A substantial improvement on the Eagle View Project this month, the concrete pad for the Shop building was installed. The pictures will start with the installation of the concrete forms a few days prior and will finish up with finished concrete slab in place. Kudos to the builder Josh @ Steel Design LLC in Idaho Falls and his concrete crew led by Miguel for an excellent job and outcome.
Below Joe operates the skid loader with 3 ft auger attached while Josh, the General Contractor directs the auger and clears away tailings. This shot is the first of about 16 holes to be established as foundation pilings for the Shop columns. Josh is a General Contractor that is very involved with his projects!
Steve and Josh in the holes clearing away the Idaho Sand that falls back into the hole. The bottom of the holes must be 32" to pass inspection.
Gari gets in on the fun of digging marbles out of a bucket with a butter knife! Haha. The sandy cobble soil as it is described here in Swan Valley, is an artifact of the mighty Snake River running through this valley. The considerable amount of rock, all round and smooth river rock is very attractive, but a challenge to dig through. Everytime you throw five rocks out, two rocks roll back down into the bottom of the hole. Hence the feeling of digging in a bucket of marbles!
Gari and Josh take a breather break.
Gari claws the rocks out of the holes with her hands, this method works as well as, or better than using a butter knife!
Looking down into the bucket of marbles.
Steve holds an average size grain of Idaho Sand for show and tell perspective.
Fast forward a few more days, Gari looks on as Miguel's concrete crew begins installing the concrete forms and reinforcing steel.
Miguel and Junior set up the laser level.
Jesus sets forms while Junior cuts rebar for the piling reinforcements.
Setting the side forms in just the right spot.
A corner established with reinforcing steel in the piling hole. 2"x 2" blocking will be added along the top of the side form boards to establish a notch in the outer edge of the slab. The siding will extend past the sill plate and will end at the bottom of the notch at the concrete edge.
Jesus fabricating piling steel reinforcement towers; the progress continues.
It looks like Jesus is the only one working, but that is not the case. All the guys work very hard and long hours.
Junior and Miguel install the Shovel Footing. This is a 10" x 10" thicker area of concrete all around the perimeter of the slab. This aids with temperature differentials and concrete slab expansion and contraction between the inside and outside of the building. Junior had to use the pick to punch through the packed crush stone. He asked what we did to get it so hard and compacted. The only thing we can figure is that it rained for two days right after the crushed stone was installed and compacted on site. Pretty lucky, because that was the only rain we've seen for a month. Junior said this was perhaps the hardest pad that he has seen. With all the river rock and the compact gravel, we should have a good foundation it seems.
Below is a shot of a 2"x2" that will form the notch in the edge of the concrete slab.
The crew installs the vapor barrier and wire mesh reinforcing for the slab.
Miguel and Junior retrieve more wire mesh for slab reinforcing.
Below, here comes Miguel with a pair of 20 ft long, half inch thick rebar that runs in the shovel footing around the perimeter of the slab.
The next day, we went and marked the location of two slab penetrations, one is pictured below by an "X"marks the spot. We plan to have a 2' x 3' void where we will install a 4" sewer and a frost proof water hydrant for RV hook up. We will do this on two sides of the shop, so we can park an RV on either or both sides simultaneously. We plan to add a third RV hook (water & sewer) up outside the Shop, and possibly even a fourth spot.
Gari cuts vapor barrier away from piling holes to ensure that the vapor barrier excess does not cause any unwanted voids in the concrete pilings.
Inspector #3 reviews the results of the day. Do you think she is pointing out a column piling that is out of line?
Gari collects construction trash at the end of another day. We are ready for the pour! 
Gari gives the work site one last look.
We arrived on site on pour day at 6:00 AM and the crew was already there working in their truck headlights!
Junior and Jesus set a box form for the RV hook up concrete penetration, Gari watches closely.
Miguel directs the first pour from concrete truck number 2 into the slab area, the piling holes are by now filled with concrete by truck number 1.
Junior takes a call while pouring continues.
First screed starting at the back third of the shop floor.
The sun breeches Baldy Mountain top at about 7:30 AM.
Concrete truck number 3 starts the second third of the shop slab.
Jesus begins with the initial bull floating.
Miguel carefully sets the wet set brackets for the shop columns.
Carefully pouring around one of the RV hook up penetration box forms.
The pour is down to the last third and now the crew works together to close the form where the concrete trucks were driving into the pad area. They dug a quick shovel footing, set the half inch rebar and completed the side and notch forms.
Josh takes a call while setting the foundation bolts.... always multitasking!
Double power floats dancing over the slab.
No comments:
Post a Comment