Lakeview Farms project (house)

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The way it worked is I'd clean out the previous line of pier's spoils after changing from the auger attachment to the bucket. Then I'd re-attach the auger and clean out any dirt that had fallen back in those holes and drill the next line.

The perimeter is 44 feet by 63 feet. There are six interior holes on about 76 inch centers in a line approximately six feet apart.

Each hole involved going down about three feet and then backing up with the auger full of spoil. Get out of the tractor and using a concrete hoe clear the spoil at the top of the hole back a foot or so it wouldn't be falling back in as I went down. I would also clear away the spoil from the previous hole that I'd removed. The stuff that had fallen into the pier hole while cleaning it up with the bucket.

Once that was done then I'd go down about three feet at a time. About eight feet down I pretty consistantly hit a layer of limestone. Most of the time I was able to work my way through it. More than one bad word ended up in the spoil pile.

 

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I worked by myself until Friday. I picked up a couple of day laborers to start making the pier cages.

The first thing I had to do was make a couple of sawhorses for them to work off of. Tying rebar isn't any fun anyways and doing it on the ground will wear you down and out.

I've made I don't know how many sawhorses like this. They're an amazing thing. Almost human like in their ability to develop a wanderlust. It's seems every time I need a pair they've wandered off.

The client has a pile of galvanized used posts about seven feet long.

Perfect.

I cut the two and three eighths inch post in half and coped or notched it with the portaband.

 

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After I had the legs cut and notched I cut up four pieces of two and seven eights one foot long. Two and three eighths is the O.D. of two inch schedule forty pipe. Two and seven eighths is the O.D. of two and a half inch schedule forty pipe.

 

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Then it's a simple matter of welding the two and three eighths legs to the two and seven eighths inch sleeves. I use the guesstimator for laying it out. The same guesstimator I used for notching the pipe with the portaband.

I've found the guesstimator a fantastic tool. It brings to the table easier ways to do things. It's only drawback is it has to be recalibrated for every job. But properly calibrated for the job at hand it's one of the handiest tools available. I believe it's so handy because it's the one tool available to us that gets better with usage. Think of good wine that works for you instead of on you.

Welding galvanized is extremely personal. I've been doing it consistantly for almost thirty five years. I've had zinc poisoning probably less than five or six times in that period. I attribute this to good genes mostly and a little common sense also. If I'm not welding outside I'm welding with a fan blowing the fumes away from my face.

The good genes thing I believe is the most important when it comes to tolerating some kinds of poisons or irritants. If you're allergic to airborne stuff then I highly recommend you don't weld at all and especially never weld aluminum, stainless, or galvanized materials without breathing protection.

Zinc poisoning won't kill you. Well, I guess enough of anything will kill you. For me it involves a couple of hours of extreme discomfort not unlike body flu, aches and pains in the joints etc. Then I'm fine as frog hair afterwards. But I had a neighbor once who watched me weld some fence tube for his cocketiel cage and he was sick for over a week with what he thought was the meanest flu he'd ever had visit.

My dad will be eighty one in a couple of weeks. He's the one who taught me to weld. He worked for almost ever as a gate man welding up galvanized gates at fence companys.

 

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Then it was a simple matter of using additional pieces of pipe for the horizontals.

There are a couple of good things about these saw horses. One of course is the width is dependent upon the length of the horizontals. They can be torn down and moved easily. And if the horizontals are part of the project they can be reclaimed and used. They're also self adjusting for grade etc.

 

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We had Mr Murphy visit this job, a couple of times. First there was a leaking hydraulic hose that evolved into a leaking coupler, don't ask, I don't know, just happened.

Then an auger coupler broke with the auger about nine feet deep. You've never been fishing until you've had three eighths chain for line and no bait available for a twelve inch auger four feet long full of dirt about four feet down. Patience is a virtue. I'm going to Heaven when I die.

 

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One of the pleasures of this job is it's a family thing. There are ten kids, five and five, and they love to help when they can.

The client assigned them the job of cutting felt paper for the interior piers. We're going to be using felt paper rolled instead of sonotubes.

He laid it out and let them get after it, ten feet long pieces, needed fifty four of them.

 

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Probably the best thing about working construction besides the outdoors thing is the picnics. Everyday in construction you can have a picnic. We're probably ruining these kids. They're making memories that will last a lifetime. And probably what will stick with them the longest will be the picnics. I know I like them. Everyday has a picnic. The children are home schooled and have found a way to accomodate their lunch hour with our picnics.

Saturday we had a couple of laborers, a friend with his two sons from their church, and of course, a picnic.

The carrot top obviously thinks I'm a sixties hippie in this picture.

 

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Is this a group photo or what?

 

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The clients got to place the first concrete in the foundation of their new home. It's a big moment.