Day 4 - Setting Fox Blocks

First off, I was informed today by a very "helpful" gentleman that I have been calling the footings "footers".  Footers are what go at the bottom of a page in a document, footings are what go at the bottom of your walls.  Thank you, kind sir, for mocking me graciously pointing that out.  I will correct those mistakes!  :)

Today was much easier physically than yesterday and a whole lot more fun (though it certainly was colder - I was wearing 3 long-sleeved shirts/sweaters to keep warm)!  Today we starting setting the walls in place.  We chose to go with the insulated concrete forms for our basement walls since they are quite easy to work with, have a great R value and are easy to finish out on the inside.  We have them in this house we are currently living in and like them so we are using them again.  The company we are using is called "Fox Blocks" - we did not pick it specifically but are glad to be using it.  Mr.W says there are some great advantages to the Fox Blocks.  Mostly, they can be flipped either way to be used in a larger variety of situations resulting in less waste.  Sounds good to us!

In order to set the walls straight, chalk lines were snapped on the concrete footings (got it right this time, Dad and Chad!!) and then 2x4s were placed against those chalk lines on the outside edge.  That way the blocks can sit right up against the wood and easily keep a straight line.

After the wood was in place, a thicker diameter rebar was placed all around the footings, just inside the chalk line.  The first row of blocks was placed on top of that rebar and then attached with rebar ties to the plastic "webbing" you find inside the Fox Blocks.  The first row is the most time consuming as you have to reach in through the blocks to attach all that rebar in many, many places.  You want it secure!  Also, since the Fox Blocks are reversible and up can be down and down can be up, we needed to cut all the little "bumps" off one side of the blocks (think lego but imagine those little bumps on both sides of the lego).  In order for the first row to sit flat on the footings, the bumps needed to come off.  That required us to cut them all off.  That would certainly be a downside to the Fox Blocks system but it is only for the first row and the benefits make up for it.

After the first row is down, the second row goes on top, making sure to stagger the joints.  A few important things we needed to remember as we went along:  first of all, we needed to secure the second row of blocks to those bent rebar that were sticking out of the footings with zip ties.  That helps secure the Fox Blocks to the footings themselves.  Then around every corner we needed to attach the blocks together with zip ties.  Finally, we needed to lay a thinner diameter rebar on top of the webbing in each row, making sure to overlap the ends at least 18" and securing those with rebar ties.  The third row and every subsequent row after that get attached to the previous row as well with zip ties.

It is really not difficult work at all but there are many steps to remember and each one is important.  For a while today, I was actually working all by myself.  Mr.W made sure I knew all the steps that needed to happen and then left me to it.  Jay was away chicken catching and the kids were running around playing.  I was actually working on the house all by myself.  Kinda cool!  Mr.W is a really great guy and I love how he treats me with respect and allows me to contribute whenever and wherever I can.  He always explains until I understand and encourages me along the way.  It reminds me yet again that he was the perfect contractor for us and the Lord brought him to us for this time.  I hope that we can honor him just as he honors us.

Each night I am amazed at all we have accomplished together.  When we talked about working on the house, my hopes were to work each day contributing as much as I possibly could.  Realistically I knew I would have to watch the kids and I would only be able to do a little here and there.  As it is, the kids are entertaining themselves well all around us, helping out when they want and I have put in pretty full days.  Plus I am still trying to keep things running here at home with the food and the laundry and all the other household chores.  My arms are more tired than ever and so is my body but I am loving this journey and so glad to be side-by-side with Jay. 

I will say yet again that I truly believe the Lord brought Mr.W's name to mind those weeks ago and orchestrated it that he would work for and with us.  The whole idea of both of us working on the house was a strong desire and a dream that is now a reality, thanks to the expertise that Mr.W has!

So, at the end of day 4 we have 2 1/2 rows of Fox Blocks set in place.  Today we will go back and continue building the basement walls with the hopes that we can pour the concrete mid-week next week.

Day 3 - Removing Forms and Pouring Gravel

Today it was just us at the site.  And by "just us" I mean the 7 of us.  It was fun to be able to spend the day just with the family and to see how they would pitch in to help without being asked.  They are a great bunch of kids and we are so proud of them and so glad they are taking ownership of this new house!

Only 2 things on the schedule for today but 2 very important things.  First off, we needed to remove all the forms from the footings.  That required us to loosen and remove the stakes then loosen and remove the 2x10s and then remove all the nails from the 2x10s.  Though they were used as forms for the footings, they will be used again as headers for the windows and doors.  Therefore, we removed all the nails now to ensure they are ready to be used when the time comes.

You will notice we do not discriminate based on age or gender.  Young and old younger, male and female - are all welcome to help!

Once all the forms and wood were taken care of, Jay brought loads and loads (and loads and loads and loads and loads and . . . . I am sure you get the hint) of gravel.  The whole inside of the cement forms need to be filled level with gravel.  It is the drainage under the house.  2 large trucks brought some loads this morning and after lunch and for the remainder of the day (Jay is still out there working as of right now, 10pm) we moved that gravel around.

And while some of us were busy working, some of us were . . . ummm  . . .  measuring the sky?

Looking super cute?

And others?  Well, we aren't quite sure what he was doing!  :)

Today was a physically tiring day.  All of us but Jay had to leave at 4:30 in order to bake and eat supper and for me to coach RJ's soccer team at their practice.  The weather turned cold and windy.  It is not pleasant out there.  And yet Jay still works hard in hopes that we can be ready to set the walls in place tomorrow (my goodness, do I love that man!  ♥).  Lifting Styrofoam blocks will seem so easy after shovelling gravel, that is for sure!

Day 2 - Forming and Pouring the Footings

Since there was rain in the forecast for last night and the possibility of a lot of it, Jay went to the site late last night and covered almost the entire driveway (300') with plastic to keep the driveway dry in case of rain.  He also secured the use of a pump to pump out any accumulated rainfall in the excavation hole.  Though it was certainly windy and the lightning was flashing, no rain fell.  The driveway and the excavation hole were both dry this morning!  Thank you, Lord!

The guys took up where they left off last night, framing out the footings with large 2x10s.  When I arrived just after lunch, they were putting the small pipes that are part of the drainage system for the underside of the house into the forms.  It is not the most conventional way of draining a house's foundation - often black corrugated and perforated pipes are used - but neither is this a new way.  This has been used many times with great success so we decided this was the route we would take. 

Once those pipes were in place, final bracing pieces on the tops of the footings were attached so I jumped in and helped. 

Then after a bit of a wait the concrete pumping truck arrived.  While it got settled into place we made sure all the last minute details for pouring the concrete were secured. 

A little while later the first of 2 concrete trucks arrived. 

That meant it was show time so I moved the kids to a higher and safer viewing area where they could watch all the action but not get in the way.

While the concrete was being pumped, Mr.W manned the pump hose,

Jay screed the concrete,

Mr.B (another guy we hired) moved concrete from the high spots to the low spots, and I "vibrated" the forms by smacking them on both sides with a hammer. 

If you want a good arm workout, that is one way to do it.  I now have a blister and calluses forming on that hand!  However, I got it easy.  Jay worked the hardest of all of us and I am sure his back will feel it tomorrow!

Pouring concrete is one of the more intense parts of the job since you have only a short amount of time to work with the concrete before it starts to set up on you plus you have only a certain amount of concrete to work with - you want to ensure you have enough without too much waste.  We had the PERFECT amount today!

After the second concrete truck came and went, we finished screeing all the concrete, leveled out the forms and smoothed them off. 

Once those were done we waited a little while before removing the extra bracing on the tops of the forms. 

After that, the guys inserted the rebar into the setting concrete as that will tie the walls into the footing.

As that was finishing up, the truck with the Fox Blocks arrived and delivered the Styrofoam forms we will be using for the walls.  After they arrived, we cleaned up the site for the day and called it quits (after all, we had supper and baseball to get to!).

So, at the beginning of today, this is what it looked like:

and at the end of today we have this:

All in all, it was another great day with great weather. I really enjoy working with Mr.W and Mr.B, and, of course, my hubby! We are all having fun working together in a relaxed environment and the progress is smooth and steady. Of course, it is only day 2 but we are so thankful for the great start!

PS:  If you are wondering who is taking all the photos when I am working, it is my oldest.  I hand him the camera when I start working and he snaps away, taking some really great pictures!

Partying over here:

         

Day 1 - Digging the Basement

Though it did rain a little last night and the sun was having a hard time shining this morning and our newly created driveway turned into a soupy mess, digging started as planned.  Jay met our builder, Mr.W, earlier this morning and the excavator arrived around 8am.  By 8:30 he had already started digging the hole.  Since I was busy making supper for later in the day and getting lunch ready plus making sure the sheets got into the washer, we only arrived on site at 10.  AJ was so concerned that they would be done before we got there.  I kept assuring him it took a long time to dig a basement.  For the better part of the day, we just watched this guy at work.

Slowly the hole got larger and larger.

Every once in a while Jay would check for level with the laser level.

And though they ran off and played or sat and colored, the kids always seemed to make their way back to watch the machine at work.

Mr. Bergen really is a talented man driving that machine.  That hole was smooth and level and he made it look so easy!

One final check and the hole is done!

After the digging of the basement, the excavator also removed the stumps of those very large poplar trees we cut down earlier.  It was a whole lot simpler to get the excavator to do it then to try doing it ourselves.  All of those stumps are now gone!

While the excavator was at work, we got a few things ready around the site.  We unloaded the stakes needed for the footing and lumber for the forms.  Jay asked if I would build a construction ladder to be used to get in and out of the hole.  I was honored he would ask me to do that and so I spent a little time building a very simple ladder.  It really is the very first thing ever built for our new home (not that it will actually be a part of the house) and I told the boys that when the house is finished, they could have the ladder.

Then because there was still so much day left, Jay and Mr. W set straight to work figuring out where to make the footings.  All the exact measurements needed good mathematics skills (that's why no one asked me to do that part!) so Mr. W pulled out his construction calculator and spent some time figuring it all out.  When the stakes had been pounded, the string run around and the measuring tape pulled out to measure for square, shouts of "Woo Hoo" is all we needed to know that the measurements were what they needed to be!

Through it all, the kids were not too far away, always watching!

The kids always wanted to help whenever they could so we allowed them to do what was appropriate for them.  Yes, I realize they are barefoot and should be wearing shoes but those shoes were weighed down with about 10lbs of clay and were nearly impossible to walk in.  Rubber boots will be at the site from now on.

That brought us to the end of Mr. W's day but we were still eager to work and it wasn't nearly suppertime yet.  So, he asked us to pound in all the rest of the stakes.  I told him I wanted to do some so he showed me how to do it.  I ended up doing all the stakes (about 40) while Jay worked to clean up the mucky driveway and went to get more supplies.

While Jay was away and I was building muscle, what were the kids up to?  Well, it has been said that dirt piles make great babysitters and since we have 3 monstrous piles, the hours of fun are unending.  As is the laundry!

At the end of the day, this is what we are left with. 

This is what it looked like yesterday.

Pretty good progress for one day, wouldn't you say?