Page 31 of Statler

“What have you got?” he asked, standing up and trotting over.

Dizzy was squatting down, examining the end of a pipe; a conduit that was already embedded; made available for Diz to pull his necessary wires.

“This pipe is two inches off from where it’s supposed to be on the plans,” he grunted. “And that one over there…”

He pointed to another that stuck up from the hardened concrete to his left.

“…is three inches off in the other direction.”

“Anything you can’t deal with?” Statler asked, sighing.

Didn’t this figure?

It was always a crapshoot, not having your own subcontractors do the foundation work; getting things squared away properly

“Probably not, depending on what I find under the surface. I can cut into the slab and reposition the PVC where I need it. If I have to cut or move rebar, though, it’ll be a bit more of a challenge.” He scratched his neck. “It’s just damned strange that everything else looks perfect except these two pipes.”

“Not everything,” Pipes griped. “I found an anomaly with the plumbing rough, too. Again, nothing that can’t be taken care of, but these guys certainly ran hot and cold with their install…to make a plumbing joke,” he quipped, laughing at himself because Diz and Statler simply groaned. “Are you finding anything off, boss?” he added.

“So far, not much,” Stat replied. “I might have a slight anomaly in one side-wall measurement, but I’m going to measure again. It looks like the crew was better at the pour than they were with the electrical and plumbing prep.”

The rest of the crew sauntered over to join them.

“Everything checks out as far as we can see,” Tonka stated. “A few hairline-cracks in the slab from normal shrinkage, but no gaps over an eighth of an inch.”

“That’s good.” Statler gave a chin dip. “We can seal those. I just have to run one measurement again, but other than that, I think we’re okay.”

It was most likely his fuck-up. His mind wasn’t entirely on the job today.

Bright blue eyes simply wouldn’t leave his head alone.

“What did you find?” Blue asked, looking to where Dizzy was still crouched.

“A few pipes coming up where they’re not supposed to, but nothing we haven’t come across before.” He speculated. “It looks like it’ll only add an extra half day of labor, what with having to mix cement and repour after the fixes.”

“Same for me,” Pipes added. “But I don’t think we need to alert Flazer, especially since you said he loved his concrete guys so much.”

Pipes made exaggerated kissy faces.

They all laughed.

“You’re right. Handle it on the downlow,” Statler chuckled, concurring. “Our mission isn’t about extras and change orders. We’ll only tell Flazer if things turn out to be a bigger deal than you think and adds to our bottom line. Otherwise, we’re all set. Which means I’ll place a call and have our steel people deliver, hopefully tomorrow. Then we’ll start work in earnest on Monday.”

“Good deal, boss,” Dizzy nodded.

Stat left everyone milling about to call for his delivery, which would arrive the following afternoon. After that was complete, he went back to remeasure.

Sure enough, it had been his mistake.

Damn. He needed to get his head in the game.

Chastising himself internally, Statler rejoined his team with a thumbs up, and found them talking about making a late-day shopping trip to the major grocery store ten miles away, while also checking out possible watering hole hang-outs for the locals.

“Sounds like a plan,” Stat agreed. “How about we meet back at the cottages, then we’ll pile into two trucks to make the trip.”

They all had extended cab vehicles except for Statler.

“The Beast” was so old, it didn’t even have a back seat.