Once again, I'm solving a problem with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. We had a back step (concrete slab) that had sunk so that rain water would flow toward the foundation instead of away from it. It was too big and heavy to lift to angle it away from the building. So a kind neighbour pushed it out of the way with his handy little tractor thingy (okay, I'm a city girl and don't know the names of equipment, okay?). That left us with a big drop from the back door.
We priced having pre-fab concrete steps brought in. We thought about having a big rock brought in to serve as a step. But the septic pipe runs right below that door, and we didn't want to put anything in place that would be impossible to move later if access were needed to the pipe. Also didn't want to damage the pipe by putting a lot of weight on it.
So this weekend my clever husband built a sturdy 10" tall wooden box and ordered in 6000 lbs of limestone screening. Yes. We filled the box, tamped it down well, and put four 18" pavers on it, and voila! A step.
Hubby has to return home today, but the hard lifting is done. I'm now using the rest of the screening to raise the ground level around the whole foundation of the church, just to help combat the sinking that occurred after all the waterproofing we've had done around the foundations. I have a few days to do it before I go back to the city, but it shouldn't be a problem. I'm becoming quite adept at using a wheelbarrow.
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers!
