By Our Own Hands or None - Concrete 2: Revenge of the Crete

 

Concrete 2
Revenge of the Crete

Vampire Wire and other torture devices

July 2019 was a good month to pour concrete. Not so much because of the weather, which was surface-of-the-sun hot, but because we finally passed the first plumbing inspection. Still, there were a few things to sort out before we got around to playing in the mud. The first and most important was to fill and compact all the trenches that wouldn't end up full of concrete.

Plumbing finished? Well, close enough for government work.

Part of the foundation plan called for a few interior footers to help bear the load of the second story and the interior stairs, so these needed to be dug out, beveled off, and readied for concrete. Like everything else we did, these footers were both wider, deeper, and more reinforced than the blueprints required. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, as they say.

You can see the main interior footer in the middle of the flab. Also pictured: the shower framing.

One of those all important things, before you start putting down the plastic, is a heavy duty termite treatment. Kind of a critical aspect for anyone living in Florida who doesn't want their house eaten out from under them within a few years.

The tall piece of rebar to the left is our grounding rod, tied into the rest of the footer's metal.

Next on the agenda is to start slinging down plastic. We chose a thick mil sheeting that exceeded building code requirements, the sort of stuff I think they use for above-ground pools. It certainly trapped enough rain water in the days before we got our final slab inspection completed.

Look at the majestic Sunrise in the background. What a wonderful truck.

We weren't quite done with the stem wall. Due to a few broken blocks and more than a few missing rebar reinforcements, we turned out attention to the trusty machinations of modern chemistry for a solution of how to add a permanent bond between steel and stone. I'm not here to endorse any product but these two part concrete epoxy deals are, in a word, effective.

For those things you really don't want slipping away.

Some more plastic sheeting shots. It's really as simple as laying it out, cutting it to shape, and then taping the seams up for that vapor/water barrier. Someone more savvy than myself could probably explain the precise reason plastic is put down, but my understanding is it helps prevent condensation and moisture from seeping in through the ground below the structure. 

Now it's time to introduce Mr. Vampire Wire. These rolls of steel wire making up a 4"x4" grid are hungry for blood and will stop at nothing to tear your unsuspecting hands to shreds as you wrestle them into submission. Where the plastic sheeting went down without a fight, this reinforcing wire struggled for dominance until it was stomped into place. Wired into it in a few places are the rebar reinforcements for certain corners in the house where stressors may appreciate the help. 

Interior footers here, including the two column footers for the stairs. 

The excess water from rain is going to get pushed out by the concrete, so it doesn't matter.

By code, the slab must be reinforced either by this kind of wire or by a fiberglass additive mixed directly into the concrete. It should come as no surprise that we chose to do both. Can't hurt, right? Once the concrete pour starts, the metal mesh will be lifted slightly so it rests in the middle of the slab to provide its strengthening properties. 

That interior frame is for the shower, giving it a 3.5" lip to ensure water says where it needs to be.

It's time for concrete again. A balmy 96 degree day of full weight sunshine marks the perfect, if typical, day to spend a few hours in the sun. If memory serves correct, we ended up at just shy of 37 yards of concrete for the main slab. Thankfully, we had more than enough help throughout the day. Many hands makes light and, in this case, rapid work. Gotta get it done before the concrete starts to fire off.

Work that chute.

One stroke of luck before heat stroke set in was the ability to chute the entire slab from the concrete truck. No need for wheelbarrows, buckets, or heavy raking. As long as the man on the chute paid attention, there was no need to worry about too much pulling or pushing. 

Shovel and Screte, Rake and Chute. 

This whole day was a testament to good planning and plenty of help. By the time one truck was empty, the next was just arriving and ready to go. No need to worry about concrete setting up and getting those dreaded "cold welds" of concrete curing at different speeds. 

Waiting on that last truck, staring the finishing touches of the rest of the slab.

A wizard on the float over there, making sure everything's just *chef's kiss* beautiful.

Neal will tell you when you're thirsty.

We were lucky to have all the good help we could ever need.

Boots: stylish and practical with shorts.

I'm not much of a finish work kind of guy. My contribution to making concrete look good is usually to stay away and keep my hands off the stuff. The more experienced amongst us spent more than an hour after the last truck left going around with hand trowels, floats, and then the big machine trowel to get everything evened out and good looking. 

Once the concrete has fired off enough to walk on, but not to the point where it's actually hardened, it's time to hit it with the troweling machine and really give it that last bit of love before letting it do its own thing. 

A miracle of modern technology.

And that's pretty much that. A glitch in our delivery schedule had the first round of lumber drop right as the last concrete truck was leaving, so we ended up staging those around the slab and covering them with tarps while we set up a sprinkler to keep the concrete wet. I'm told this is to help keep it cool as part of its curing process, leading to harder concrete and a better, firmer foundation. Sounds like science-magic to me. 

Two concrete pours down, two more to go!