Week 6-The Big Pour

Getting the forms built in preparation for the pour of concrete for the new basement walls.



As you can see, the forms are pretty massive.




We never found out for sure, but we think this guy is spraying non-stick liquid on the forms and form hardware so that they'll come off easily after the pour.




In addition to pouring the walls for the new basement, a shear wall foundation in the existing basement had to be reinforced..




Rebar in one of the nine basement footings




Here come the concrete rigs--the pump truck and the cement mixer, one of two required to do the pour.




Do you think it's going to rain?  Actually, it's the pump truck guy bringing his pump beam across our yard and to the pour site.  The two guys on the right and the orange shirt on the left are the cement guys.  The guy in green is from GeoTest, who took samples of concrete to verify how quickly the concrete would set up and be ready for backfill.



Getting ready to begin the pour, as Sandy, Susan, Maya, and Zoe look on.



peanut gallery




It was a fascinating process.




More of the peanut gallery--two sparrows, very curious about the proceedings.




Another of the nine footings shown from the outside.  At the top of the photo, the old clay pipe is a remnant of what functioned in 1925 as a foundation drainage system.  One of our neighbors says that a similar system at her house seems to be still working.  Not so at our house.  Our best guess is that at our house the clay pipe system stopped working some time in 1926.




Steve Gregory makes sure the concrete ends up where it's supposed to go.




additional footing in the existing basement space




Pouring the footings in the crawl space was a particularly unpleasant and daunting task because there was virtually no head room.  We were impressed that Steve, the head man, did most of the grunt work himself.




Ditto




Ditto




The guys were really happy when this part of the job was done.




On the left a second cement truck arrives.  The first truck carried 10 yards.  The second truck also carried 10 yards--making a total of 20 yards for today's pour.  That's a LOT of concrete, and we used every drop of it.




beginning to pour the walls of the new basement




The physical strength involved in a job like this is really amazing!




more of the pour




Steve and his assistant make sure the concrete goes exactly where it's supposed to go.  Steve handled the concrete pump hose, his assistant followed with an electric vibrator to make sure that the concrete was fully seated in the form.




Granddaughter Maya spent the whole time watching the pour with us.  She learned and retained the name of every single worker on the project and had a keen eye on what was going on.




Can I come and watch the next pour, Grandma?




the pour continues




getting toward the top




BBB site manager,  Dylan, makes sure things have gone according to plan.




Dylan has a good eye for detail and doesn't leave anything to chance. The elevator foundation pour was especially tricky, and Dylan carefully checked the engineering plans as the pour proceeded.




Finishing up. The square in the lower right corner of this photo is the base of the elevator shaft.




finishing the pour around the elevator encasement



ditto

These are the test cannisters that GeoTest filled during the course of the pour.  In seven days they break down one or two of these cannisters, the others follow later.  It all tells us when it's safe to backfill the new basement walls.



This is one of three cracks in the existing foundation that were repaired by Foundation Restoration through the application of epoxy under pressure.  The light gray material running vertically is surplus epoxy that has bled from the crack.  Each of the red dots is the end of a hollow tube that was inserted in the crack and through which epoxy was applied under pressure.  An amazing process that closed these cracks up beautifully.




new shear wall foundation in the basement crawl space




Note the perforated pipe and the water stop drainage material which will help ensure that we have a dry basement from now on.




This is what the new basement space looks like from the outside when the forms have been removed.  It looks like a rather small box, but it's really large enough for a washer, dryer, and various storage components, plus the elevator.  Note the cut-outs--the two cut-outs in the foreground are for windows, the third cut-out in the right rear is for the base of the exterior access door to the elevator. 




Dylan applies an asphalt substance as an additional guard against water seepage.




Over the asphalt, we are applying "delta drain" material--a combination of dimpled PVC-like material and a fabric that captures any seeping water and causes it to flow to the foundation drain at the base of the wall.




asphalt and "delta drain" on all sides of the structure




Additional pipe and hose for the drainage system have arrived.




The sump pump arrives--one of the critical components in ensuring we have a dry home environment. It's 24" in diameter and 11 feet deep.  Water from a variety of foundation drains will drain into the sump, and there will be both a primary and a secondary sump pump pumping the water into a tightline flowing to the city storm drain on South Park Drive.




In this photo and the next one are some rules and restrictions posted in the front and back of the house by Dave and Dylan to ensure that sub-contractors and others involved in the process have consideration for our neighbors.  We regret that one of our neighbors has been awakened at an unseemly early hour on two occasions since the beginning of the project, and Dave and Dylan are really trying hard to enforce some ground rules that will prevent such intrusions on our neighbors.




We're off on vacation for the next 12 days, so there won't be a posting next week.  We'll resume when we return.