READY!

Today dawned rainy and wet but the crews were eager to get going. Today was the day before the biggest concrete pour of the project. Today we were to make sure everything was totally ready and we were committed to stay until everything was perfect. Concrete waits for no one.

The crew worked hard but spirits were high. Weeks of preparation was done and they had done a great job. 

As I went by our rooster out front I noticed he was wearing some special gear in spirit of the project underway.

Bracing was going up everywhere, including the front door, making everyone crouch down as they entered or left the building. I wrote a note on the cross board advising everyone to DUCK! Someone else added the second notation.

Elsewhere on the site everyone was busy adding bracing, securing loose bits and making sure everything was nice and level. The upper gables had to be capped to allow them to be filled with concrete to the very top.

Thanks to everyone's hard work we were ready... almost.

We had one more detail to take care of in preparation for the theme work that will soon begin. Peter drilled holes in the foam forms and inserted steel rods into the interior. These short steel rods would be used to weld the armatures of the trees that would flank the big windows and the front door.

Now it is time to rest until early tomorrow when the real fun starts. It is almost concrete day.

-grampa dan

Checking, leveling, bracing - all around the house

Today the last of the foam blocks were set in place. The last pieces of steel rebar were secured. THe engineer came to check everything over and gave us the thumbs up to proceed. The rest of the day was spent with all hands making sure everything is level and plumb and braced securely. Each window buck needs to be thoroughly strapped to withstand the extreme forces that will be exerted upon them when the concrete is poured. Here's a shot of Peter woirking on one of the big windows. I'm not quite sure why he needed four ladders to do the task.

There's one more day to make sure everything is right. Concrete arrives Friday morning at 7:30 am. Another 40 cubic meters (52 cubic yards) will be pumped into the LOGIX insulated forms of the house. The big mass of the concrete combined with the foam insulation will make for a very comfortable and quiet house without a doubt.

-grampa dan

Almost to the top!

We've almost finished stacking up the LOGIX ICF blocks in preparation for the next concrete pour. Harold's crew have done the bulk of the work with our crew helping out as we are able. Today they almost finished putting up the last of the blocks on the gable ends of the vaulted portion of the house. It is high! I'm sure it will look spectacular when it is done.

The large front window suddenly looks a lot more in scale with the house from the outside.

Inside we get a sense of how the living room will look with the vaulted ceiling. The block still needs to be trimmed to shape on this end.

On the dining room side of the vault it is all ready to be buttoned up for the pour. A few more braces will be aded to keep everything secure.

Going around back one gets a true sense of just how high the walls really are. The ground level will be brought up to the base of the door openings in the next weeks, as soon as the weather dries up enough to bring in the fill. Some of the back filling has to wait until the old house is removed. Each row of blocks is sixteen inches tall. Plus the eight inch thick footing. This means the wall is a little over twenty eight feet to the top from the ground.  

The next step once the concrete is in the walls is the roof trusses. Things are proceeding quickly!

-grampa dan