Today, a company called Something or maybe it is Some Thing, bored 45 holes in the space that will be our house and filled them with “milk cement,” which I think we’d call cement slurry in America. This was done to solidify and reinforce the soft spots that were uncovered in a Swedish sounding test over the summer.
The work was efficient with a team of three operators and handlers. They started at 8 am and by lunchtime had finished 60%. A one-day job, as promised.
They brought in heavy equipment. First came an on-site cement mixing system that had a crane, generator, flexible pool for water supply, pumps, the mixer, and a clever built-in cutter inside the hopper to easily open the massive bags of cement powder. We all really liked that cutter.
The drill rig was connected to the cement mixer by a big hose and the liquid cement went straight from the mixer through the hollow drill into the holes.
Some of our 45 holes went down as far as 4 meters. A few times, based on the sound and slow speed of the drill, I think they hit a boulder. But overall the process seemed straightforward, if very muddy.
Unfortunately, the weight of the equipment cracked both of the biggest stone slabs in the driveway. They were two big flat pieces – about 1 meters x 1.2 meters and I am sad they are busted up; they were special. Maybe we can fix them. Sasaki-san and I will discuss this on Friday.
If the bored holes cure as planned, it looks like we’ll start on foundations next week.
