EXCITING NEWS!!!!
The first quadrant of courts has been poured! Started at 1:00 a.m. this morning.
It was like watching a scene out of Star Wars or some alien movie. I've never seen a pump truck in action like this so I was mesmerized and awestruck. The truck drove up and just seemed to disassemble itself like a transformer toy. First the huge stabilizers spread out (4 of them) and then this huge arm reached up into the night sky. As it slowly spread apart, it looked like a giant M. Then it continued to reach all the way across the court area. I found out later that this is all controlled by one man who walks around with a small remote control panel on his belt.
(Pardon my dirty lens...I forgot to clean it after the last dust storm.)
The first quadrant of courts has been poured! Started at 1:00 a.m. this morning.
It was like watching a scene out of Star Wars or some alien movie. I've never seen a pump truck in action like this so I was mesmerized and awestruck. The truck drove up and just seemed to disassemble itself like a transformer toy. First the huge stabilizers spread out (4 of them) and then this huge arm reached up into the night sky. As it slowly spread apart, it looked like a giant M. Then it continued to reach all the way across the court area. I found out later that this is all controlled by one man who walks around with a small remote control panel on his belt.
(Pardon my dirty lens...I forgot to clean it after the last dust storm.)
Once the first cement trucks showed up, the action started. The trucks feed their load of concrete into the pump truck and then it travels through that huge long tube so it can be placed at any location within reach....and it has a LONG reach. I thought surely the whole truck would tip over onto its nose at any moment with that huge load of heavy concrete strung out there.
I certainly salute the contractor and his well-trained team. The whole operation went like clock work and each man had his defined role.
(That's Jim Dawson at center in the blue shirt watching over the operation.)
Here is another absolutely amazing machine called a "screed". It has GPS units on it that level the blade to exact measurements to provide the proper slope and depth.
The trucks kept rolling in on perfect schedule to allow for one continuous long pour. The concrete never stopped flowing. We watched as a total of 13 trucks came and went during the course of the evening.
Don and I left about 3:30....very weary from watching and being on our feet so long and from swatting the jillion flying insects that were so attracted to the lights. They provided a feast to the bats who were flying around.
We went back back to the scene around 7:00 and found the same crew still hard at work.
Now they're concentrating on smoothing and treating the surface. The concrete now sets for the next 35+ days.
The next quadrant of courts is being poured tonight starting at 1:00 a.m. Since we provided so much coverage on this first set, I believe we'll stay home and rest tonight.
We spent our afternoon hours editing photos and video. Here is Don's video clip uploaded to YouTube. Be sure to watch!
First Courts Poured Today
