Day 3 - Frame It

 

We're back. The sun's rays pour over the terrain and bless this sacred ground. The smell of fresh subsoil fill your nostrils like mom's home cooking on a Sunday afternoon. The wind weaves gently through the trees, softly whispering, as if to say, "Stop with this intro and get into it."

Today was a shorty but a goody. We are fully rebarred up and braced in all the right places. We've got our stakes holding up the sides of the frame. We've got wood strapping along the top and metal strapping along the bottom to keep them from flaring out. Rebar keeps the concrete (coming to a footing frame near you) strong. Joey built chutes to connect the upper section of the frame with the lower section.

Down the far side here is a chute. Notice that board slashing down the chute from right to left. I don't know what it's called. I'm going to call it a brace. Our chutes need reinforcements just like the rest of the frame. That brace is going to keep the chute sturdy from side to side. There are also braces running along the sides of the chute to keep it sturdy front to back. We've also got rebar running down the chute because we want the strongest concrete footings this side of the Mississippi! I don't know what they've got on the other side of the Mississippi.. Maybe rerebar, like, reinforced reinforcement bar, or something.

Next come these guys. Not exactly these guys, but their cousins, The Other Rocks. We're going to call them stone, for short. Stone is going to help us deal with the water. The pump is a no-go. The ground is too wet and continues to leak. Anything we pump out is coming right back in. 18.5" of rain is no joke. Nate is bringing by some stone for us to heave into the water, providing us a solid floor for our concrete. You can't pour concrete in the water. Or so I'm told. I don't know. We'll see. I can't use the "first day" bit anymore, but I'm still new here.