Pouring Concrete

Tuesday I played hooky from school. One it was my birthday and I prefer not to deal with my crazy kids on my birthday and two they were going to pour our foundation and I wanted to be there.

I made it over there around 8:30. The concrete trucks hadn't made it yet. Supposedly they broke down. They ended up being three hours late and the concrete place is only five miles away. Anyways dad and I had the chance to go over plans. I showed him where we wanted lights and switches and he mapped them out on the house plan. After that I ran a few errands. By the time I returned about 10:45 the concrete truck was there finishing up a load. It took seven trucks!I was able to stay all day and visit with my dad. He answered all my questions about concrete and how they finish it.

The boxes are filled with sand and they pour the concrete around them. this is where the bathtub and shower drains will be.

They attached chutes onto the back. How many depended on how far into the space they needed the concrete. The finishers would walk around making sure it was distributed evenly. 

Once all the concrete (10 yards a truck) was poured, they would level it out with a couple of long boards. Finally another guy came behind and used a long tool to smooth it out.

The concrete company supervisor sat around and visited with dad and I. When the driver (the man standing by his truck) was backing up, He got too close to the frame, ran over a stake, and popped his tire. The Supervisor told us that he had just passed his test and was a newly "licensed concrete specialist". Oops.

The finished slab!

I carved our name into the garage floor.

Dad had to go to PB for his best friend's visitation. I stayed back and made sure they finished and paid them. Afterwards he drove back through LR on his way home to cut a line in the concrete and cover it with visqueen. You cut two lines where your walls will cover, so that when the concrete cracks it will crack along that line instead of crooked. You have to cover it so that it will dry out slowly and hold some moisture. This cuts back on the amount of cracking. 

My brother and the guys he works with will be up here next week to frame it! 

I love when the walls go up!