The Slab is Done!

My slab has been poured. It's done. It's really done! This is a huge weight off my shoulders, and a big milestone in the progress of the house.

After my last post about the day the post-tension cables were installed, it rained for a couple of days. My dad and I had to dig out some of the trenches around the front garage. They are deeper than the rest, and the rain had washed sand into these trenches, covering over the pilings. We cleaned them out so the tops of the pilings were exposed again. By doing this, we disturbed the termite barrier that the spray had created. So I called them out to re-spray these trenches. They did so without charging me.

Also during this week, we spent alot of time patching places in the plastic sheeting where they had cut big slits for pipes, drains, and other protrusions through. The large holes they left allowed rain to seep into the sand and wash out sections of some "islands" into the trenches. Also, having holes like this in the plastic would allow moisture to work its way up through the concrete over time. This could show itself as stains in a wood or vynyl floor, etc. So we added patches of plastic to make the barrier tight around the protrusions. It was long and tedious work.

I also made sure that the cables and highway wire were suspended just above the plastic layer wherever possible. In some cases, the plastic tees used to hold them up had either fallen over or sunken into the sand beneath. The idea is for the reinforcement to be sandwiched within the concrete and not lying at the bottom of it.

There was also the parish inspection. Before I could request the inspection, I had to bring in the survey that was done since the forms were up. It needed to be reviewed and accepted prior to a request for inspection. I brought in the survey on Wednesday (I think). They approved it on Thursday and the inspection happened on Friday.

You gotta love these inspectors... Now I'm completely new at this. I don't know all the ins and outs of the building & permitting process. And, I might add, the parish has not been forthcoming with lots of useful information to guide me. So when the inspector called me to meet him at the lot, I sped off with the copy of the plans I keep in my car. When I gave them to him, he said he needed the stamped copy. And he said it with a smirk or a smile that said, "what are you trying to pull here? You know I need the stamped copy." I explained that this is my first house and that I am contracting it for myself. I told him I'd run home and get it if he could wait. "But that's the thing: I can't wait," he said. I told him it would take less than 10 mins. He reluctantly agreed. He wouldn't accept the unstamped plans to work from while I was gone.

So I drove home with all due haste, grabbed the stamped copy and drove back in about 9 mins. After this, he seemed to be much cooler about things. He passed me, and gave me some pointers about making sure the tees were turned up so the steel would be in the concrete, etc. We talked for a few seconds and I think he started to realize that I was building this house for me and that I wanted it to be better than the code requires. He seemed to take his guard down a little after that.

Okay, so the inspection was on Friday and the pour wasn't scheduled until Tuesday. This was due to the weather forecast and also because no one could provide concrete until that day. There was more rain forecast over the weekend, and I was concerned that it would wash out the trenches again. But the rain really wasn't bad, and it didn't do any damage.

The Pour

Even up to the morning of the pour, I was making last-minute efforts. My dad and I added the pipes leading from outside into the drain boxes so that exterminators can squirt termite spray into them.

We installed these as the pump truck was setting up. The truck was pretty amazing. The boom could extend all the way to the back garage. It was something to see. And you can in one of the photos below!

When they started to pour, they began with the borders around the floating frames (the front garage, the back patio, the front porch, etc.). For the garage, they dumped some concrete inside and then used shovels to fill in the part of the ledge for the stud wall to be built on.

They would build up the concrete around the higher side of the border and flatten out a path maybe 2 feet wide. Then they began filling in around the sides by the brick ledges. They used a vibrator to make the concrete settle and fill in everywhere. (I'm anxious for them to remove the forms this week to see how good the brick ledges came out.) When they used the vibrator, you could feel it in the ground when you were standing within 20 feet.

After filling in the outside border, they filled in the rest of the trenches and the whole house slab. Some began working that slab while they poured into the rear garage. At different points during the hardening process, they would do different things, such as inserting the anchor bolts and metal straps at the corners.

They left the front garage floor until last. This was so that the pump truck's time could be used wisely. The truck was there for 5 hours, and then they cut it loose. For the front garage, they let the last cement truck back right up to it. This saved me an hour's time on the pump truck.

The pour itself lasted from 7:30 to 11:30. But the guys were there finishing it until around 5:30. There were different parts of the process. After flattening it with a board, they later used a big circular machine that looks like a floor buffer, but with metal blades that smooth over the concrete. They explained that they run this over it three times. By the time they're done, it's as smooth as glass. And it definitely is!

It rained on the couple of days after the pour. That was good for helping it cure well. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!