Day 4 - Fill 'Em

 We're back. Today's goal is to fill the footing frames with concrete.



We have a few odds and ends to tie up before we get going on this mammajamma. Take a look at the lower left-hand corner of this image. Do you see the gap between the frame and the ground? We need to fill that. You can see Joey on the far side filling the gaps over there, right before he told me to stop playing around on my phone and get to work. What he's doing is shoveling dirt and mud from around the frame up against the sides. We do this so that the concrete does not leak out when we pour.

You may also have noticed that the stone got delivered. You can see it in filling the frames partway on the lower right side of the image. I was asked, "Why stone when the ground is wet and mushy? Isn't it going to sink anyway?" Good question, astute observer. The answer is no, the stone and the ground will not sink. We dig deep enough that the ground under the mush is rock solid, almost literally (there are A LOT of rocks down there). We really could pour concrete into the mush, but it's not great. The stone gives us a firm surface to pour on instead.


Oooooooweee! Look at that stone! And check out that truck! That is the concrete pourer. It takes concrete from the mixer truck (not pictured) and shoots it through a tube into the footing.


It has a long arm.


Like, really long.


Pouring concrete for footings is a job of one person on the mixer truck, one operating the arm, and three working the footings. For the three working the footings, one guides the hose, one flattens concrete with a shovel, and one levels; a 2x4 worked best for us. Just give it a little shimmy shimmy back and forth as you work your way down the footing.


Mmmmm. She's a beaut. Those rods (rebar) are three feet long and are wet-set into the concrete (set after pouring). We will use those for when we set the ICFs next week. What are ICFs? ICF stands for insulated concrete forms, and that is all I can give you right now.


Looking good, boys and girls. Next steps: strip 'em and paint 'em. More on that tomorrow.

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