A Big Day at Western
Depot
By: Buffs with
additional contributions from Andy P
An early start for WD
volunteers on Monday. There was frost on the Cotswold Hills promising
a calm day with a forecast of sun later. My car showed signs of an
air frost with ice on the glass from the roofline to halfway down the
windows. The early rising sun became garlanded with a halo which grew
ever larger as the light passed through the rising mist and hazy
cloud.
The early cohort of
volunteers had opened the gates and very quickly our vehicles and
trailers were moved to the car park. The scrap and general rubbish
were loaded for disposal and the trench plates which cover the yard
lifted to provide a more reliable surface for the mixer when it
arrived.
Meanwhile Duncan and
Andy P set about placing the re bar mesh in place prior to the pour.
The mesh was supported on pieces of brick to ensure it was inside the
concrete slab
An anticipatory quiet
fell over the Western Depot. Barrows were lined up ready, spades and
shovels were clean and close to hand. The last cups of tea had been
drunk and gloves were being nervously clasped as the team waited for
the mixer to arrive. Time ticked by until the cry “it’s here”
was heard. The mixer was backed as close to the barn as was safe and
the delivery chute fixed in place. Anticipation turned to readiness
only to be paused whilst the samples were taken.
A small amount of the
mix was taken to the accompanying van for a slump test and for test
blocks to be made. For the slump test a conical mould was filled with
the mix and tamped down. Before the mould was removed the top of the
cone was levelled then with a swift lift the mould was off and placed
beside the concrete cone. The cone did not slump but stayed upright
and in shape. A good mix for us to lay.
And then the hard work
began. A whir of barrows and shovels went into action filling the
space between the shuttering. ‘Don’t stand still or your boots
will be filled’. The team barrowed, shifted, shovelled and raked
for about an hour to get the concrete approximately level. The ramp
was filled and the extra slab by the carpenters shop was started.
On to the levelling
with the power screeder. Jason had confessed to having laid concrete
slabs before so he became the natural choice to drive the powered
vibrating beam. Naturally it took a little to get going but soon a
level surface began to appear.
It became obvious that there was
too much concrete for the fill and many barrow loads of concrete were
removed into an ever growing fleet of barrows. (Where did you find
them all, Kay?)
Until all was
smoothness and it was time for lunch. (Note to self: Must remember to
thank Leonie for bringing the most welcome cups of tea!)
To generate the final
polish on the new floor a rotary power float was used. To say that
this requires both skill and courage to operate belies the comedic
scope of the tool. The first attempts demonstrated that this beast
could be a bucking bronco or a magic roundabout. Eventually Jason
mastered the beast and with help from Andy and Maurice who applied
the water and the floor was polished to a flat and plain surface.
As this was a
construction job with many wheelbarrows and shovels used there has to
be a hands up picture so here it is:
Thanks to Will, Mathew,
Jason, David, Vince, Andy, Duncan, Kay and Maurice; not forgetting
Reg who managed it all beautifully by keeping out of the way