Foundations!
The second session was all about getting our foundations poured. This was towards the end of January and it was FREEZING. My Carhartts definitely helped but there were a few days we had to end early because it was zero degrees outside. We started by clearing the land. There were several trees and TONS of bushes to take out. Then we put up batter boards with strings, these tell us exactly where the footprint of our building is so we can mark and dig our piers. Because our building is off the ground we couldn't do a slab foundation we did spot or pier foundations, basically like columns. We used string to mark out their location and then we started the digging. The ground was so solid the pick axe became our best friend. I don't think I have done such exhausting work in all my life. I fell asleep so fast every night! We also had a long "stepped" foundation for our big wall. It was 48 feet long and each step had to be a certain height for the CMU that would sit on top of it. Once the holes were dug we placed the formwork for the piers that would hold the concrete. We mixed the concrete in a small mixer. We then had to wheelbarrow the concrete up the hill. whew! But we finally got it done!
Here are bunch of pics
The second session was all about getting our foundations poured. This was towards the end of January and it was FREEZING. My Carhartts definitely helped but there were a few days we had to end early because it was zero degrees outside. We started by clearing the land. There were several trees and TONS of bushes to take out. Then we put up batter boards with strings, these tell us exactly where the footprint of our building is so we can mark and dig our piers. Because our building is off the ground we couldn't do a slab foundation we did spot or pier foundations, basically like columns. We used string to mark out their location and then we started the digging. The ground was so solid the pick axe became our best friend. I don't think I have done such exhausting work in all my life. I fell asleep so fast every night! We also had a long "stepped" foundation for our big wall. It was 48 feet long and each step had to be a certain height for the CMU that would sit on top of it. Once the holes were dug we placed the formwork for the piers that would hold the concrete. We mixed the concrete in a small mixer. We then had to wheelbarrow the concrete up the hill. whew! But we finally got it done!
Here are bunch of pics
Burr!
Digging the long step foundation
We needed a driveway so we had road base dropped off and we spread it until Harrison felt bad for us and brought over a tractor!
Lunchbreak!
Katianne's dad drove over with his tractor to help us with a few things, leveling our carport and pulling out an old car.
The transit helps us get all the right heights
Spot foundation holes
Step foundation wall
Strings denote where the pier will actually sit
Strings
Mixing concrete
Placing rebar
Rebar cages
Lunch break!
Laura building formwork
Formwork set up and leveled
CMU delivered and hauled one-by-one up the hill...we felt like ants!
Laying block
Love living near all the ruins!
1 comment:
Wow! That looks like a ton of work! What a neat project. I miss seeing you guys. we'll be up there this summer, we'll have to get together!
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