Day 9 - Brace Yourself

 

We're back. We've got concrete coming, and, if we're being honest, we're looking weak. We're looking like a wet slice of bread. We put the "we" in weak. Time to beef up.

Now that's a little better! Notice Joey, being a beast. Also notice the window frame. Two points about the frame... 1) It is braced like no tomorrow. Concrete will be pushing on it from all sides, so it needs to hold strong. 2) The long edges (vertical edges) are dovetailed. Don't squint. You can't see it. Imagine a Chinese Finger Trap. You know how you stick your fingers in the trap and it grabs you when you try to pull them out? The concrete is your finger, and the dovetail in the trap. The purpose is that the dovetails keep the concrete in place, and vice versa. That's one sturdy birdie!

Now THAT is what I'm talking about. We're ready to rock AND roll. The goal of bracing is to imagine all the ways that concrete would like to escape these forms, and to do everything in your power to prevent those things from happening. Windows and doors are weak because they are pressed from all sides. Edges are weak because they have an unsupported side. In order to beat the concrete, you must be the concrete.

A couple mentionables... we need rebar above and below our openings (door, window, garage door). We don't need rebar anywhere else because we used Helix. Helix serves the same purpose as rebar in that it strengthens concrete. However, instead of setting rebar all up in these forms, Helix gets mixed in with the concrete, so it is basically no work at all. The catch is that it is expensive. Your call.

Joey and Joe, beasting it up. The Joe on the plank is our Nudura rep. We will call him Nudura Joe. Joe is a mammoth. An absolute animal. Under no circumstances is he required to be here helping us. Yet, he's down here putting his back into it and making sure that the job is done right. Thanks, Nudura Joe!

All full up! The walls took four passes to fill. We take care to plumb as we fill. Normally, we would use a vibrator (no, not that kind of vibrator) to vibrate the walls during the pour. This helps sink the concrete into air pockets that may have formed. The vibe is broken though, so we whack the wall with a 2x4 instead. So easy, a caveman can do it!

Concrete level, anchor bolts set, we are GROOVING.