This felt like it was a long time coming, but when the day finally arrived, it was a still a bit scary. Concrete is, well, concrete, and rather difficult (read: expensive) to change if anything is incorrect. In the run up to the concrete trucks actually arriving, there were enough misunderstandings, tense discussions over drawings, and last minute corrections to practically send Catherine around the bend (questions like “why is there no place for a gas line to be routed through the foundation?”, “why is there rebar passing through an insulated area?” and “does anyone, on any of these drawings have the correct measurement for where the wine cellar goes?” should give you an idea of the fun and games).
On the day of the pour, all of the issues for the part of the perimeter that was to be poured had been sorted out, and the pour went like clockwork. Throughout this all, the guys from Atlantic Concrete have been extremely professional. The forms they built were within a 1/4” at every point (when we gave them the right dimensions!), and I think we only found one measurement that was as far off as a 1/4”!
The machinery that pumps the concrete in is quite impressive. The “Putzmeister” takes concrete in one end, pumps it up through a huge overhead set of tubing, and then putzes it right in place while the guys direct the incredibly rapid flow of concrete into the forms.
A day later, the forms come off, and there is a foundation perimeter wall. There is still a lot of plumbing to be routed through the slab, and the footings in the garage and the strawbale library will be cast along with the main slab. Given that two concrete trucks were needed for the perimeter wall, I wonder what kind of a parade of trucks we’ll have for that day!