Home ownership is a constant challenge of maintenance and ents, deciding which projects take priority in the budget each year, and occasionally scrambling to include an unplanned project – like my new furnace a couple years ago.
I knew when I bought the house that I’d have to fix the driveway at some point – the inspection write-up included “replace cracked and settled driveway” and walkway. There were times it didn’t bother me so much, but those uneven sections could be a painful jolt when shoveling snow (or mulch), and the gap on one side, an unfortunate bump any time I backed out of the garage, were unfortunate reminders that I needed to hire someone to replace it.
During the summer, I looked into several companies and requested estimates. The company I selected – Taber Builders – had a bit of a backlog, and pouring concrete is dependent on the weather, both on it staying dry for a day or two, and staying above freezing. A couple weeks ago, I was given last week as a possible date. It proceeded to rain most of Sunday and Monday, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call Tuesday morning saying they could start that day, and pour within the next couple weeks.
It should come as no surprise that several parts of this process are quite loud. The first phase of the project was to break up the old concrete and remove it. A couple days later, the crew returned to smooth out the surface of both the driveway and walkway, laying the wire mesh across the entire area. They did make sure I had a safe route in and out of the house, which I appreciated.
Bright and early Saturday morning… no, actually, they started arriving before the sun was up, so just early Saturday morning, several vehicles parked along the street, including a concrete mixer. Right at 7am, the mixer noises started. Starting with the walkway, then the driveway, they poured the concrete, and then spent a significant amount of time smoothing it out and making sure every bit was level (except for the one spot that’s a ramp down towards the yard).
A couple crew members were back on Monday morning to remove the wood framing the concrete and most of the caution ribbon, leaving just the end of the driveway blocked off as a reminder not to drive on it for at least a week. My car is currently parked on the driveway’s skirt, perpendicular to all their hard work.