Forms and Function

Forms and function....

July 11th -- The temperatures approach triple digits, yet the guys who are putting in the forms for the foundation walls have the radio tuned to a local jazz station and they seem like the coolest construction cats ever.  

I worked at home for most of the day and early in the morning a very large truck dropped off a huge load of rebar in lengths and shapes I have never seen before -- although that shouldn't mean much since I have really have not spent much time around rebar before.

As usual, the photos convey so much more than the words....here we go.

This is the west wall of the gathering room addition, with the little "alcove" in the footer and foundation wall for the fireplace, as shown in a similar photo from yesterday, but today there is more to the forms and there is much more rebar, positioned within the forms both horizontally and laterally.  These forms for the foundation walls are so much more substantial than the forms for the footers....given my lack of construction knowledge, I initially thought that maybe the framing had already begun.

 Here is a familiar view moving from the west wall of the addition to the rear entry mudroom.

 These next shots provide a detailed view of how much individual labor goes into setting up the rebar to reinforce the concrete that will be poured into these wall forms.

This is the top landing of the staircase that will lead to the basement.

Here is the alcove for the future fireplace on the west wall of the gathering room.

This view shows just how much back filling of dirt will need to be done to fill the gap between the current excavation perimeter and the foundation once the foundation walls are poured and the forms are removed.

I asked one of the guys why the forms for the foundation walls had this particular shape and they explained that the ledge that can be seen in these two photos is where brick will be laid to match the existing foundation. 


 How cool is that?

I haven't mentioned this yet, but there are many different inspections by city building inspectors that happen during the process of creating the foundation.  One of those inspections happened while I was home today.  A city building inspector was on site and reviewed the plans as well as the site to make sure everything was being done appropriately and to meet the city code.   


This last shot gives a good idea of the height of these foundation walls and it isn't too difficult to visual the 3-foot crawlspace that will be under the floor of the gathering room and mud room addition.  

Yet again I'm so impressed with how careful these workers are and how nice, friendly, and polite they are, especially in their willingness  to explain things to me.


Oh, and one other thing.....there is also progress on the tomato front...in lieu of my usual huge veggie garden, this summer I have just a few pots.   This is an heirloom variety called "Bloody Butcher" and several very lovely tomatoes have already set!!

 

There Will be More Concrete....

There Will Be More Concrete....

July 10th -- I came home this afternoon to find the forms for the foundation walls in the process of being set up for the next concrete pour on Friday.

This photo shows the footer for the staircase that will go into the basement that was poured yesterday with the form for the foundation walls in the process of being set up.

 This photo shows the footer of the west wall addition with the "bump out" for the future fireplace and part of the form for the foundation wall.

 Another view of the footer for the west wall of the addition along with the back entry mudroom.  A very nice thing for me to look forward to next winter is the idea that after it snows, I won't have much shoveling to do to get from the rear of the house to the garage!

 These next photos show how the north wall of the gathering room addition has to have a 5 foot set back from the property line to meet today's code while the original wall of the house does not meet that code.  This shot also shows why the basement door needs to be moved to the south to align with  the stairs to the basement and with the set back wall of the gathering room addition.  

To further fuel my obsession with the very scary brick foundation that my house rests on, these photos, particularly this one, show just how these rows of brick somehow have kept this old house standing for 110 years.  It is a really good thing that I live where there are no major or minor active earthquake faults!

While the foundation work has been progressing, I have been working on selecting plumbing fixtures (no small feat), fireplaces (a lot of heat), and today was the first meeting with the kitchen designer (very neat).  

Each of these adventures will be featured in their own forthcoming blog posts.

But now, another intermittent installment of....

Lessons learned:

1.  The contractor did his best to "warn" me about demolition and how some of his clients call him in tears when they see parts of their house demolished, but he didn't really warn me about the toll that would be taken to the yard due to:  a) bringing the excavation machines through the yard to the excavation site; and b) the digging, setting up forms, pouring concrete and the like. 

a.  It has been a big challenge to maintain order and to keep the yard from dying.  Not only was I unprepared for cut sprinkler lines, but there are ruts in the previously even lawn from where the excavator machinery rolled into and out of the yard on it's treads.

b.  I knew that there would be digging for the foundation, but I was not prepared for how much digging and that big piles of dirt would be piled on what was once very green healthy lawn because it would be needed later to back fill around the walls of the foundation.  With all this digging dirt has been flying everywhere leaving behind a thin coat of dirt/grime everywhere inside the house that is impossible to keep under control.  In my full-on zen mode I am no longer trying to clean it; I've given up the fight to become one with the dirt.  

The two big take home points here -- First, get used to adapting to living in a level of dirt and dust that resembles camping.  Second, make sure to budget some cash for a total landscaping renovation job that will include replacing the entire sprinkler system, fencing, lawn/ground cover, walkways, and shrubs.

There Will Be Concrete!

There will be concrete!

July 9 -- The concrete was poured this afternoon to form the footers for the foundation.  A cement mixer pulled into the alley along with a pickup truck with a generator that powered a pump.  A long hose was connected to the pump and the cement flowed from the mixer into the pump into the hose where it spilled into the forms for the footers.

As the concrete was being poured a few members of the crew shoveled the concrete to even it out followed by another member of the crew who smoothed the concrete.  As much as I had the urge to write my initials in the concrete before it set, I let that moment pass.

This photo shows the footers for the rear entry and mud room.

This photo shows the footers that will eventually anchor the top and bottom of the staircase to the basement.

You can see the rebar that was placed in the concrete where the framing for the addition will sit on the footers.

The last section that was filled with concrete is shown in the photos below.  This is the west wall of the gathering room addition, and if you look closely you'll see where the future fireplace will be located.

Here is a view from the southwestern corner of the gathering room addition, showing the back of the house to provide a bit more perspective (along with the basement door that will be moved to align with the staircase). 

The concrete takes 24 hours to set.  The crew will return tomorrow to set up the forms for the foundation walls and landing for the basement stairs -- this is the part of the foundation where the existing house will tie into the foundation for the addition.  The concrete for the last part of the foundation and the foundation walls should be poured on Friday.

And, the best part of the end of this day.....more raspberries!