It was time for us to switch from temporary electricity to permanent power, and in order to do this, I needed to dig a trench 1-2 feet deep by 8 inches wide and about 35 feet long. It was my responsibility to get this done while Carson was at work, since we both knew it would take several hours of hand shoveling. True we could have rented a backhoe, but it's not cheap to rent, and I needed a good workout anyway!
I had to dig down anywhere from 1 to 2 feet depending on the area for about 35 feet. The dirt was pretty hard from the backhoe being driven over it several times, so I had to pick each section out first and then shovel it. This took me about 6 hours, but thank goodness it was good weather and I had the time to do it! It was a great workout too!
The stone workers were there that same day and kept staring at me like I was insane for not renting a backhoe, and also probably because I was working up a pretty noticeable sweat from swinging the pick and shoveling like mad. It was also pretty warm that day, and I think they were surprised seeing a woman do a supposed "man's labor." I think they felt bad for me, because one of them eventually came up to me and asked if I wanted a cold Pepsi in his broken english. I told him no and that I was ok (I don't drink caffeine), and he looked a little surprised and embarrassed, so I said, "Sure that would be great! Thank you!" He ran over and grabbed me one... I gave it to the electricians when he wasn't looking.
I forgot to take before pictures, so these are all after the work had been done and the pipes recovered. The gray conduit at the bottom of the picture is the pipe the electrician put in for permanent power.
The white pipe in this picture is for the cable outlet. Our neighbor owns the local cable company and came over the next day and said, "I saw you digging for several hours yesterday, and then I saw you covering the pipes back up and thought I better run over here and tell you that you'll want your cable line in before you cover anymore!" Luckily I had dug deep enough that we laid the pipe on top of the already buried electrical conduit, and then put more dirt on top! Phew!
I had to dig down anywhere from 1 to 2 feet depending on the area for about 35 feet. The dirt was pretty hard from the backhoe being driven over it several times, so I had to pick each section out first and then shovel it. This took me about 6 hours, but thank goodness it was good weather and I had the time to do it! It was a great workout too!
The stone workers were there that same day and kept staring at me like I was insane for not renting a backhoe, and also probably because I was working up a pretty noticeable sweat from swinging the pick and shoveling like mad. It was also pretty warm that day, and I think they were surprised seeing a woman do a supposed "man's labor." I think they felt bad for me, because one of them eventually came up to me and asked if I wanted a cold Pepsi in his broken english. I told him no and that I was ok (I don't drink caffeine), and he looked a little surprised and embarrassed, so I said, "Sure that would be great! Thank you!" He ran over and grabbed me one... I gave it to the electricians when he wasn't looking.
The white pipe in this picture is for the cable outlet. Our neighbor owns the local cable company and came over the next day and said, "I saw you digging for several hours yesterday, and then I saw you covering the pipes back up and thought I better run over here and tell you that you'll want your cable line in before you cover anymore!" Luckily I had dug deep enough that we laid the pipe on top of the already buried electrical conduit, and then put more dirt on top! Phew!
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