The Grind

by marjasisu, posted in Camp Many Moons

After the pour came the grind. Whew! One more big step in creating the multi-function foundation for the Cabin at Many Moons. (To read about the pour, click here.)

It’s nerve-wracking but exciting. Before “the grind,” the foundation was basic black. We wondered what we will see underneath. I’m told that beautiful stones will emerge, but what kind and color? Will the black dye that we added to the concrete hide the best stones or showcase them? What about the heating tubes and plumbing outlets that are covered by the concrete — could they be damaged somehow? (For an explanation of what lies beneath, click here.) Like I said, nerve-wracking…especially since I’m paying extra for this calculated risk. But I tend to “trust the experts,” and in this case, the expert is a guy named Dan. Plus, it’s fun to be a pioneer. Somebody has to be first, and I’m apparently a pioneer for pre-dyeing interior concrete. Post-dyeing is more common but would hide the embedded stones which come from the Keweenaw in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, one of the most gorgeous places in the U.S. and my birthplace. So, the still-hidden stones are part of this experiment. What will we see?? Read on…

Dan and his helpers (Tyler and Pat) unload the equipment from their trailer, which they drove some 400 miles directly to Camp Many Moons.
Grinding is less noisy than concrete-pouring. Pat starts in the southeast corner…
…while Tyler runs the 2nd machine. With two grinders going, the progress was quick.
Keeping the concrete wet while grinding is apparently part of the art. It’s just four days after the foundation was poured, and the concrete is still “curing.”
Our well runs out of water if run too long and strong, so we had to figure out a back-up to keep the concrete wet all day. Jeff rigged a pump to pull water directly out of Huron Bay.
Tyler changes tools to move to Stage 2, a less-aggressive grinding. Grinding took about six hours over two days. Day 2 was rainy and we slipped around on the slimy concrete. Jeff and I had no business walking on the concrete while work was in process but we couldn’t resist getting a close-up view of what was emerging….
….and there they are! The beautiful stones from the Keweenaw! We might even find pieces of copper in there. (The first mineral boom of the U.S. was the copper boom here in the late 1800s. Both of my grandfathers emigrated here from Finland and became copper miners.)
What we see depends on conditions. Isn’t that always the case? (Including the condition of our brain or heart!) Here, it looks all-black again in the dim light of the all-day rain.
Jeff gets on his knees to examine the colored stones. Sometimes you have to get close to see the beauty inside a thing. We know it will be even more beautiful once polished. That will be some weeks (or even months) down the road.

7 thoughts on “The Grind”

  2. Looks awesome and congrats on more progress with the Cabin. Always enjoy reading your blog but don’t comment all that often from Greenville, SC. Headed to the St. Lawrence River end of July for a long awaited vacation to hopefully see some loopers in the 1000 Island area.

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  4. I happen to just be reading “In Suspect Territory” by John McPhee, where he talks about Ice Age glaciation and how it moved rocks from Canada (and carved the Great Lakes). I imagine glaciation had a hand in your slab?

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