Preparing Grandad's Rock

You may think that slapping down concrete is pretty basic....well, think again. Its really a study in alchemy. To attain the "seven-per-cent solution" you need car loads of sand and cement, just the right mixture of seawater, a thorough knowledge of the tides, perfect weather conditions and a decent labourer. That's where Mark comes in.

Lisa, and Emily, has been moaning for some time now about how Grandad's Rock (the rock leading into the ocean from the patio) is too rough to walk over and wouldn't it be nice if it was smoothed over with a slab of concrete..."oh, and you can do it Mark, I know you can." Well the thing is, the rock in question is only just above sea level and, indeed, twice a day is positively under sea level. So the mission is, should Mark chose to accept it (and he really has no choice anyway), to lay concrete over the rock between tides and ensure there is enough time for the cement to dry.

In true maverick style Mark embarked upon this challenge with gusto. It was the first time he has laid concrete so the result was all a bit unknown. After several failed attempts to mix cement then see it wash away into the blue yonder, a study of the tides revealed that he had a couple of 8 hour periods each day in which to work. And so the regime began; wake up at dawn to study the tides, review the weather site for conditions, check out the wave action and decide...do you feel lucky? Anyway the experiment proved a success and the results (before and after) can be seen below.

Now we have a concrete plinth (we think its a plinth) that even Lisa can lie out on. Now the next task....to fix a fishing rod holder into the concrete in time for the arrival of the fishermen (Grandad and, his friend, Wayne) in 10 days time!