Enemy of the State - 1

I don't think Andy has worked harder or became more frustrated with any part of this project as he has with the new window that was cut into the foundation wall for Taylei's current bedroom.  Problem #1:  A concrete water saw is used to cut this thick of concrete.  This sounds smart, I will admit, until you consider what was on the other side of the wall -- Taylei's finished bedroom, carpet and walls.  When the gentlemen showed up to perform the cutting they inquired as to what was on the other side of the foundation.  They told me that the carpet might get wet.  I questioned how severe the possible/probable flooding might be an it didn't sound life threatening and so I didn't worry further.  Looking back with perfect hindsight, I realize that even though Andy was at work, my father would have come and helped pull up the carpet if I would have just been smart enough to ask.  The room DID flood.  And for those of you that hadn't thought of this, concrete dust and water make concrete.  I'll just say we did end up with giant blowers in our home for a week.  And with that much wet carpet your house will smell like a swamp as it dries.

The people cutting also chose not to remove it.  In this process I have learned that concrete is really heavy.  I think the slab that needed removal was 9x54x54 (my parents had it poured extra thick for better insulation).  A yard of concrete I believed ways 1 ton.  If I was in the mood for math I would figure out what this equates to but it was heavy.  Andy asked his friend to help with the removal.  Andy bolted into the concrete, hooked it with chains and then Gordon hooked on with his tractor.  It came out about six inches and then wouldn't budge further.  Skip came and made no progress.  Andy spent night and part of a day beating it with a sledge hammer and nothing changed.  He finally decided to measure the slab from both inside and out.  This is when he discovered that it was cut at an angle and the inside piece was wider than the outside.  A few days later the concrete cutters came back and cut some more.  Gordon Young came back again and this time his tractor was successful in the removal process.

Cody Hansen happened to stop by and Andy was glad to have his assistance.  My father was inside the window trying to manage things from that end.  I'm just glad things went well because a piece of concrete that size is actually "in charge" and if it had decided to stray from the plan I'm sure someone would have been seriously hurt.

Andy was celebrating when it was finally removed.  I'm sure his biceps actually grew in the process, swinging a sledge hammer has its rewards.