Foundation III

Prepping for the final pour.

Laying down the plastic moisture barrier.

Mr. Lawson Redi Mix.

Rubber boot time!

Spreading the mix.

Smoothing the mix.

Smoothing the edges.

Smoothing the surface.

This machine creates the whirled pattern on cement that keeps the surface from being dangerously slick.

The fine tuning. They really made a beautiful surface that, I am sorry to say, was later ruined by indiscriminate tossing of tools from the trusses to the floor. It mattered for a minute but is no longer of any consequence, like so many things we find upsetting in any given moment.

Ah! The finished slab. Lovely!

Foundation II

The cinder blocks




and gravel.


Looks good. O.k. I'm happy and so is the building inspector. So, I ask "Willi? Aren't there supposed to be two rows of cinder blocks?" He flattens the palms of his hands towards the ground and says "I know what I'm doing." I am now wading in to a sea of communications problems. But only my toes are wet.

For a simple, quick technical explanation on concrete slab construction, click here.

Foundation I

Breaking ground.

It was a job getting the cement truck up the drive. Willi had to prop up the electrical wires running from the street. But in it came and did its job.


Waiting for the cement to set.