Thursday, May 10, 2012

its a job

Chick-fil-A West Wichita under construction

duck pond

here's your sign

shaping up!

Buddy at work


The blueprints can be the same, the materials the same, the superintendent the same... but in different parts of the country you have to deal with the variables - building codes, inspectors, and of course weather. If an area has been in a drought, just let Buddy start a job there and the rain will start. I guess that is why his nickname at the office is Muddy Buddy!

Take the dirt for example. From the first day on the job here in Kansas this dirt has been a pain - black and sticky, never dries out - they say it is great for farming, but not so much for construction. And definitely not like the last job where it was sand and drainage happened almost immediately when the rain fell. If it rains here, it is wet for days, weeks, even the ducks flying overhead spotted a nice pond to swim in - and no that is not a landscape feature, it is a mud puddle, Kansas-size!

But finally the rain stopped for a few days so the concrete slab could be poured, then the super fast framing crew flew in from North Carolina - recommended to be expert CFA framers, they claimed to be able to frame it in 8 days, and they did! A whirlwind job, but all looks good and most importantly it passed inspection.

Every evening I get to hear all that went on, went wrong, occasionally went right... but the last words out of his mouth are always the same - it's a job!

spring