With one herculean push, the concrete for the stairwell is done. I estimated 18 bags, for the almost 9 cu. ft. of concrete we'd need. I ended up getting 21 bags just in case, and 21 bags seems to have been the magic number. I cut the rebar first, it's not necessary for a slab, it makes it stronger though, and isn't that expensive. It took about half an hour to cut and tie the rebar, and tape off the drains and the door frame, as well as remove the door. So we didn't start mixing until about 8pm. Steve, our neighbour came over to check it out, and offered to lend a hand. I know he's got a bad elbow, from being a carpenter, so I said we'd be okay, he really wanted to help though, so he started helping mixing. We got it poured just as the sun was going down, and started screeding it. I don't have a float, so we were just using 2x4's. We waited a while, and kept working on it, using rags to soak some of the excess water off.
We had a couple beers while waiting for the concrete to set up, it wasn't quite ready, but it was after midnight when we finished, and I think it looks pretty good. I missed a couple area, pushing down the larger stones. Thanks Steve! I think he had fun playing in the mud too.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Playing in the mud
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2 comments:
Conrgatulations- hopefully there won't be any more concrete work for awhile. I'm impressed that 21 was the magic number. Nick does a pretty good job estimating how much concrete we need and I always think we could patch a section of the foundation with just half a bag. I think it's my subconscious not wanting to mix it up! Looks good!
We still have about 200 sq. ft. to pour in the basement, once the plumbing is done. We're getting a truck for that one though. It's pretty hard to estimate, since there are always parts that are a little deeper than you expect.
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