Comments | murasaki99: They're Heeere

murasaki99

They're Heeere

Jun 19, 2008 07:19

The concrete folks arrived at 6 am! I'm gonna bail to work in a few minutes and leave the place in their hands. I've got a huge tube suspended over the house so they can pump concrete over the old place and into the new footings and forms that will form the foundation of the addition. Yikes! I hope nothing leaks. The foreman said, "We've got ( Read more... )

home improvement

Comments 11

centaurg June 19 2008, 18:14:33 UTC

Ho ho! I'll bet the concrete company wasn't at all happy with that load of cement slowly setting in the mixer; hopefully they had other sites that could use it.

And hopefully the contractor's putting in rebar to strengthen the footings and slab. I assume they'll put plastic sheet over the pour after it's leveled, otherwise your outdoor kitties may leave permanent signatures and grey pawprints meandering through the neighborhood. If the concrete surface looks a little "fuzzy" it's because fibers are often added to the mix to provide "rebar" on the micro scale, if my bother-in-law's garage addition was typical practice.

Then you'll wait another week or three while the concrete cures--that's really what the plastic wrapping is for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete

murasaki99 June 20 2008, 01:21:32 UTC

Nope, no plastic wrap -- evidently this stuff doesn't need it (I hope). I don't see any pawprints in it so far. They definitely put in rebar and "pins" that are now sticking up -- I assume the framing will be hooked to it somehow. Very cool to see.

centaurg June 20 2008, 01:35:14 UTC

Those are anchors, what holds your house down when the wind >really< blows! All sounds good so far.

murasaki99 June 20 2008, 07:08:10 UTC

Got the photos posted. I'm just amazed at how quickly it happened. The anchors sound like a very good idea, given the winds out here. Whoever built these old homes did a good job -- my current house, built in '48 or so, has withstood gales and storms without creaking.

x_expat June 20 2008, 00:58:34 UTC

Yow, now there's a scary image: concrete tube suspended over the house.

Hope all went well!

murasaki99 June 20 2008, 01:24:51 UTC

I took piccies! Quite amazing, really.

x_expat June 20 2008, 02:04:20 UTC

Ooo! Post 'em! :)

murasaki99 June 20 2008, 07:08:53 UTC

Done! And the house was all OK when I got home, too. :D

kayshapero June 20 2008, 05:55:15 UTC

Reminds me of when I was a kid and we had a pool put in. On the day the hole in the ground was to be lined with a concretish substance called gunnite (iirc), the folks with the sand showed up on time, poured it into a heap out front, and departed. The folks who were supposed to mix the sand with the cement and spray it did not show, and it rained. By the time the sprayers DID show up, they had to have a new batch of sand trucked in because the old one had departed into the driveways of everybody on the street.

murasaki99 June 20 2008, 06:08:34 UTC

Now that would be way too exciting! Your parents must have had a fit to see all the sand and stuff get washed away. At least this week our rainy cold spring finally turned into lovely early summer, with temperatures in the 80s and bright sunshine.

kayshapero June 21 2008, 08:43:32 UTC

I don't think the neighbors were too thrilled about it either... I vaguely recall that we didn't have to pay for the extra sand; and knowing Dad I suspect my recall is accurate.

The whole project was a bit like that - first they dug the hole, then it rained before the guys to put in the frame got there. Then they finally put in the frame, and it rained before the guys with the gunnite got there - and of course by the time they actually DID arrive (insert sand reminiscence here) we kids were flat convinced our pool was going to cover half of Los Angeles. It was a rainy year. We get those every once in awhile. Usually when it amuses Murphy, I think. :)