Today

Oh my, today was busy.  We were expecting the delivery driver to arrive, with the crane, to lift our new water tank into place, at 8.30am. To our surprise we got a knock on the door at 7am instead. David and I had to be there, to help guide the tank into position, so Sarah would have to miss the bus for school, and David would drive her in later.

So here is what our driveway has looked like for the past several weeks, as we attempted to deepen the hole it would fit into. Today would determine if our calculations were any good. Nail bighting, much? We were more excited than distressed.

So this was the nifty bit of equipment, that would lift our new tank into it's final resting place. As good as David and I are digging holes and moving dirt, we're no good at lifting 400kg plus, tanks with wheelbarrows. So courtesy of our tank manufacturer, they supplied a truck with a crane to help out.

And just like that, it was airborne! The truck had a hydraulic leg, which helped stabilise it on our slope, as it lifted the heavy tank into position.

We had a slight accident with the post hole shovel (leaning against the other tank) which snapped in half. It just clipped it. But we had been working with a split handle for literally years. Now we have a legitimate reason to replace it, lol.

Then it came to rest in that hole, we'd been working on for a very long time! There was no problem with it fitting in the space, and the pad we'd been working on, was level. But the question on everyone's minds was - how did it look in relation to the other tank? Was it going to be higher, lower, or spot on?

It was pretty much, spot on! The new tank was probably 5mm slightly higher, which would no doubt settle over time. Then it would be exactly even. But there's hardly any discernible difference. Which made all that hullabaloo with extra digging, all worthwhile in the end.

We had done it! Our necessary piece of infrastructure, was finally in the ground.

For nearly 10 years, we had always seen one tank. Now there were two. We didn't realise how lonely one tank looked. Why do things always look better in pairs?

While it feels like, somewhat of a success, I would advise people not to dig into a slope, to house a water tank. We were matching what our builders decided upon year ago. But if you can avoid it, please find another way to locate your tank, than in the ground. You'll just be saving yourselves a lot of work.

We have yet to backfill, after the plumber connects it up. But we need to put some water in the new tank first, to hold it steady. Or it could move as we backfill.

As of now though, it looks like it should have always been there. I still can't believe that big old tank, is finally in the ground. Plumber is due to arrive this Wednesday, or Friday - depending how his schedule holds out.

So almost there.