Chapter 5: The House

We grilled the steaks and finished about 1 1/2 cases of beer that night. The next morning, we had steak and eggs with lots of coffee. Then we dug out the surveying equipment.

Bubba kind of took charge without any argument from me what so ever. I got out the map that I had made previous sketches on and showed him what I had.

"Well, it's a start," he said and then set up the survey equipment. He set everything at the mouth of the cave and then took out his GPS device. This is not like you can buy at Radio Shack, this was one of the most sophisticated instruments I have ever seen. He drove a stake in and then had me show him the boundary survey stakes. He took readings and repositioned the cave entrance on the map. Then I walked a line of sight stake into the cave for him to sight. I got as far as I could go and he shot it and made some notations. He came to where I was, set up the transom and sent me farther into the cave.

After about 2 hours, we had the cave completely mapped out. Then we came outside and drew an outline on the ground of the cave. My original estimation of where I thought the cave to be was about 20 yards off. We marked the precise edge of the big room of the cave and then laid out the boundary of the house. I had explained to him that I wanted a secret passageway from the house to the cave. Bubba figured we were about 20 feet above the ceiling of the cave and asked where the digging tools were.

Of course I hadn't bought any so we had to make a trip into town. Well, a town which was about 30 miles away. We bought 10 more cases of Dos Equis, their entire stock, and what Bubba said we would need for digging. We also stopped at a grocery store and stocked up on steaks, potatoes, eggs, grits, and miscellaneous foodstuffs.

When we got back, Bubba damn near broke the shovel trying to dig just a shallow hole. He sent Earl to get some plastik and I held the digging bar while he used the sledge to sink it in the ground. He placed the charges and drove his van up and used the battery to detonate them. We shoveled the hole out and set more charges. By 4 that afternoon, we had a 25-foot hole sunk that was big enough for the 3 of us to stand in and use tools. We dug sideways for about 4 feet and broke into the side of the cave.

We were all elated and damn tired. We opened some beers and took turns in the shower. After dinner, Bubba made a phone call to his buddy up at Wood. After about 10 minutes, he agreed to bring the dozer and backhoe down. He figured it would take him about 2 days to dig what I had laid out. Bubba told him to make in about 2 weeks and then we could all do some fishing. They set the date and we sat back and enjoyed the day's work.

The next day, all three of us opted for some fishing. We didn't catch a lot, but we drank beer and enjoyed the time on the lake.

Bubba told us he was going to head out in the morning for home, but he would be back the day before his friend would arrive. We fixed up a big steak for each of us and had steak and fish and potatoes with a great amount of beer.

Earl and I saw Bubba off the next morning and I drove Earl back to Springfield. He said he was going to look for a car and an apartment. I asked him if he wanted to buy my car because I needed a pickup. Of course the price came up and I told him I'd sell it to him for $200 less than they offered me for a trade in. That was agreed on and we stopped at a dealership. I have never been much on shopping, so in the space of about 30 minutes, I had bought and 4-passenger pickup with an 8-foot bed and 4-wheel drive and Earl had my car.

Earl talked to the salesman and got some info about apartments in the Springfield area. I said good-bye and left Earl to find a place to live.

About 10 days later, I got a call from Earl who said to expect him in about 2 hours. I told him the place hadn't moved and I'd be here. He was all settled in and furnished. He had even met a couple ladies.

Earl stayed that night and the next day we got a call from Bubba telling us he was on his way. Bubba showed up in about 3 hours with his van loaded with items. The main thing was supplies to draw up a good plan for the house. We settled in with a good supply of beer and discussed what I wanted and the best plan to use.

Bubba and Earl both came up with good ideas and before the night was done, we had a good rough sketch. The next morning we went fishing and got back about noon. There was a call on the machine from Bubba friend from Wood and Bubba called him back.

Bubba gave him instructions on how to get here and told him to make sure it was a late night delivery. This was to be a secret construction and we didn't want the locals to know we were importing heavy machinery to do the job. His buddy wasn't familiar enough with the area so we picked a point to meet. Bubba told him to call when he got to a particular town and we would meet him at a junction.

We spent the rest of the day finalizing the plans. They called for a 1-story building, with a basement that would be completely underground so it would only look like a slab of concrete where we were actually building the house. The basement would have 8-inch stress reinforced concrete wall and floor with a balanced, rotating door leading to the passageway to the cave.

The house did not seem to be anything difficult for me, but I was concerned on how I was going to get that much concrete delivered without arousing suspicion. Bubba said we would build a chute to have the concrete dumped in and only the 3 of us would see where it was going. We would be able to set the forms, 2 steel "I" beams, and then put in the stress reinforcement ourselves. His buddy would help out with the beams by using the dozer to put them in place. We would then pour the ceiling/floor over the existing foundation and cover it up so it would look just like a concrete slab.

About 10 PM we got a call from his buddy and we set off to meet him at the junction. He found us with no problem and followed us back to the house. We unloaded the equipment as soon as we got there and then parked the truck at the entrance so nobody could drive up.

Bubba and his buddy, Joe Bob, got caught up and Earl and I listened in and kept everyone in beer and Black Jack. We were up at the crack of dawn and while I was fixing breakfast, Bubba gave Joe Bob a tour and filled him in on what we needed. Over breakfast, Joe Bob gave me a number to call to order the 2 beams and they would have it here by tomorrow, as long as I gave them his name. After 3 pots of coffee and another to take everyone out to the site, they got started while I made the phone call.

Just as Joe Bob had said, they agreed to have it there tomorrow about 3 PM. They said they would set it for us, but I told them I wasn't sure we would be ready to set it. They told me they'd set it close, just let the driver know where I wanted it.

I caught up with the guys but there wasn't much to do while Joe Bob was working the dozer. He already had quite a hole started. Bubba had set the survey stakes and was giving him directions from the ground.

By mid afternoon, Joe Bob had the rough hole done and fired up the backhoe to dig the footings for the wall and trenches for the drain pipe to the septic tank. I was absolutely amazed at the progress and couldn't believe it. While Joe Bob was digging the footings, Bubba called me aside and we worked up a list of lumber and reinforcing rod we would need. Earl and I hopped in the pick up and headed over to the lumberyard. I put in the order but they didn't carry the reinforcing rod and I had to go to the concrete place to get it. The lumber would be delivered tomorrow.

I gave them the order and they looked around and told me they didn't have enough stress rod to supply what I needed, but they could get it over to me in 2 days. I gave them instructions on how to get there and they remembered me from the pad I had poured.

By the time we got back, Bubba and Joe Bob had all the digging done and were drinking beer. I gave them the news about the lumber and rod and Earl got us each a beer. Joe Bob thought it would be a great idea to do some fishing early in the morning and I was not about to argue with someone who had just done me an enormous favor. So we agreed that by break of day, we'd be on the lake.

We returned to the dock about 9:30 with a good stringer of White Bass. Earl and Joe Bob stayed to clean them and Bubba and I headed for the house. As we topped the hill, we could hear a horn honking. We headed for Joe Bob's rig parked at the entrance of my property. The truck from the lumberyard was there. I apologized but they said they'd just got there. Bubba backed the truck up and had them dump the lumber just on the inside of the property. They were a bit confused but didn't seem to mind. As they left, Bubba pulled the rig back up to block the entrance.

Joe Bob wrote out some info on a piece of paper and told me to take his truck and go to a particular place near Gainesville to pick this material up. It took me about 2 hours to get there and back but I arrived with a six foot section of concrete pipe that was round on one end and square on the other. It was 8 foot in diameter with a 6-foot square opening on the square end and a cover for it.

I asked him what this was and what we were going to use it for. He told me it was for the passageway between the basement and the cave. He got the dozer fired up and I backed the truck into place. He hooked a piece of chain around the pipe and pulled it back to the edge of truck bed. Then he looped the chain through the pipe and picked it up with the dozer. He maneuvered it so the square section was hanging over the footer he had dug. Once he was satisfied, we disconnected the chain and set about making the pipe stable. He told us we'd build the forms around the square end and then when I framed the basement, I would have one section that opened up to reveal this opening. It sounded good to me.