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!
No comments:
Post a Comment