Installing the Insulating Umbrella Part II

We made a scaffold at our pullpoint which made it possible for the cable to operate in a line of sight manner. This reduced stresses on the cables and pulleys and made it easier to unload the scoop at the top. The challenge was to balance the bracing cables against the pull load.

Scaffold on the right of a pile of dirt that Bill pulled up

Dirt ready to go up

That pile of dirt is now up top

Working behind the scoop, walking up the hill, unloading the scoop, and walking down the hill pulling the scoop back down, was not easy work. Each pile of dirt at the bottom of the hill requires about 12 trips with the one-horse-scoop to get the whole pile to the top of the house.  We were able to move a maximum of two piles of dirt up the hill a day on good weather days, when the body was again able to take the stress.

But we are very glad to say, THE INSULATING UMBRELLA IS INSTALLED.  THE DIRT IS COVERING IT. THE GRASS SEED IS PLANTED AND GROWING.

View from the West

View from the East

And VOILA! After waiting many days, we now have grass......we are contemplating ways of keeping it mowed.

Installing the Insulating Umbrella - Part I

Our landscaping expert had convinced us to contour the top of the house his way, letting the dirt settle a bit before tackling putting the insulating umbrella on it. We knew we had a steep contour to deal with – 6 – 12 as in a 6 inches rise for 12 inches horizontal run of the roof. And at the top, it is rounded over to meet the other side. Danny had sloped it so that it was not as steep, so he could climb it in his track-laying skidsteer. Unfortunately, he died. Bill had been thinking how was he going to change the contour of our roof so that we could put the insulating umbrella on it and cover it back up with dirt and sod or seed. We did not want the excessive amount of dirt on the hillside, possibly being too much for our retaining walls. We needed to take away about 2 feet on the sides, putting some of that on the top. He calculated renting an excavator with a long arm to be uneconomical.

One day, Bill saw a one-horse scoop in someone’s front yard used as yard-decor. He had used one as a boy helping his father. Bill has a way with the English language. He approached the owners and talked them into selling it to him, and he brought it home and repaired it.

Bill talked his wife into being the horse, and he would handle the scoop. Actually, being the horse meant driving a skidsteer which was connected by cable to the one-horse scoop via a pulley system. We worked at this for no more than an hour a day as lifting the handles of the very heavily-laden scoop (Bill’s job) was a weight-lifting feat. He was able to relax his muscles by raking out what he had moved that day. And Bill was somewhat happy to get some rain days for resting.

The first layer of plastic

 Keith joined us, and tried his hand at being the horse, and at being the weight-lifter. Both were difficult jobs. When the skidsteer had a mechanical problem, we switched to the tractor. Wife found the tractor easier as the velocity was set and the steering was less sensitive. She only had to get in the correct gear – forward or reverse, and keep an eye on the weight-lifter and his load. Then Keith and Bill were the weight-lifters.

 We actually only tackled about 28 feet of the length of the house. This was the section over the bedrooms, leaving about 36 feet for later. Finally, the surface was shaped and ready for the umbrella. Meanwhile, we met Ernesto. He and his son helped us to place the umbrella on that half of the house- all in one LONG day. Then on subsequent days, Bill, Keith and wife worked on covering it up with dirt using the one-horse scoop, rakes and shovels.

Ernesto and son helping layout the insulation

The second layer of plastic

Adding dirt on top of the umbrella

View from the West, scooping dirt where it is needed

"Scooping" topsoil up to the top

Straw bales form the boundary of the insulating umbrella

Straw blanket on top with rye seed

GRASS!

Once it was covered with the straw blanket, we planted rye grass seed and tall fescue, along with some strategically placed sod, to hold the dirt until the rest of the umbrella was completed.