Tags
digging foundations, DIY, excavating, Home renovation, land excavation, rintamamiestalo, sewage lines, trenching
It was a pleasant weekend. My brother-in-law Veli-Matti returned on Saturday to help nail up another side of the house with new siding. Pete and Pekka had already tucked in the new insulation and sided about half way up the back side of the house on Thursday. And on Friday Pekka and I did some tile shopping for the kitchen back splash… which was a bit costly, more than €600 for 2.5 m of tile.
It’s now Tuesday 8 July, Day II of Digger Destruction…
the beast is just arriving…
As it cranked up and came off the trailer, I was giddy with disbelief at the sheer size of the beast. The first thing I said was, “that thing is gonna do some damage.” It roared and clanked with those mechanized tracks leaving nothing but deep wide track treads in its wake. When it became necessary, it took out whole trees like they were tooth picks. So far it’s taken out 2 full-grown birch trees and a full-grown chestnut, along with a number of lilac bushes, cherry tree stumps and everything that had grown along both the right and back side of the house. Here’s an example…
BEFORE 1 live birch tree
AFTER 😦
Well the idea is/was to dig foundations for the new construction, dig trenches around the old construction foundation for the drainage system and install the pump assembly for the sewage and water lines… but that beast is leaving everything pretty much destroyed wherever it goes. The yard that I have tended to for months is otherwise gone.
This bothered me so much yesterday I really couldn’t stand to watch and instead came inside and got busy doing anything to stay occupied and distracted. Pekka asked me why I was mad later. I didn’t really have words to say anything. Today I’m better in touch with my feelings. It feels like a kick in the gut to see so much destruction. I really just can’t abide with it.
So I went to the property edge and ventured onto the deer trail that runs between our place and the farmers’ to enjoy a better view.
tranquility
I’m not looking forward to the remaining time the beast is here. Besides digging the remaining trenches for the other 2 sides of the house, there’s the trench for water lines from the house to the street. The main water and sewage lines are about 200 meters away up and behind that old wood shed. Definitely not looking good for the land, trees, and plants that stand in the way…
shed stays. can’t say the same for anything else on either side or behind…
Trying to think calming thoughts with the roar of the beast in the background and the waves of dust rising up off what once was the lawn…
Vanha Talo Suomi 
Dear Kate, I can feel your pain and want you to know that this unwieldy damage you are now experiencing WILL be a thing of the past at some point, for even though you will need to make extensive repairs, it CAN be done and restored to its more beautiful state once again. All your previous work must seem rather furtive today, but you did lay the groundwork and master plan which will be somewhat easier the 2nd time around IF the beast operator knows anything about smoothing the ground once he’s completed his foundation work. If he’s worth his salt he will know how to fill and flatten the area he’s now destroying, making it a bit easier for you to re-plant to your satisfaction. So sorry for what you now have to witness and listen to, I hope that part will be over very soon. Looking forward to more photos of the kitchen and any other rooms that are reaching completion. Someday you will be able to look back on this awful moment in time and perhaps even chuckle a bit about that dastardly BEAST. Love you, Mom
LikeLike
Uggh. I empathise.
A good construction contractor will always talk you through the process prior to starting the job so you can at least try and move some things out of the way.
That machine looks massive. Here we have little trench digging machines called ‘dingo diggers’ that cause considerably less collateral damage. Good luck with the next few days….
LikeLike