10 July 2018

Victor, Karl, Kyle, and Ryan pulled in about 1:30, followed shortly thereafter by Larry and a Carrara mixer bringing 3 yards of 3,000 psi concrete.  Even though the concrete had had extra chemicals added to make it flow more easily with less water (concrete needs water to activate the reaction that causes it to get hard, but too much water weakens the resulting structure), and the crew was using a vibrator to liquefy the mix, it still was so stiff that Larry had to have more water added, twice, to get it to spread out in the forms.  My job (besides taking pictures and staying out of the way) was to beat on the forms with a hammer to get any air bubbles away from the wall surface, i.e., more hammering = smoother walls.  Once the 28 tie down bolts were inserted and the tops of the walls had been troweled smooth and level, Larry and his guys left.  Final step for the day was to inscribe Δ□Ο and 2018 into the fresh concrete.