Moving Dirt

I woke up last week to the sound of my five year old hollerin’ out the window, “Morning, Eric!”. I’m not only a project manager. I’m also a neighbor. I looked out the window and couldn't see a thing. So, I put my glasses on to read the blue glow of the clock. 7:13. Yep, that’s about right. I could hear the sound of Grandpa Coolman resounding in the recesses of my memory, “Get up! Day’s half over!”

We finalized selections and floor plans on this house a fortnight ago, certified those selections and plans, secured the construction financing and the building permits and on Monday, April 12th broke ground on our “Ashley” home.

A construction crew’s day begins at first light. So it was no surprise to look out the window to see the guys. These are the same guys that have been doing this for what seems like forever. Jack Lindy has been digging Coolman Community foundations and moving earth since, it would seem, the beginning of time. He can dig to the inch with a massive earthmover more accurately then the majority of us could dig with a shovel. To watch him maneuver is like watching a choreographed ballet.

Ron Fisher is on site with his tape measure, staking out the foundation of the house. He’s retired. At least that is what we were told. I was at the party. Funny thing about guys like Ron, retirement doesn’t really suit them. Even after nearly forty years at the company we still get the privilege of his expertise and his soft spoken, yet direct demeanor.

The tall blond holding the foundation plans is Eric Veldman, one of our Builders. Eric is that rare breed of employee that started out as the gopher laborer and just kept learning and working and learning and working and is now our senior Builder, supervising the construction and sub-contractors. Chris Byers is our other builder. You’d think they were brothers. Chris and Eric act as a tag team on all the various sites at the moment. They are the go to guys concerning all things construction related. Eric was here for the dig. Chris for laying the underground utilities and backfill. In the matter of a week we have dug, set our block foundation, backfilled and tied into sewer and water. HVAC and Plumbers were on site this morning to begin the layout of the undergrounds