The courtyard part 1

This weekend we finally took a huge step towards the completion of the courtyard. The biggest obstacle was the cost of digging and prepping for the pavers that we wanted to install. After getting two quotes, I did a little research and found that Bobcat has a walk behind digger that can fit through an opening as narrow as 36".  The rental cost was $150 a day and I estimated that it would take me about two days to complete the digging. Then I would have the base material trucked in and pack it down with a vibration plate.

Last Thursday I received a call from Matt Agundez (Agundez concrete) asking if I had decided what I wanted to do. I explained that I was going to dig it out myself and he was leery of that idea. His quote was higher than last year when we asked him and I did not want to pay the higher amount. After a little back and forth he agreed to charge what he quoted last year and they started the next day.

I originally wanted to use him because he has done two other projects for me and he does good work. In the end I am glad I did not try this myself. It took three guys two full days to complete this, using a jackhammer and pick axes. I do not think the walk behind Bobcat would have had enough power and weight to get through the clay soil. I had no idea where to dump it either. It took three dump truck loads to empty the courtyard. Also there were many dead iron pipes that had to be removed and one live water copper pipe that had to be cut and capped.