was told that the concrete starts to cure within two hours and is complete overnight. So early next week they will begin to frame up the walls and roofing. Then it will start to feel like a real house.

      Let's get some water into that pool! Got an inner-tube?

Things are rolling along smoothly.

Wow, it's almost the end of January. I understand it's been a bit chilly up north. So sorry. He, he.

      We are now about eleven weeks into our project. Next Wednesday is another milestone. They will pour the concrete slab for the entire main level. Here's a look at the wood framing which will be filled with the concrete. Steel rebar will be laid over the wood. They are working on that now.

      Take a look at our swimming pool. OK, there's a bunch of junk in it. But try to imagine it filled. It should be great...small but great! The doorway below is for storage. We could use more.

        So things are rolling along smoothly. And look what rolled off the boat this week. Ah, yes, the old Mini Cooper. My she's looking pretty good after 12 years. Here she is on the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John. This car is going to be tons of fun to drive on the twisty St. John roads!

      Oh dear, who gets the only garage? Maybe they will have to share? Flip a coin? Any ideas?

Stay tuned for the next posting. We're expecting 12 concrete trucks Wednesday. Sounds like a traffic jam. Stay warm up there. We're putting up with the 85 degree weather down here!

Santa blew in on the Tradewinds!

No, we did not have a 'White Christmas' this year.

In fact it was around 80 degrees all day, with just a bit of breeze. We are having the 'Christmas Winds' which mean all the sailors are in heaven. The breezes will last into the middle of January and then will taper off. But March will bring another round of tropical winds and all the boats will be out again in full force.

Look what Bob got Jim for Xmas.....Not!

We love the island ingenuity. Want a woody? Slap some plywood on an old Suzuki and you're done.

So, what was for Xmas dinner in de islands?




Appetizer? Several types of cheese and raw honey from Jim's family. Really yummy.

 Main course. Roast leg of lamb with garlic potatoes, carrots and Jim's amazing onion/parsnip tart.
At right is the whole tart just out of the oven and flipped over for serving.

Desert? Sure, Olive oil pound cake with lemon frosting.

It's official, Bob is now overweight and looking like 'Bob's Big Boy" Remember him? Whatever.

Christmas on St. John was wonderful as usual. We decorated our outside deck with our version of a Christmas Tree. Beautiful, huh?

Oh look, there's the jolly ol' plump one now! Ho,ho,ho!   Have a Happy New Year, everyone!

De concrete, it jus keeps comin'.

      Wednesday, December 18th. We receive another delivery of grey gold. Concrete.

      Backing up a week, the guys have been working from the first floor slab up. Framing bedroom and bathroom walls. And the swimming pool. Look, there's a guy standing in our pool! Well, he's standing on the floor of what will be the pool. Hey, check out the view from the pool. We like it!

      Back to today. So I drive out to the lot. This time I don't go out at the crack of dawn. I leave at ten AM and find myself behind yet another cement truck. When I get to the lot there's a que.

      This time we have the pumper truck and six, seven, eight, oh I'm tired of counting so I don't know how many trucks showed up.

      Whatever. Concrete trucks are coming out of our ears! Money is flying out of my bank account. Isn't life in the caribbean grand?




      Here comes the pumper crane. They start off pouring the pool walls and floor.

      Jim and I climb around the lot and watch the action. There's lots of yelling. Start, no stop. No start again. Wait. Start. Hold it. Pump. It moves pretty fast and the sun is starting to set.
      But we don't wait around for the last drop to be poured. We head off to our favorite watering hole to fill ourselves up.

       Many thanks to the concrete guys from St. Thomas. 'Heavy Materials.' Good name. They have to load up, Take the ferry over to St. John. Drive the entire length of the island over narrow, twisty and steep roads. Dump the stuff. Then drive all the way back to catch the ferry back to St. Thomas.
      And concrete turns to stone pretty quickly. Their timing is incredible.

      It's Xmas soon and this is the last posting of 2013. Happy holidays and have a great new year!

Slap Down Dat Slab Mon

     

     So the first really big day of construction is here. Today they will pour the slab for the lower level of the house. I was told that work would begin early. I rush out to the site at the crack of dawn.
     Look, a rainbow! This must be a really good sign.


     I wait and wait. Then wait some more. Where is everybody? I get tired of waiting and the Jeep needs gas, so I drive over to the other end of the island where the only gas station is located. I pass no one along the way. But they have to pass this way to get to our lot. Whatever.



     Back across the island I go. Just as I turn into our development look who I come up behind!

     Well it looks like the pouring will begin soon.  Soon? They've already started. How did this happen. Not only are they pumping concrete, but look at the line-up of trucks. I will learn later that a total of nine trucks made a delivery today. That's a lot of cement!

     Once I climb up above the site, I get a great view of all the action. Cement is pumped up and then flies out into the framing. It all happens pretty quickly and is very well orchestrated. Guys rake the stuff around and others smooth it out. It looks like they're icing a cake! Clearly they've done this before. They move along like a well managed team.

     Here's our trusty contractor Alex Brooks. (in the red and white striped shirt) Alex isn't one to stand around and bark orders. He gets in there and pushes concrete around with the best of them.

     The whole process takes a good part of five hours. I go to join Jim for lunch and when I return they are finishing up pouring the floor of the pool. (Actually the storage room under the pool. The pool bottom is eight or nine feet off the ground.)  What an amazing process. Really cool Mon.
 

     The next day, here's the dried result. Two cisterns and the first floor slab poured. 
                                                               Onward and upward!

    

Quick note, before a bigger event.

Oops.
Forgot to post these pictures.




This was a week or so ago when they poured the foundation footings.

Mr. cement truck arrived, and since the driveway is still pretty rough the truck wasn't able to climb. So how to get the cement up there?

Well, let the backhoe carry it up.



Look inside the bucket. A lovely mix of cement coming right up!


Don't spill any, please.

There is Alex, our contractor, supervising the action.


Wayne, the backhoe operator was great. He delivered every load safely up the drive.

What a great eye. Every pour went straight into the forms.







Tune-in soon. The first floor slab is being poured tomorrow. The cement trucks (at least 4, maybe more) show up at 8AM. I'll be there with my trusty camera!