The Fortress

The workers were off for the holiday on Thursday, but on Friday they were back. They first completed wiring up the rebar in the trenches (for the footings), and then put down a plastic vapor barrier under where the floor will be, covered that with a couple inches of sand, and then wired up a grid of rebar that will be inside the slab.

In the photo is a friend of ours (Jim Barnick) and Miki, our 9 month old field spaniel puppy.

At this point the work site is ready for the first pour of concrete, which will fill the trenches (forming the footing) and create the interior slab floor and exterior sidewalks (which will extend 2 feet around all four sides). Standing along side this work, my main reaction is to be amazed at the sheer quantity of steel in this job. The workmen seem fascinated by this as well, though for them the big surprise seems to be the requirement for 1/2 inch (about 1.2 cm) diameter rebar.

When the first pour has been made, all this work will be completely hidden. All that will remain of the iron work will be rows of vertical rebar that will mark the centers of the concrete block walls.

Before we can make this first pour of concrete, we have to have an inspector come out to approve the work so far. Hopefully that will happen by the middle of next week. Assuming we get approval, the fourteen cubic yards (about 14 cubic meters) of concrete required will be delivered in two truckloads. The trucks, which are very large, can only get to within about 200 feet of the building site — so a concrete pump will be used to move the concrete from the truck to the site.

This job will take three concrete pours all together. The first one I’ve already described. The second pour will come after the concrete block walls have been laid — that pour will fill the walls with concrete (as the blocks have vertical holes in them), and it will also create an angled top to support the gently sloping roof. The third pour will be for the roof — 10 inches (25 cm) thick, and extending outside the walls about 8 inches (20 cm).