We poured the stairs and the window well today.  And now we’re ready to place the structural steel tomorrow.

Pouring the Stairs and Window Well

We’ve had a number of pours to date so everyone knew the drill for today.  The concrete was delivered on time and in place quickly.  The finishing the steps and the window well is important as these locations are now completed.  This is now finished concrete.

Finished exterior stairs. We need to protect these steps for the duration of our construction project and then it will make access to the lower level much easier, faster and safer.

Bryan reviews the new, finished concrete in the window well at the front of the house. Bill Brown's team did an excellent job finishing the window well.

We’re Ready for Steel

All of the forms have been removed and Bill Brown’s team cleaned the site and swept the concrete foundation so the team from Larson Steel will have a clean and safe site to work in.

Clean site, ready for steel tomorrow.

Bryan looking at the feature concrete wall in the Atrium, which is covered by plastic to keep the concrete wet as it cures.

Concrete feature wall by Kitchen.

Garage door opening in feature concrete wall.

Kel Marchbank, from Marcal Construction, arrives to review progress at our site.

Watering the Feature Concrete Wall

 We continued to water the feature concrete walls (Dining Room, Kitchen/Garage and Atrium) as instructed by Bill Brown.  Keeping the concrete wet as it cures will help to strengthen the concrete and reduce cracks.

Bryan adjusting the valve to direct water to the feature concrete wall in the Dining Room.

The site is looking good, with the daily watering of the feature concrete walls. We're ready to place our steel columns and beams tomorrow.

 Tomorrow will be a big day for us as we place our steel columns and beams.

We’re pouring tomorrow.  Bill Brown’s team has lots to complete so delaying the pour means moving tasks up by a day.  Jorge knows exactly what to do.

Removing the Remaining Forms

The concrete forms can be removed rain or shine so this is a ‘filler task’ that is flexible but must be completed.  Thus, we pulled it in and had the team focus on it rather than pouring concrete today.

Removing the forms from the doorway into the East Mechanical room.

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We want our feature concrete walls in the Atrium, Kitchen and Dining Room to be crack-free.

Reducing the risk of cracking is a function of several factors, one of which we can manage after pouring the concrete starts to cure.  Cracking can be attributed to (1) excess water in the concrete mix, causing shrinkage; (2) weak or low-strength concrete; (3) inconsistent shrinkage in the concrete; and, (4) insufficient reinforcing steel in the concrete.  Once the concrete is in place, these factors cannot change.

After the concrete has started to cure, not dry, keeping the concrete moist helps the concrete to cure evenly and to reduce shrinkage.  Bryan and Nikolas put soaker hoses at the top of the feature concrete walls to keep the concrete wet as it cures.

Putting in Soaker Hoses

First stop was the Home Depot.  Then, the job site.  Nikolas was very careful when climbing the ladder and the scaffolding.  Bryan ensured Nik always had three (3) hands/feet on the ladder/scaffold at all times.  And Nik didn’t look down.

Overview showing the wet concrete feature walls behind the plastic shrouding. The plastic helps to keep the moisture in so the surface doesn

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