Basement Floor…Day 2

The Sletten crew poured the second half of the basement floor early this morning. Anna and I stopped by at about 7:00 pm and found Matt putting the finishing touches on the floor. The cement takes quite a while to set up in the cool conditions. The basement looks and feels completely different with the new floor in place.

Paul was working in the other end of the basement installing polystyrene insulation on the walls. The foam is glued and then screwed to the cement blocks. A framed wall will be installed inside the foam and covered with sheetrock. The Tappe guys plan to start the basement wall framing tomorrow morning.

A header and framing was installed in the passage into the crawl space this morning. There is an open web truss centered above the opening that required addition support and the 10” header height will provide space for the waste line plumbing from above to cross the doorway. Anna decided that the crawl space should be carpeted and turned into a play room!

Framing…Day 2o (evening report)

The sheathing is up on the front porch, the roofing crew has 3/4 of the house “dried-in”, and the Slettens poured 1/2 of the basement floor. All things considered its been a big day at the “L” Shaped House.

Basement Floor…The pour

The Sletten crew is hard at work this morning pouring the basement floor. They constructed a wooden chute to help get concrete into the basement and by 7:30 this morning were well into the pouring. The first photo shows the Marshall Concrete cement mixer backed up to the chute delivering mud to the basement.

The next photo shows Matt on the float, Jim working the area around the water meter and sewer main, and Chuck on the wheelbarrow delivering concrete.

The video below shows the action in the basement nicely. As you will see there is very little talking and a lot of activity. It seems prudent to just stay out of their way while the concrete is still wet!

I stopped by at noon today to have a look at the basement floor. Matt was there waiting for the cement to harden enough to trowel (the air temperature in the basement is still only 47 degrees). They plan to pour the second half of the floor tomorrow morning.

Porch Footings…Day 3

Paul and Matt came by on Sunday morning to finish up the front porch footings. Paul decided to add three additional 8” footings at the ends to help support the lattice work that will cover the deck foundation. The first photo shows the 7 footings that will support the front edge of the porch. The second photo shows Sam checking out one of the holes prepared for the footings on the East side breezeway entrance. It looks like everything is ready for the framers first thing tomorrow morning.

 

Drain Tile…Day 7

The Sletten crew continues their work in the basement. The drain tile installation is almost complete and Chuck is nearly done filling and leveling the grade. The three trenches to the right in the photo will become the footings for the main staircase as the cement floor is poured. It looks like they will probably  pour the slab early next week.

The photo below shows the basement from the guest bedroom. We can see the crawl space wall nicely now (thanks to the high tech lighting added by Paul). It is actually starting to feel pretty nice down there!

Drain Tile…Day 6

The Sletten crew (Chuck) spent the day setting up the drain tile system and preparing  the basement floor for concrete. The first photo shows the drain holes drilled into each block core just above the footing and the drain tile pipe installed in the rock bed.

The next photo shows the drain tile (pipe) as it runs around the corner in the Northwest end of the basement. The drain tile is set closer the top of the rock bed here because the system of pipes is pitched to allow water to flow toward the sump at the other end of the basement.

The next photo shows the sump basket and PVC fitting that will connect to the crawl space system after the rock bed has been covered with fabric and fill has been added to bring the grade up to the concrete  pouring level. The existing foundation walls were built using 12 inch block with three internal cores (Chuck has dilled holes into each core). The last photo shows a section of floor edging roughly placed on the footing. The top of the edging is well above the holes in the blocks and provides a pathway across the footing to the rock bed and drain tile.

Drain tile…Day 4

The Sletten crew is busy today setting up the drain tile system beneath the basement floor as they prepare the space prior to pouring the cement slab. They have the laser out to help set the pitch of the drain tile pipe and to establish the grade height. The first photos show the trenching and drain tile. Wooden stakes all around the basement floor are set at the grade height and marked with big white X’s. The trench will be lined with fabric and the drain tile (pipes) carefully set on a bed of rock. The trench will then be filled to the top with additional rocks and “wrapped” with the fabric. The concrete  floor will be poured on top of a sheet of plastic that spans the rock filled trench. The top of the floor will be 2  1/2” above the “old” footing.

The drain tile pipes extend all the way around the perimeter of the foundation walls and are pitched to drain into the sump located below the entrance to the crawl space. The drain tile system already installed in the crawl space will empty into the same sump basket. A pump in the sump basket will send any water collected out through the wall and into the back yard through a 1  1/2” PVC pipe…

The diagram below shows the basement wall construction details and the water proofing system together. This is the kind of thing you add to a home hoping that it will never be used…but knowing it is there brings peace of mind.

  

• Wrapping the rock bed in fabric will prevent dirt from clogging the system.
• Floor edge is a “L” shaped corrugated plastic panel that allows water to flow under the concrete slab.
• The plastic sheet provides a vapor barrier and radon gas protection.
• The foam insulation has a backing that provides a vapor barrier for the basement wall.
• The 2 x 4 framing provides space for plumbing and electrical components as well as an air space.

Drain tile…Day 3

The Slettens are back to do the drain tile in the basement before they pour the cement floor. Chuck spent the day digging the trench for the rock bed where the drain tile will be installed. The hard packed clay makes for some tough digging.

The outlet for the drain tile system in the crawl space comes through the end wall and will connect to the sump basket that will be installed close to the back corner.  The basket is something like 18 inches in diameter and 2 feet deep (its visible in the background in the left hand photo above).

The Weekend Report…

The site is SLOWLY drying out after the big storm Thursday and Friday but there's still plenty of mud in the basement and the freshly excavated walk-out. The Tappe Construction folks plan to be working on the “L” Shaped House framing Monday morning (their tool box and construction fork lift are already here).

Helen and Sonja decided that they just had to tour the basement despite the water puddles and mud. They jumped in at the East end and and walked out through the walk-out door. I tried to tell them that they would have to walk through the mud to get out but they had a foolproof plan of their own…

The big rains have helped to compact the back-filling around the footings and foundation walls. The  fill has dropped at least a few inches almost everywhere and probably more like 6-8 inches  around the basement walk-out doorway. I continue to think that the rains have actually been a big help on the project…so far.

Matt Sletten removed the plastic from the garage floor Friday afternoon after one week covering the new concrete.  The new floor looks awesome.

The Garage Floor Footing…

The “L” Shaped House garage will have a single post between the third and fourth stalls. The post will support the center of an “I” beam that the end wall of the bonus room above the garage sits on. We poured a big footing in the garage floor to support the post. In addition to supporting the bonus room we plan to install a  jib crane on the upright post to be used for light duty lifting (200 lbs).

Jib Crane specifications (click on the picture)…

Concrete Flat Work…Day 5

The Slettens poured the second half of the garage at The “L” Shaped House early this morning. I stopped by at about 9:30 just in time to catch some of the finishing operations on the slab. The photos show Matt working an edging tool and Jim running the power trowel. The Video is an extended look at the power trowel in operation.

Fun Facts…

• The floor is 6 inches thick throughout the garage…
• There are 25 1/2  yards of concrete in the garage floor (more than 100,000 lbs)…
• There is one “tooled” edge down the middle of the space and nine control joints (Zip Strips)…

The last photo shows Jim Sletten working the power trowel over the garage floor. He has added a water pail to the handle and occasionally sprinkles some on the surface as he works the trowel. They will cover the floor with plastic before they leave. Jim will be back to help pour the new basement floor in a few weeks and Matt will be doing the tile work in the “L” Shaped House, but finishing the garage floor marks an important milestone in the project…the foundation is done!

The garage floor at 3:30 this afternoon, all covered up in plastic curing away…slowly…

Zip Strips…

Matt Sletten is using Zip Strips from Superior Profiles to control cracks in the finished concrete floors. 

 

The first two photos below show Matt and Jim Sletten installing a Zip Strip in the garage floor. The last photo captures Jim as he  “un-zips” a strip after installation (it’s all in the hips).

Concrete Flat Work…Day 5

The first half of The “L” Shaped House garage floor being poured early this morning. Matt and Chuck haul wheelbarrows full of concrete across the garage while Jim works the screed and a hand trowel. The first photo that has Matt in motion captures the atmosphere nicely (it’s non-stop action).

This photo shows the whole operation. The first truck is empty and just starting the clean up process. The second truck is filling one of the first wheelbarrows. Matt and Chuck are moving cement while Jim works the trowel and screed. The video below shows the action as the working space shrinks into just one corner.

This last photo shows a panoramic view of the work site with the second half of the garage floor visible at the bottom.

 

Aaahhh… A good day’s work. The first half of the garage at noon.