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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.

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