Final Earthwork and Pavement

So, what else have I been up to since returning home from Long Island? You know, other than having fun with Caleb! Putting the finishing touches on our house!

During my first week back I’ve met with and received prices from 4 pavement contractors, lined up our earthwork contractor to do the finish grading/compacting on the driveway, lined up the electrician to jump on my automation after he returns from his honeymoon, and left far too many messages/phone calls with the concrete contractor trying to get ahold of him to pour our stamped concrete patio. In the end I gave up on the concrete and have happily switched gears to rehire the Michaud boys to build us a very close to grade composite deck.

It was pretty awesome how quickly the Martin’s (Earthworks) came to our rescue after we selected the pavement contractor. We received the pavement bids throughout last week, and settled on Lane construction last Friday. They had an opening for Wednesday, only 5 days later, but that didn’t give us whole lot of time to get things together for the ground preparation. I called Mike Martin on Saturday, and he was here in full force on Monday to get things ready for the one sunny day this week, which meant pavement on Wednesday.

Tuesday Evening the Driveway Looking Compacted, Level, and Ready for Pavement

Pavement Going Right up to the Front Door

Then Wednesday morning arrived, and the Lane construction crew arrived bright and early, with the foreman pulling into our dooryard at 6 AM. Over the next hour, several more Lane construction workers arrived until there was a literal army of people waiting for the asphalt to come on-site at 7:30 AM.

There Were A Few Last-Minute Changes to Get Everything to Grade at the Front Door

I then met with the Lane paint guy to make sure everything was lined up right to meet our composite deck. We decided to pave a 5 foot walkway around the house to the backyard, my personal entrance, and the deck. Notice how the earthwork was brought up to the level the deck will be built so there will be no ramps or steep transitions in/out of the house. We decided to pave past where the deck is planned so that we can cut the pavement with a circular saw to make a perfectly straight line where it meets for the deck.

The Rear Deck Area: Notice the Pavement Grade

The Army of Guys and Equipment

This is no small time outfit… They’re the same guys that pave mile after mile on the interstate.

Looks like My Special Buddy Is Watching on

And the pavement begins sharply at 7:30 AM. They start from the rear of the house and worked their way around, along the walkway to the main driveway.

Paving the Walkway

Equipment To Pave the Driveway Ready to Go

Working Their Way down the Side of the House

Lane Construction Corporation

Lots of Hard Workers Made This a Quick Job (only about 30 min. into it and already almost done the walkway)

Now onto the Driveway

Not Sure If Caleb Is Bored or Enjoying the Show

They Really Have To Tip That Truck Bed up High

Just Watching along

Resting His Head on My Wheel! Comfy?

Working on the Front Door: Notice How They’re Getting it Right to the Door Level

Done with the Front Entrance

A little bit about the Lane construction crew… What a great group of guys! Not sure if this just has to do with the small-town effect and half of them having gone to high school with my father and the rest of them having had their lawnmowers worked on by my grandfather, but what a great bunch of smiling, hard-working guys. They definitely carried plenty of extra pride into this job and really did it right. All the hot top is super smooth, my walkways wider than I had hoped for, and the asphalt graded perfectly up to the door thresholds so that there is scarcely a bump. Check out how good it came out!

Beautiful Black Hot Topped Driveway

Right to the Front Doors

Perfect to Grade… No Bumps for Me!

Looks like this weekend we’re hoping to get the garage all painted, and the epoxy floor applied. Then hopefully it’s to the lake to enjoy a beautiful few days and let Caleb practices his doggie paddle.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everybody!

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