Almost ready for the new slab! To prepare for it they brought in gravel and filled the area up to within 4″ or so to the top of the new slab. Later on we are going to open up the existing Basement to the new area, so we want the new slab to be flush with the old one. So they measured the height of the existing slab and struck a line on the wall to indicate where it is on the other side of the old block wall on the back of the house. Then the vapor barrier goes on to prevent ground moisture from leaching up into the slab. Wire mesh, or more correctly ‘woven wire fabric’ is laid on the vapor barrier in preparation for the concrete. During the pour and while the concrete is still wet, the wire mesh is pulled up into the middle of the concrete and helps to prevent the slab from cracking as it cures.
As soon as the weather cooperates and the concrete can be delivered, we’ll have a slab poured. In the meantime, Tom ordered our first delivery of framing and flooring materials so that the framers can get moving right away once the slab is in place.
We’ve left our old Powder Room intact until now so we’d have a semi-civilized place to go to the bathroom. But the pending arrival of the framers has cued us to go ahead and remove the fixtures as the walls will soon be coming down.
At last the concrete has arrived – and the concrete sub again has opted to wheelbarrow the mix around the corner and pour it manually.
Lots of wheelbarrow loads of concrete = one slab. As the concrete started filling out the slab area, they started leveling it out to match the height of the existing slab.
After a few hours of pouring and floating and troweling, the new slab is curing. In a day it will be ready to walk on and that means that the framers can get started – hopefully before the rain starts again.
