A(nother) Home in the (different) Woods

[EddieWalker]

Are you going to have a basement?

Eddie

 

[Dr Dave]

Congratulations on the new tractor, it looks like you are getting used to it.

I hope you get the permit finalised soon.

Dave

 

[dstig1]

Eddie, no basement on the shop, but yes on the house. The shop is being done with the "Shallow frost-protected footing" method, so it is a thickened edge slab with insulation around it to keep the footings from freezing.

Dave, yes getting used to it. I really like the 2-speed hi-lo switch. Haven't gotten to like the auto throttle too much, and haven't really tried the other HST modes. Love the cab.


Update - 2 "finallys" - finally got the permit :cool2:, and finally got some good weather...So I took today off to finish up the dirt work on the slab and start insulating it. Last weekend was a total rain out, so I was getting too far behind.

Here is the dirt work done. You can see the perimeter trench for the thickened footings, and there is also a footing through the center for a shear wall the engineer specified.



And by the end of the day we had the back section done, 2 layers of 1.5" foam, staggered seams, and fully taped. That is my 13 yr old daughter helping out. She was a great help today. Very proud of her.



The shop is 32'x80', and is divided 30'/50' Front/rear, so that was the 50' section we foamed. The front is for tractor, car and metal work, and the rear will be wood shop. Slab is scheduled to be poured the week of July 1. Need to finish up foam and get radiant tubing into the floor before then. The weather won't be as much of a problem at this stage with the dirt work completed.

 

[Dr Dave]

Nothing better that taking a day off and working with your tractor and kids.

Congrats on the permit.

Dave

 

[dstig1]

Day 2, got the front section of the slab insulated after wok with my helper. This weekend will be the big push to try and wrap up the insulation and rebar and hopefully the tubing too. I have another weekend in there before the pour to finish if needed.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never done that type of a slab before and I'm really enjoying your pics. Do the footings rest on the gravel?

From the pictures, it looks like you have a lot of dirt piled up around the pad site. Are you going to remove all of it before you pour the concrete and create your drainage around the building?

Eddie

 

[dstig1]

Thanks Eddie. I suppose you don't need to insulate slabs at all where you are. The footings will be on the gravel areas, but with insulation laid down first. That will be the last part of the insulation done. Then I hope it doesn't all blow away before the pour! Strong storms coming tonight, so that will be the first test...

The excavator piled the dirt around to kind of shield the work area from runoff. Some of that will be used for fill in the main house area and some will get re-graded around the shop. The pics are taken from uphill a fair bit and the shop will be built into the hillside somewhat on that side.

I got the center footing insulated tonight (mostly). That was a PITA as I wasn't able to dig it very evenly with the bucket. No pics of that. I have helpers coming this weekend to finish up insulation, rebar, and get as far as we can on radiant tubing.

 

[Ranger Rick]

Day 2, got the front section of the slab insulated after wok with my helper. This weekend will be the big push to try and wrap up the insulation and rebar and hopefully the tubing too. I have another weekend in there before the pour to finish if needed.

View attachment 323695

When I did this exact same process this winter I found that you should get the premade 6" wire ties for the rebar and a manual twister tool. I started with a roll of wire and a pair of pliers and my concrete finishers came with the twister tool and wires and this sped up the whole process considerably. Have one person unrolling the pex and someone right behind you with wire ties to tie it to the rebar. You will be able to get it done. Rick

 

[dstig1]

Thanks Rick. I have all that stuff. We also have zip ties for the tubing. There is a lot of foam work left to do, before we get to the tubing.

We got hammered with brutal Tstorms last night, and just had another round go through. It was a miracle that all the foam stayed in place, but I did a few things to try to ensure that. I taped all seams together with tyvek tape, both to seal the foam as a sub-slab vapor barrier, and to keep the pieces together. I also taped around the edges of the 2 layers to tie them together better. Then I put the mesh down on top for some weight and put rocks and chunks of wood down for more weight. It seemed to work. I'll see in the morning if it held up through the second storm we just got... This weather is killing me.

 

[dstig1]

More progress today. I had 2 friends helping with the radiant tubing. We did all 9 loops and placed the manifolds. Took a lot of time to get the first loop set on each end, but after that it went fairly fast. During evenings last week I had finished up the rebar tying and the last of the mesh out over the footings. A little bit of cleanup to go, but it is almost done. They were supposed to start Monday on the concrete forming, but the weather last week has pushed them off a few days, which bumps it to the following week with the holiday. That week (the 8th) is going to be a zoo out there with SIPs panels showing up, concrete slab from/pour and the start of excavation and footings for the main house.