grading

Yesterday, our paving company sent a Bobcat operator to grade and prepare the areas that will be paved today and tomorrow. We're using 12"x12" concrete pavers, which will sit on a compacted bed of sand. The Bobcat operator scraped away soil, sloped the front walkway and driveway down to the street, leveled the porch and patio, and then laid a bed of sand in each area.

A tricky technical issue we needed to address is ensuring that rainwater doesn't pond in the low area at the edge of the road (or worse, in the road itself). The concrete pavers will help, since they allow water to seep between them and percolate into the ground, compared to conventional impermeable paving that sheds rainwater straight into the street. We also created swales - slightly depressed areas - at the road's edge, which will temporarily hold large amounts of rainwater instead of letting it pour back into the street. We'll plant the swales with flowering plants that can thrive with regular inundation and survive dry spells.

The Bobcat operator deserves some props. Both times that we've had small earth movers on site we've been impressed with their operators' dexterity. Yesterday was particularly impressive, with the Bobcat effortlessly working within an inch of the house while grading the porch and patio. Scary to watch, awesome to behold.