Above: August
11, 2004: The very capable Mr. Clive Monnity, owner of CM Lawn
Service, and crew, bore and dig the holes for the eight 6X6 posts.
Mr. Monnity checks the depth of
the holes. The posts are 30" into the earth, but we made the
holes 36" deep
and placed gravel in the bottom of each hole for two purposes—to
permit drainage of water away from the post bottoms and to permit
precise adjustment of post height so that the foundation would be
level. If a post was low we would lift it up a bit and jiggle it
to allow more gravel to flow under it; if it was high we would tamp
it gently. The foundation had to be installed in two sections because
it was too heavy and too unwieldy to be handled in one piece.
Above: Mr. Monnity makes a final check for
level.
Below: Ready for concrete.
And then came
the rain, and the rain begat mud—after the concrete
was in place.
