Sept 29: First Section Poured

 A good day to pour...

..., and Terry says it turned out awesome.


Depending on the weather, the Living Area slab will be the last to be poured on Thursday or Friday.  Terry will decide.

Sept 28: Final Prep Revisited

Two plumbing pipes are relocated, after measuring twice.

Plastic chairs are placed beneath the welded wire mesh to elevate the temperature steel to the center of the slab to maximize resistance to cracking in the slab, shown in the following two photos.

Terry explains details involving tomorrows pour to us, below.

Finally, Terry unveils one more strategy for reducing cracking in the slab, below:  an additive to the cement that delays setting and increases workability while maintaining a reduced water content.  Terry points out that water is the enemy when it comes to cracks in concrete because the higher the water content in the concrete the greater the shrinkage, which creates bigger cracks.

Tomorrow is the big day.  In the meantime, ....

Frizbee anyone?

Sept 27: Final Prep for Slab Continued

 Today was a gorgeous cloudless sunny day with a high in the upper 80's, but tomorrow's forecast was for a slightly lower temperature, so Terry, our concrete subcontractor, decided to delay the pour for another day because the forecast is for a continued decrease in the temperature.  Terry says his ideal day for pouring a slab is a calm cloudy day with the high's in the 70's.  Since the slab is also the finished floor, we didn't want visible saw cuts for expansion joints, but rather a monolithic surface with a minimum of cracking.  Hence, the perfect slab calls for the perfect pour on the right day.

Terry is shown in the photo, below, placing temperature steel (6x6 welded wire mesh) onto the compacted surface of the Guest Bedroom Wing, as he works his magic in preparation for the pour.

Welded wire mesh is attached with wires to floating steel rods that are drilled into the stem wall and act as pins to allow the slab to pull away as it shrinks when it cures without causing differential settlement and cracking, shown in photo to the right.

Cement-All, a cement/epoxy formula, is troweled into a reveal along the edge of the stem wall to provide a full 8" width to support the inside and outside SIP skins and provide a water repellent edge detail, shown being applied in the photo above.

More welded wire mesh awaits installation at the end of the day, below.

Sonny is ready for some after hours action.

A good dog day.

Sept 25: Final Prep for Slab

The focus of the past week has been to complete all work in preparation for the pouring of the slab floor next week. 


View of the Master Bathroom with the Utility Room, beyond, showing the exposed excavation with utilities installed.










The exposed electrical, plumbing, and venting, to be located beneath the slab, receives approval from the on-site inspectors on Tuesday, Sept. 21st.


View of the Guest Bedroom Wing showing piping for two bathrooms and a fountain that can also be used for drinking, which is located in the hallway.

On Wednesday, Sept. 22nd, the first of three SIP roof deliveries arrives and is stored under tarps on-site.  

Each roof panel consists of expanded polystyrene sandwiched between an inside and outside skin of 7/16" thick oriented strandboard for a total panel thickness of 12-7/8".  The insulation R-value is 50.

After the utilities are covered, and the High Mass Storage Area is re-compacted, Shawn, an apprentice to our electrician, relocates the power conduit to the cooktop to provide enough space for the fan for the downflow vent, which will be located in the Kitchen island cabinet. 

Check the utilities twice and pour the slab once.

Sept 14: More Plumbing Excavated

After the main lines, the branch lines are excavated.  Strings mark interior wall locations.








Lotte discusses details with Todd on-site.

Todd and I worked together on-site to determine the exact locations of plumbing walls by cross-checking measurements taken off of the stem walls against additional dimensions (for purposes of triangulation) taken from the computer model, which is on a laptop.  Todd drives a steel stake into the compacted surface to locate the Master Bathroom plumbing wall for the shower, below

Pierre, the plumber, begins installing the main waste line, which is a 4" diameter PVC pipe with a cellular core.

After plumbing walls are located, Todd makes an adjustment to the location of the High Mass Storage tube bundle, which will enter and exit the slab, to coincide precisely with the desired manifold location in the Utility Room, below.

Sept 10: Plumbing Excavated

The proposed plumbing beneath the slab is placed in a trench that must be carefully excavated by hand to avoid damaging the insulation and PEX tubing.

A jumble of PVC pipe fittings await assembly.

Today the trench for the main waste line was completed.

Sept 7: High Mass Storage Compaction Completed

After 36 yards (3 dump trucks) of sand were delivered from a nearby construction site, Todd cancelled the remaining deliveries because we were getting too much organic matter (tree roots) and large rocks (6" to 10" in diameter) mixed in with the sand.  After spending the afternoon removing roots and rocks from the sand by hand, we decided to place an order from a reputable establishment that used a sieve to grade their sand to industry standards.  Todd says that the remaining deliveries of sand were perfect, and the compaction proceeded smoothly.  The last 6" lift was compacted 3/4 minus crushed gravel, which is intended to keep the sand from drawing the water out of the concrete that will be poured directly over the compacted gravel surface to form the finished floor slab.