A Snag, and then: Masons Arrive!

 I had plenty of time to admire the new concrete pad

and photograph it from different angles, and dream about when there'd be a real greenhouse on it. 

We'd made such great progress, something had to go wrong. I'd been talking with a mason since March, calling him periodically to make sure he was still on for the job. Well, it was getting on time to order the block and rock facing and line him up, so I called him on Thursday, August 10, wanting to discuss the specifics of the job. He was strangely detached, and as we talked I could tell he was looking for a way out. It was unimaginable to me that he'd back out now. But I truly felt my dream slipping through my hands again when he told me I'd have to be the one to order all the materials and have them on the site, waiting for him. How in the holy hell was I supposed to know what to order, how much block, and mortar, and...seriously, WHAT??

I'd learned so much in this project, but I had not learned the ins and outs of masonry as yet.

 And then he dropped the bomb. "Well, I'd just as soon not fool with it." 

"With what?" I asked. "Ordering the materials, or the job?"

"The job." 

I gaped like a fish, speechless. He hung up hurriedly, without even an apology for stringing me along for five months. Embarrassed, I guess. After a wonderful interlude with AJ Johns, my flair for finding people who promise big and don't intend to follow through came roaring back to the fore.

After I'd cussed and stomped around for awhile, blowing off steam, I got on the phone to Pioneer Masonry to ask if they could recommend a mason who could work at a moment's notice. Because I had been told the glass would ship at the end of August, and it was August 10! I had no idea how long it would take to build the foundation for the greenhouse, but if it wasn't ready when the glass was, I was in big trouble.

 Always helpful, they emailed me a list of recommended masons. I noted that the man who'd dropped out on me was not on it. On their list of general contractors, I saw the name of someone I knew--Chip Ditchendorf. I called him and described my sudden and unexpected plight. Chip didn't mess around. "Call Jeff Cline. I think he's the right guy for this job."

I called Jeff on a Thursday afternoon; he CAME OUT TO LOOK AT THE JOB THE SAME DAY (yes, I'm shouting!) and by Friday morning, the block and mortar he had ordered were on their way to me. Whoaaaa!! Jeff was as responsive and thorough as anyone could hope. I didn't have to estimate how much block I'd need; I didn't have to order the materials; he did it for me. I think that's the way it's supposed to work. I don't see how it could work the other way. 

I'm so grateful to Chip for this recommendation!

Here's the truck that delivered the block and mortar.

I was thrilled to watch the remote-controlled crane on this huge truck, and the way the driver deftly operated it with what looked like a gamer's remote. Crazy how people operate machinery with these little plastic controls.

And get this. Mason Jeff Cline and his son Christopher were on the job by Saturday!! Thursday morning, I'd thought all was lost. Saturday, I had masons on the job, and the materials there waiting for them. What a gift Pioneer Masonry and the Clines were to me and this project!!

Jeff and Christopher did NOT fool around. That's a rented electric concrete mixer dressed in red.

They're building the wall the glass will rest upon. It's going to look like a real building! 

Imagine my excitement, watching it all go up.

 

By Saturday afternoon, their mission was accomplished. Sweetest guys you could ever want to meet, and they did beautiful and precise work. Curtis and I are their biggest fans! 

I knew, looking at this beautiful wall, that I'd want rock facing not only on the outside, but on the inside, because that's what I'd be looking at most of the time. So off I went to Pioneer Masonry to choose some manufactured rock facing: Weatherledge Tan by Prestige. It's made in Amish Country, right here in Ohio. Jeff and Christopher would return to put that facing on in just a few weeks' time.

They're standing in the double doorway. I'd say that's big enough to get Creole Lady in and out of...for now.