I mean quite literally…we watched them build us a foundation. It was pretty cool to watch it go from dirt to huge concrete slab. As harrowing as some of the design choices seem, I feel so blessed that our kids get to experience this.
When I ended the last post I talked about the foundation waffle they created. After the waffle was finished, the guys came out and put down a moisture barrier on all the mounds and down into the trenches. I believe (or guess) the purpose of this is to keep moisture from seeping up into the foundation.
Once everything was covered, they went ahead with putting in all this reinforcing bar (rebar). The rebar went down into the trenches and then created a grid atop the whole thing. We let the kids stand down in one part by slowly lowering them down and back up. They thought it was pretty cool.
The day before the pour, the electrician showed up to rough in the plumbing for our kitchen islands and some in-floor plugs in the family room and study. I liked seeing all of that in there, it really helped me start getting a picture of where each room began and ended.
On the day of the pour we kept the kids home to watch. We got up at the usual 6:10 am and you could already hear the guys setting up for the foundation. We walked on over and saw them setting up the pumper truck and doing any last minute rebar work. They also used these yellow pieces to float the rebar above the waffle.
Concrete started to pour a little after 7 am. The large pipe of the pumper truck could be seen in the sky above the forest from the neighborhood behind us (where we currently reside). They continued to pour until right after 1 pm. We lost track of the number of concrete trucks after about 7.
As per usual my anxiety kicked up at the end. We wanted to put the kids hand prints in the foundation. The guys knew we wanted to and said they would let us know the perfect time. I was worried we would miss our window and some other comments by dad weren’t helping (like…its already too dry). Richard kept the faith and the guys called us over as they promised they would. Rachel helped with Mr. Henry while I took some pics and the prints turned out wonderful. Even William’s crazy print..which is so him right now, that boy is full of energy.
Video to come later
Currently listening to: “Pain” -Three Days Grace
Currently reading: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
