Skip to main content

Concrete Footer Complete



The past week has been a blur. First we were rushing to get everything ready for inspection and to line up everything we needed to pour concrete on Friday. After the pour we were rushing to get the forms off and set up the starters for our stem wall while the concrete was still green. We needed to be able to hammer nails into the concrete (while still relatively still soft) to attach the starter brackets for our stem wall. We are very sore and tired but all that is done! Now there is the pressure to complete the stem wall and get everything back filled before cold weather.

Last week we crossed our fingers that hurricane Dorian would stay well off shore and put in all the vertical rebar for the footer.
It would have been horrible if the hurricane came our way. We had previous issues with heavy rains washing silt into our trench. With all the rebar in place the digging out means tiny shovels. Luck was on our side and the hurricane completely missed us. We did get one more 12 min summer downpour that unfortunately did require tiny shovels in just a few very inconvenient areas.
Guess who was the only one that could fit in our fortress of steel to dig?

We sent a video to our engineer and the town came for the footer inspection. CLICK HERE for a fly over of the completed rebar prior to pouring. We got the sign off from both so we were ready to pour Friday morning. We did have many people caution us about proper bracing since the forms were plywood. We decided to add a few extra braces on the really deep areas but otherwise ignored them. When we first started building the forms we sent pictures to South Industries and asked their advice in regards to bracing footing forms. They told us every 2 ft should be a stake and a cross brace across the top. They were spot on! The forms were rock solid during the pour. For the really deep areas (our footer is 32 inches deep and 4 feet wide where I am digging in the above photo) we had them stiffen up the concrete a bit to a 3 or 4 inch slump but everything else was a normal mix.

With the help of two of our friends and 33 yards of concrete (3 full trucks) we managed to pull it off! It isn't perfect and we really did need one more person but we made it work. CLICK HERE for a short video Mr. Dometastic took of a fly over during the pour.



CLICK HERE for a short super speed video from our security camera of the pour.

This final photo is the start of the next step. We have the starter brackets in place and laid out some of the rebar for the stem wall since we used it for bracing the uprights during the pour.
It feels great to no longer be stressed out whenever there is a forecast for rain and to have a huge milestone complete! We are starting to be able to visualize the house now that it is more than a hole in the ground. Stay tuned because this fall is shaping up to be a very busy one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Radiant Heat and Drywall DONE!

  We are DONE with dry wall and everything is painted!!! It looks almost like a real house inside. I can top that news by saying WE HAVE HEAT!!! Lets take a moment to celebrate having a functioning heating system in a cold climate in the middle of winter! The marathon of drywall is done for now. We still have the master wing of the house to do after we move in but we would like to just pretend we are done for awhile. It was a long slow dusty process but it looks amazing. The flat walls are a cool white and the dome surface is a warm cream. All our color will come from materials not paint colors. We have plans for wood, metal and stone throughout the house. We are finally getting to install more lighting fixtures and finalize all the outlets and switches. To watch a five minute video walk through CLICK HERE . Greatroom floor outlet in the center of the room. We decided that since the room is 32' across it needed an outlet in the center where furniture would be. Kids bathroom sconces
10 comments
Read more

Construction Video and Geodesic vs. Monolithic Domes

While we wait as patiently as possible for spring to dig holes for our new perc tests my posts will be directed towards general dome related things. Most people I talk to know what a dome home is but are clueless about the different types of domes. This post is to help show the differences between geodesic and monolithic domes with a few pictures of each. The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true and a video must be worth 100000 words. (Watch a video of a monolithic dome being constructed at the end of this post to really wrap your mind around the process.) Many people have asked me how a monolithic dome is different than a geodesic dome. The answer can be quite simple. A monolithic dome structure is all one piece and geodesic domes are made up of many pieces (triangles) connected together. Monolithic domes are sprayed concrete like some inground pools. Here are some photos of interior and exterior monolithic domes. Compare the above Mon
2 comments
Read more

Spider Tie System Stem Wall Forms Complete

We finished building the stem wall forms last weekend! Personally I think they look super cool and I will be a bit sad to deconstruct them after we pour them. So much work to build them only to take them apart again and then just bury the whole thing underground. The original plan was to pour the stem wall on Friday October 11th but our weather was once again not cooperating. We are got yet another rain storm fueled by a storm/hurricane that thankfully mostly missed us. Because of this storm we are now scheduled to pour it on Monday October 14th. This was quite the ambitious DIY project for us. I can understand why we couldn't even get a company to put in a bid. Part of me is amazed that we pulled it off...so far. The truth will be in how it holds up to the concrete. It took almost 3000 screws to put the plywood skin on the Spider Tie towers and we cut 120 sheets of plywood! We joked that we were the Dometastic saw mill. Watch some videos of the process. It is
2 comments
Read more