Thursday, October 30, 2008

Preparing the Crawl Space


Several passes with a screed board evens out the pad and knocks down the high spots. Low spots must be filled with fresh concrete and several more passes with the screed board ensures the top is flush. Here workers float the surface to force gravel down and allow excess water and air pockets rise to the top until the slab is smooth.


After the support columns are set, the next step is to prepare the crawl space. The pads are covered with gravel and fine sand and then topped with a layer of plastic. The plastic serves as a vapor barrier and helps prolong the life of the pad. Workers measured and cut steel mesh to the shape of the pad to reinforce the concrete.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Foundation Walls for Pads 3 and 4


After the concrete has been poured and set, the columns are attached to a metal plate and a quick-setting grout is applied. The use of leveling grout allows the columns to be positioned properly.


Elevations must be confirmed before the supporting mid-span columns are ready to receive the modules. The large black pipe seen here connects to the sump pump.


The foundation wall has been set in place and a truck pours concrete for the interior structural piers.


Reinforcing rod sits inside the footing and will be filled with concrete to the top of the pin - exactly 12 inches.



Expect the completed exterior wall to resemble this mock-up.


Site workers cover structural reinforcing pads. The pads provide structural reinforcement for point loads for the building foundation.


Workers check the foundation stone in preparation for the foundation wall to be installed. Two types of aggregate cover the pad site. The darker brown 1A gravel provides tighter contact points along the perimeter of the foundation wall. The lighter colored 2B aggregate sits beneath the poured concrete slabs.