Footing Preparation
Every new year seems to start out busier than the previous year. The new year represents plans and goals, resolutions, and normal work weeks. Everybody, even those who say they don’t, have New Year’s resolutions. Boxes in Fields has set their New Year’s resolution bar very high. Very high indeed. The plan at Boxes in Fields is to be out of the RV before Stinky Feet turns the big 1-0. What would be a better birthday gift than for the kid to have his very own room? Of course, there is a hang up in this plan. First, before the house can be built, the Shop Box needs to be built. And so, with the New Year’s resolution determined, Boxes in Fields kicked off the new year. Here we go….
Yes, I know the new started last week but there was not a moment to mention the New Year’s resolution in the last post. The second week of the new year started off just as busy as the end of last year and the first week of the new year, even with the Texas Winter setback.
Monday, at home, rocks were delivered from a local materials plant and the Banjo fittings that had been on back order since forever ago finally arrived and were installed. Having rocks delivered is a funny thing. These rocks aren’t local even though they are bought locally. These rocks come from the great beyond. To guess, probably from big city #1 or there about. Rocks of this nature are limestone meaning they are well-traveled rocks. The closest limestone quarry is two hundred miles away. It might have been cheaper to buy these materials straight from the source but time is of an essence and buying locally helps supports the economy. Besides, the week is busy enough without traveling for the sake of rock purchase.
Tuesday, sand was picked up from a different local supplier. Sand! We are surrounded by sand yet had to buy sand. What a wacky world. What is the difference in this sand? Well, this sand is sifted and cleaned. There will not be any broken pieces of hermit crab claws or mullet teeth. The process used for concrete sand is similar to that for playground sand. This sand just happens to be more coarse than playground sand.
The Kid was beside himself. He has been warned and threatened within inches of his life to stay off the sand. Playground sand he is not allowed to play in, on, or near. Let’s see how long that lasts. What’s your bet? A week? Two days? Two hours?
Teeth were removed from the larger backhoe attachment and the very first hole was dug.
This process went surprisingly smooth. Having two people to do the job would have been nicer but one made do, it just took lots longer. Having to stop every few bucket fulls to ensure proper width is time-consuming , however, having holes too large costs more time and materials to refill. Not too big, not too small, it has to be just right little bear….
Wednesday, hole two and three were dug with the same process. Water from the high tide table seeped into the first hole and filled about three to fours inches in depth. If you look closely at the picture you see water sitting. Gonna have to work out a solution to that problem before concrete can be poured.
Upon completion of the third hole, mats for the concrete tubes were created. Mats are easy to make and the Kid was a great help. Rebar was delivered in 20′ rods. Mats are 3×3. The Planner does the cutting, the Kid creates the mat, and together they tie it together.
While not completed, mats still require chairs to hold off the bottom of the hole, they look professional. Learning how tight to tie the wire took some trial and error. As you can see by the picture some bars are crisscrossed with wire and others are not. Won’t know what works best until the first mat is installed in the hole.
Thursday and Friday, concrete cages were assembled. Not completed, but mostly. Where the mats were easy to make, the concrete cages were a bugger and a half. Lots of explicit words were stated during this process. Pre-fab rebar hoops are not made to the same size making cylinders lopsided and difficult to work.
Wires were cut and re-tied when cages shifted during set up. And sometimes, well, so far just one time, the whole cage fell apart at pick up and was promptly chucked across the storage box. Wow, the racket made during that show of patience was deafening. Let’s not do that again, please and thank you.
The rebar feet (L bars, if you want to be technical/professional/correct) were cut and bent but not attached to the cages. This will be done right before they are dropped into holes.
Lastly, late Friday afternoon as the sun was setting, a concrete chute was assembled to assist in pouring concrete into the holes and concrete tubes. It was a busy, busy week and the fun has just begun. Tomorrow, we pour concrete. Oh, did anyone notice the Kid was working in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops? Less than a week ago we froze. Today, summer. Typical Texas winters…