Backfilling and forming the largest slab so far...

Another MONTH goes by!  Time flies when you are building a house!

As soon as the walls and top floor were poured I had the waterproofing crew take care of the walls,  then I set the French Drain.  To get the gravel up to the drain to cover it we built a track and dragged the gravel up by rope,  bucket by bucket.  

About 8" of gravel must cover the drain pipe,  but I leave a few spaces uncovered for the inspector,  then cover the spaces once I get the approval.  The gravel track was not the only custom contraption built for this area.  At the top of the picture below there is a track that was used to haul the big dirt pile out of the dining-room and kitchen.  We loaded buckets up and lifted them out the window to a dolly that rolled on the track,  then the guys outside just pulled the dolly and unloaded the buckets.  It was pretty efficient,  but exhausting work!

After the drain was approved, we did a small pour day just to fill up the back and sides of the kitchen wall with slurry.  

The slurry backfill has been a lifesaver on this project  I can't imagine hauling all the dirt required to backfill all these walls,  and THEN compact it all!  Here is the slurry at the northeast back corner of the kitchen wall.  

Once my concrete passed the 7 day test,  we pulled off all of the shoring.  Here are the curved steps leading up to the kids bedroom level from the Master Bedroom level.

  

The final structural posts were ordered and installed.  These 4 posts support the small roof on top of the kid's bedroom balcony,

... and these 5 posts support the concrete beams that will hold up the roof deck.

The remaining steel joists were moved into position on the kid's level,  so as soon as the shoring was up we could set them in place.    As is visible in this picture,  storage and work space was at a premium.  Because we were 33 feet above the street I tried to have all materials stored where we didn't have to climb ladders to get things,  but it did make working difficult.  There was time spent every day moving things and organizing just so it was safe to walk!

As the shoring went up, the floor got a little clearer, but then we had to work around all the posts and braces!

The last of the ICF walls was almost complete,  but it was clear that I had not ordered quite enough.  I called Chad at Pacific Northwest ICF,  my Eco-Block distributor,  and he quickly got my order on a truck from Salt Lake City.  

Since we would have to wait a few days for the truck, we moved on to building the shoring for the tower master bedroom.  

Meanwhile,  my friend Charlie,  who is a contractor and an excellent carpenter,  came in to build the interior partition walls on the first floor.  

These walls enclose the half bathroom and delineate the kitchen dining room and great room.

On Thursday, August 14, one day earlier than expected,  I got a call from a gentleman with an amazing Southern drawl.  He had driven straight from Salt Lake City and was ready to drop off my order!  I gave him directions and in about one hour I heard his truck parking out on the main street.  Big truck for a small order! When he opened up the back doors the familiar blue bags looked so tiny in the cavernous truck!

We hand carried the bags up and set them on the driveway. Even the driver helped carry,  I think he was just curious to see what I was building because he just stood there amazed and asked a lot of questions!

What looked like a tiny order in the truck completely filled up the driveway!  Now I think I may have over-ordered! 

  

To save space and provide more working room we moved all of the AmDeck up to the roof deck levels.  Here is the pile on the nearly completed Master Bedroom roof.

The Kid's level roof deck was half complete,  so we stacked some of the AmDeck up there too.  By now the ICF wall had been completed.

 

Looks like our local wild deer have gotten used to the construction!  We regularly see a family group of 2 or 3 deer walking down the street or making their way around the edges of our building site.

 Now that he is moved in (and almost finished!) with his seventh house,  Dad has started coming in to help on a regular basis!  He took on the very complex task of building the winding stairs in the dining room.  

  

When he finishes this we can officially get to every level of the house (except the roof) without the use of a ladder!  No ladders for the first time in 16 months!  That will be a great milestone!

 

It's a bit early,  but the Master Bathtub arrived and was temporarily stored in the Foyer!

Finally,  the round tower walls are starting to rise!  In the next few weeks the walls will all be finished and the roof shoring will be in place,  then we can POUR the ROOF!

The Last Floor... POURED!

The last month has been another busy one! I had hoped to get further, but I'm happy to show some major progress! As of the last entry the Amdeck was being set for the kid's floor. We spent the better part of the next week just setting the rebar in the floor! Also, I had all of the mesh delivered that I would need for the rest of the house. It was delivered on a flat bed truck, so we tied the whole pile of mesh to the fence post and the driver pulled forward, dropping the whole delivery in the street.

Then we hand carried each sheet in and leaned it up against the garage. That's a lot of mesh!

Meanwhile, up on the top level, the steel for the structural beams was being assembled. One main beam runs down the middle of the floor, from front to back. Another shorter beam supports the front wall of the kid's bedrooms. Here is where they intersect:

After the rebar in the bottom of the Amdeck was placed and the beams were done, the mesh was pulled up the 33' from the garage. This took two of us on the top pulling two ropes with hooks on the end, while one guy stayed at the bottom to set the hooks and guide each sheet. This was exhausting work, but we finished in one day. Finally, the #3 rebar was set at 24" centers on the mesh and the whole thing was tied together. We spent the next two days getting inspections and fine-tuning the forms, then we were ready to pour!

The day before the pour we had another big delivery of Amdeck. It seemed like a lot, but he actually couldn't fit all the block I'd ordered and would have to make yet another trip!

The pour day was the usual stressful day, with me scrambling around tending to last minute details. I had a list prepared with what everyone was supposed to do when. I soon deviated from the list, but I guess it was better to have something to start from!

We started by filling the back walls around the crawlspace behind the kitchen. Once those walls were full we started with the AmDeck in the back, and worked our way forward.

Evan helped me with the vibrator while the finishers handled the hose. I think he liked being part of the action!

As soon as there was a section that filled the finishers handed the hose over to me and they started leveling and finishing.

I also built the first few feet of the Master Bedroom tower so the kids porch slab could be poured and connected to the curved wall and the floor below.

As we finished the floor up top I had the guys quickly build a form for another step up from the foyer into the livingroom. As the hose was being lowered from the top floor we used what was still in the hose to fill this step.

I estimated 45 cubic yards of concrete for this pour but as we were pumping the 2nd truck, the finishers told me they thought I over ordered, so I put the last truck on hold. It turned out that I needed that last truck, but was able to cut down on the yardage a bit. In the end I used just over 43 yards! I'm getting better at estimated with each pour!

Here is some of the complicated forming for this pour. First, the suspended, curved steps from the master suite level to the kid's bedroom level:

And here is the edge of the stairwell looking down to the hall and foyer beyond. This is a temporary view, once the steps are built coming up from the dining room and the bridge from the kids level to the back door are built, you will not be able to see this!

In the end it was a very successful pour. No blow-outs, nothing wasted, no rain storms, and the finishers did a beautiful job! Here are some panoramic views of the largest slab yet!

From the Master Bedroom Suite door, looking up the curved stairs...

From the Northeast corner (the guest room closet) looking Southwest.

From the kids balcony looking back at the backyard. It's fun to be this close to the grade!

From the Northeast corner of the slab again. I came back Saturday to water and it was a pretty day so I took more pictures!

Here's how it looks currently from the street. Not much sign of progress from this perspective. Next week I hope to be doing things that help finish off the street side!