Blog

Posted on

Building Pier Forms

Building Pier Forms

Day #25

July 15, 2018 – Today was building pier forms day.  I decided to change my tactic on the concrete pier forms. Rather than building and setting them as I go, I decided to concentrate only on building the remaining forms. I will have to set them in place when I have more help.

I made two trips out to Lowe’s and back today. On the first trip I got seven 12 inch diameter Sonotube cardboard forms for the piers along the cottage. On the second trip I got enough 2 × 4’s to complete the remaining eight square pier forms. Just to summarize there are a total of nineteen (19) piers. Seven formed with Sonotube, eleven formed with square plywood forms and one formed in place with whatever we need to use.

I was putting the finishing touches on the last form when an afternoon thunderstorm blew in. We hurriedly covered everything with tarps and called it a day. Next weekend, weather permitting,  we will continue setting the forms in place.

Posted on

Pier Forms Continued

Day #24

July 14, 2018 – Building and setting of the concrete pier forms continued today. It was just as slow as yesterday. Footing holes two and three along the kitchen addition had to be widened to accommodate the forms, however the holes were dry. As it turns out the old adage it true, you cannot place a square peg into a round hole. 

I have decided to change up the design a bit to help speed up the pier construction. For the seven (7) piers along the cottage I can use a round Sonotube form with instead of a  square form. We will bury these in place right before the pour. 

I am thankful for the use of Troy’s building level. It has worked out perfectly in establishing the tops of the piers in relation to the finished floor. Tomorrow the pier form building day continues.

Pier Forms 1 & 2
Concrete pier forms and and two set in place.
Pier Forms 1, 2 & 3
Concrete pier forms one, two and three.
Building Level
Building level used to establish the pier elevation relative to the finished floor.
Posted on

Concrete Pier Forms

Day #23

July 13, 2018 – I started the afternoon with high hopes of placing a bunch of concrete pier forms. The first hole that I uncovered was by the pump house. It had partially caved in due to the wet soil conditions at this location. 

On two sides of the hole I noticed terracotta piping. One side is an abandoned downspout system and the other, the kitchen sink drain piping.  The kitchen sink side had a hole in it.  It appears that we have been draining water into the ground at this location for quite a long time. That is most likely the reason that this area is so wet.

I dug up two pieces of the terracotta pipe and cleaned out the hole. In half a day I managed to get only one pier form in place. Tomorrow I will continue building and placing pier forms. It’s going to be a long weekend!

 
 
Terracotta Pipe
Existing terracotta drain pipe uncovered at the fist pier location.

Concrete Pier Forms
First concrete pier form set in place. Two sections of terracotta pipe dug up and removed from this hole.
Posted on

Clean Up Day

Day #22

July 8, 2018 – Today after the clean up from the concrete pour we covered all the footings for the week, packed up and headed home. 

Next weekend we will begin forming up the piers.

Decided to celebrate a very good weekend with a sushi dinner at Sapporo East on the Carlisle Pike.

Clean Up - Wheel Barrows
Wheel barrows cleaned up and parked by the shed.
Expanded Parking
Seven loads of 2A modified limestone spread and leveled for the new expanded parking area.
Footer Holes Concrete Pour
All concrete footers are poured.
Footer Holes
Freshly poured footers covered from the weather.
Sushi Rolls
Sushi celebration diner at Sapporo East.
Spicy Scallop Sushi
Spicy Scallop Sushi
Posted on

Concrete Pour

Day #21

July 7, 2018 – Up early this morning. Double checking all the footers, putting in  grade stakes for the concrete elevation and de-watering where necessary. Checked the inflation on the wheel barrow tires and we are all ready for the concrete pour.

Had a little coffee time before the concrete truck rolled in at about 7:30 AM. 

Everyone took turns on the wheel barrows and we had 2.75 yards placed in the 19 holes in about 25 minutes. Not too bad. The yardage worked out perfectly.

After we cleaned up it was off to Shy Bear Brewery for a celebration dinner.

After we cleaned up it was off to Shy Bear Brewery for a celebration dinner.

The new addition is well underway! Tomorrow I think we will take a break.

Pre-Pour Coffee Time
The pour team having coffee before the concrete truck arrives.
Concrete Pour - Concrete Arrives
7:30 AM concrete truck is on site.
Filling A Wheel Barrow
Troy filling a wheel barrow with concrete.
Filling A Wheel Barrow
Ryan filling a wheel barrow with concrete.
Filling A Wheel Barrow
David filling a wheel barrow with concrete. Lance on deck.
Wheeling
Lance wheeling across the site.
Wheeling
Ryan wheeling across the site
Concrete Truck
The concrete truck.
Concrete & Rebar
Concrete and reinforcing in the hole.
Concrete & Rebar
Concrete and reinforcing in the hole.
Concrete Crew
This is my awesome concrete pour team!
Posted on

Preparation for Footing Concrete

Day #20

July 6, 2018 – I was up early and out to purchase reinforcing bars to place in the footers in preparation for the concrete pour.

Wolfley Excavation was on site early this morning to continue spreading stone for the new expanded parking area. He was able to get 4 more loads delivered and spread before the quarry closed. It’s looking pretty good. The concrete truck should have no problems getting in and turned around.

At noon I confirmed the delivery of 2.75 cubic yards of 3000 psi  concrete with Juniata Concrete out of Mifflintown for tomorrow at 7:00 AM.

Tied up and placed rebar all afternoon waiting on my help to show up. Left the footers uncovered all night to try and dry them out a bit.

Preparation looks good. Big day tomorrow!

Stone Truck - Preparation For Concrete
First stone delivery this morning.
Stone Truck - Wolfley Excavation
Stone delivery for expanded parking lot.
Posted on

Excavating Footings

Day #19

July 5, 2018 – Today was a good day. Wolfley Excavating was back on site to spread stone for an expanded parking area. They managed to get three loads of 2A limestone delivered and spread before the quarry closed for the day

Around 3:30 PM they dropped the bucket on the skid loader and hooked up a 24″ diameter auger. With the auger attached they began excavating the footings.  In a little over 2 hours they completed the remaining 16 footings. 

The drilling went much better than I had expected. There were not too many roots but there was more river rock underneath the living room door. This caused the auger to jump off the marked. We will have to hand dig to correct the location. 

The front yard now looks like a mine field.

Tomorrow we will begin the installation of reinforcing bars in preparation for the concrete pour.

Once again there was a threat of a pop up rain storm. As a precaution we covered all nineteen of the footings.  Thankx to Grammy and Fannie for buying 700 traps off of the clearance rack.

2A Limestone
First load of 2A limestone arrives on site.
Expanded Parking Area
Spread stone in the expanded parking area.
Skid Loader & 24" Auger
Skid loader with 24″ auger attachment digging 3ft deep footers.
Excavating Footer At Living Room Door
Footer excavation under the living room door.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlBXTCbgnO8/?taken-by=jcrowleyjr

Front Yard Mine Field
After the footers were dug the front yard looked like a mine field.
Posted on

Hand Dug Footings

Day #18

July 4, 2018 – Today was the start of the footing excavation. We hand dug the first three footers 2′-6″ × 2′-6″ × 3′ deep. Two of them are in close proximity to the underground plumbing. One footing is close to an existing pier that is slightly tilted. We did not want to risk damage to the plumbing or the tilted pier from the digging auger. 

All of the old wood from the porch roof was relocated.  It was moved from the front of the cottage and put in a neat stack by the old shed. We took the rotted picnic table over to the fire pit. There it will await the return of the #arsonsquad.

We turned over the old wooden platform that the picnic table sits on.  After a brief inspection we decided it is in great shape. There is no rot at all, so we relocated it close to the fire pit. It will serve as a stage for future nonsense.

It rained for several hours jeopardizing tomorrows planned parking lot installation. Hopefully Wolfley’s Excavating & Septic Pumping will be on site tomorrow to get it started.

Luckily we had covered the footers prior to the storm. Hopefully the covers will keep them from filling with water so that they can be prepped for the concrete pour.

Hand Dug Footing #1
Hand dug footing between underground plumbing lines.
Hand Dug Footing #2
Hand dug footing near the existing tilted pier.
Covered Footing Excavation
Three hand dug footings covered before the rain storm.
Posted on

Footing Layout Day

Day #17

July 1, 2018 – Today was footing layout day. I cut my footer guide from a sheet of plywood and laid out all nineteen footers. All locations are marked with orange marking paint.

We are ready to dig!

At the end of the day, sitting in the front yard with a cold beer, looking over my surveying work, I realized that I made a 6 inch error in the layout. Dam it…! More stuff to worry about! Anyway, here’s what it looks like.

Footer Layout
19 footers laid out and marked with marking paint. Ready to dig.
Posted on

Backfill & Batter Boards

Day #16

June 30, 2018 – Before I could put up the batter boards I needed to backfill the plumbing trenches.

After I put up the boards I pulled some string lines off of the existing cottage walls. I determined that the cottage is officially 4 1/2 inches out of square. We had to expect that after almost 70 years in the damp river environment. Well, as Troy says, “We gotta build to what’s there.” So on with the show!

With the string lines in place we can proceed with the footer layout.

Plumbing Backfill
Plumbing sanitary and drain lines backfilled and marked with marking paint.
Batter Boards
Batter boards installed and string lines pulled for the footer layout.