Our House Has A Floor!

Phai had told me that we would go shopping today for the roofing materials but as usual plans change quickly. Her son decided we should get the floor poured. So about 10:00 am Phai called the cement company. I figured it would take a few days. I asked her when the cement trucks would come and she said today but she didn't know what time. Our son in law drove us into Na Klang for basic supplies I needed like cereal, milk juice, etc along with using the ATM to make sure I could pay for whatever costs we incur during the next few days. About 11:30 am the first truck arrived. Now for the sad part. He made the decision that the ground was firm enough to come in the back way. Well, I was so excited seeing him get the truck turned around and start backing up only to see his wheels start spinning. He stopped and put some broken concrete in the soft area and tried again. Big Mistake. He got the truck stuck. Remember they have never driven on snow here and he thought the solution was to keep spinning his wheels faster. Needless to say he dug himself in deep. We hired a tractor to pull him out and the tractor tried pulling with a chain and then using his plow to push to no avail. Meantime the seconded cement truck arrived and simply pulled in through the neighbors yard and we began pouring the cement. You can see the video under the video tab of the whole crazy thing. With half the floor poured and the other truck still stuck I told Phai to order another truck. She said the rest of the cement is on the other truck and when they get it unstuck they will pour it. I told her that could be a long time and I will pay for another truck load, that we need to get the floor poured and it would not be a good idea to have the first cement set up before we poured more. She finally realized I was right and the next truck is on the way. The cost to order the third load of cement is $94.  When they get the truck unstuck they will bring that load to the front of the restaurant and will use the cement to pave more of the restaurant eating area so it will not go to waste. Cheap solution to a huge problem but the Thais are not always flexible in their thinking. I will chalk it up to Phai being cautious with spending my money.

Well, as timing would have it, the third truck pulled in just as they managed to dig out the first truck. So we finished the floor of the house and immediately paved the whole area on the side of the restaurant which will really be nice. All this is accomplished and it is only 3:45 pm. Wonder what other trouble I can make today. One of the cement truck drivers was excited to see me. Turns out he has worked overseas and knows some english. He was amazed when I grabbed a bucket and got right to work (as soon as I finished shooting some video). He and I chatted and he was so happy when he found out that we are the same age. He even sat around for little while after he was done to talk with me. I find that anyone here who knows some english is really happy to try it out. 

With the floor going in today they can start putting up the walls. Tomorrow we will buy the roof materials and probably order the floor tiles. The floor was my big concern but this third day of terrific weather got us over the hurdle. So, you can all uncross your fingers now. Unless you want to keep them crossed to help ensure they don't call Phai's son to Korea before we get the house finished. 

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The first cement truck dug himself in deep. It took a tractor and a lot of hand digging to get him out.

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The second truck came in through the neighbors lot and we hooked a lot of troughs together.

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Ning helps move the cement down the trough with a bucket. I took over for her after I took the picture.

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Our House now has a floor.

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The entire side area of the restaurant is now paved. That will make my sweeping easier and easier access to our house. 


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