Ouch: Day 2

(You can read all about Day 1 here. This is going to be a quick summary as I’m tired and really need to go bed)

Day two start off with me taking a sledge hammer to more concrete to remove the bit of sidewalk and driveway that were cut out yesterday so we could run the new water line (the main goal for the day). After sledgehammering (is that even a verb?) the sidewalk to bits I was finally able to remove the three foot length of sidewalk to be faced with the next task: Digging down a few feet from underneath the sidewalk is so a new water line could be ran.

After an couple hours of shoveling dirt around and clearing the trench out, I finally started to make some progress. My father and brother in law came over and eyeballed the situation. We then had to run to Home Depot to get a new blade for my dad’s SawzAll — one that would cut through the metal pipe in our way of progress. We got the blade, got the trench cleaned up a bit, and then started tearing into the old pipe near the house to get an old elbow joint off. It took some cutting and some large wrenches to break off the 40 years of rust on the pipes, but we got it off (the inside of the pipe was just as corroded as the outside — to think we’ve been drinking that water…).

After that, it was pretty uneventful (minus one more trip to the hardware store for one more cheap fitting we forgot to order the first time around). The new heavy duty PVC water line attached cleanly and easily and which pressure was turned back on, didn’t leak at all. It was nice to finish that and bury that back up in three feet of dirt, never to worry about again. We got that all done by early afternoon, and decided to call it a day as getting the water line was the major project. We buried, and also ran a piece of conduit under the sidewalk (we had an old piece of it here) so if we decide down the road to put a drip system out near the street, we’ll be able to without digging up the sidewalk.

My father in law is much relieved to have that in place, and said he’ll just stop by periodically during the week and start putting together the sprinkler system (there is minimal digging for that as the trencher took care of 90% of that yesterday). I’d work on it tomorrow (clearing up dirt, mostly, as I’m not the irrigation wizard), but I have to be at work, so that’s all in his court at this point. But I’m OK with waiting to have it done right.

My arms and back will enjoy being back at the office — too many years with a desk job have made me a wussy and my arms are really sore. Advil, and then to bed with me.