The Concrete Underground

[ConCretin]

Great thread! I love the photos, and the comentary!

Thanks Jim

...said interlopers.umm I mean neighbors should maybe get with the program and register with Garage Journal...jus sayin

Maybe I'll put up a big sign

... So if someone you dislike mysteriously disappears, I would direct the police that they should look at the bottom of that river.

i got no idea youz talkin about. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

I would guess that they're assuming Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg (or maybe Batman) is moving in.

That's a very impressive entrance.

Thanks Jack. Though I'm sure no one who knows me would make any of those comparisons

Will you run into any issues with the local department of natural resources by putting those mooring blocks in the river?

Who said i was putting them in the river? .

Actually, I have a permit for a temporary dock (7 out of 12 months). As long as I'm not in the channel, I'm fine

 

[cderalow]

Still no rebar caps!

For shame.

 

[ConCretin]

Still no rebar caps!

For shame.

cderalow, you are right again. I've been slack because the guys are working for me rather than on a company job but that's no excuse. Safety shouldn't depend on who is paying the bills.
You'll see something different tomorrow. Thanks for wackin me up side of my head.

 

[jhexide]

Damn it man ,what a build ,im impressed at all that concrete..!!!!!

im just getting my little build going 26X38 pole garage.
im anticapating things to come

 

[IGO2XS]

I curious if the building codes in Maine are as stringent as in Florida? With all the concrete you are using I am sure your home would qualify as hurricane resistant:thumb up: We have to comply with the Miami Dade code and 130 mph wind loads.

 

[NUTTSGT]

It always impresses me when the concrete guys get something formed up and poured in a day.

 

[Firebrand]

Excellent workmanship and just top shelf design that will blend right in to the site once completed and fully detailed! Keep the photos coming! Learning tons about making concrete my friend instead of my enemy for my next barn overhaul.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

LLWillysfan,

I think you need a new name for your place to keep the nosy neighbors at bay; how's about naming it FORT Kennebec?!

I'm amazed that the boat dock will have a seasonal restriction, I just figured you'd pour some hefty concrete pontoons stout enough to withstand any ice the river could throw at you. Those dock anchors look massive enough to show up on the local navigation charts! lol Where does the dock get stored for the off-season? Ya' know if you built that marine incline I mentioned earlier, you could just press a button and the whole dock could be raised out of harm's way. Now that contraption would really get the neighbors talking!

 

[ConCretin]

Let me start out tonight with a mea culpa. As cderalow pointed out on a couple of occasions, we haven't been using rebar caps. I'm grateful to him for holding me accountable because the problem was worse than just that. From the beginning, I've been remiss regarding safety in general and quite frankly, I'm a bit appalled that I let this happen.

I started the day by getting the guys together for a safety meeting and let them know from now on, we would be treating this like any other project we do. We started out by installing rebar caps.

From now on, you'll see us in hardhats and adhering to industry safety standards.

When work resumed, we started on the brick-shelf for the thin stone veneer and architectural concrete above it.

You can see the block-out for a door that will provide access to the basement. The furring under the MDO plywood will be sheathed w 3/4" CDX, which will provide a 1" depression so the stone veneer will sit flush with the concrete above.

We also excavated for a site retaining wall that will extend the length of the shoreline.

The wall itself will be 8' tall with about 5' exposed on the water side. It will get the same stone veneer that passes across the house.

The blue pipe is the supply and return for the geothermal wells, which we'll bury behind the footing with a bit of rigid insulation for additional freeze protection.

 

[ConCretin]

Damn it man ,what a build ,im impressed at all that concrete..!!!!!

im just getting my little build going 26X38 pole garage.
im anticapating things to come

Thanks jhexide. Be sure to post some pics when you get your garage started.

I curious if the building codes in Maine are as stringent as in Florida? With all the concrete you are using I am sure your home would qualify as hurricane resistant:thumb up: We have to comply with the Miami Dade code and 130 mph wind loads.

Our building codes are very basic. Contractors aren't even licensed up here.

I hope we don't get a bad hurricane anytime soon. Too much glass. I rode out hurricane Marilyn when we lived in the USVI and I don't wan't to do that again.

It always impresses me when the concrete guys get something formed up and poured in a day.

Me too!

Excellent workmanship and just top shelf design that will blend right in to the site once completed and fully detailed! Keep the photos coming! Learning tons about making concrete my friend instead of my enemy for my next barn overhaul.

Concrete is a fantastic material once you get the hang of it. Damn stuff is heavy though.

LLWillysfan,

I think you need a new name for your place to keep the nosy neighbors at bay; how's about naming it FORT Kennebec?!

I'm amazed that the boat dock will have a seasonal restriction, I just figured you'd pour some hefty concrete pontoons stout enough to withstand any ice the river could throw at you. Those dock anchors look massive enough to show up on the local navigation charts! lol Where does the dock get stored for the off-season? Ya' know if you built that marine incline I mentioned earlier, you could just press a button and the whole dock could be raised out of harm's way. Now that contraption would really get the neighbors talking!

I like Fort Kennebec but I'm not sure the wife would go along with it.

Almost every dock on the river gets pulled for the winter. The forces of ice and tides would tear them up. I'll probably pull the gangway up the stairs and tow the floats to a nearby marina and pull them.

 

[Justanoldguy]

LLWillysfan
Love your sense of humor.
I think we would get along just fine ... lol

 

[NUTTSGT]

Let me start out tonight with a mea culpa. As cderalow pointed out on a couple of occasions, we haven't been using rebar caps. I'm grateful to him for holding me accountable because the problem was worse than just that. From the beginning, I've been remiss regarding safety in general and quite frankly, I'm a bit appalled that I let this happen.

I started the day by getting the guys together for a safety meeting and let them know from now on, we would be treating this like any other project we do. We started out by installing rebar caps.

From now on, you'll see us in hardhats and adhering to industry safety standards.

I'm curious about the guys' reaction pissed or did they understand ? I'd guess they probably thought it was a good idea . . . . especially one pic that seemed to get deleted when I asked about it.


Safety usually gets a

 

[ConCretin]

LLWillysfan
Love your sense of humor.
I think we would get along just fine ... lol

I suspect we would - You've done a bit of yourself concrete haven't ya?

I'm curious about the guys' reaction pissed or did they understand ? I'd guess they probably thought it was a good idea . . . . especially one pic that seemed to get deleted when I asked about it. :dunno

They were fine with it. Wasn't their fault - safety starts at the top and I was apparently too focused on the build and didn't pay enough attention to what's really important.

The photo you mention is still up in post #50. I replaced the crappy photos I originally posted with better versions. You 'quoted' the old version so it was lost when I replaced it. Sorry bout that.

 

[HOTFR8]

I've been reading. But not posting.... WOW.

 

[Justanoldguy]

I suspect we would - You've done a bit of yourself concrete haven't ya?

Only about 45 years of it.

 

[mdbeck1]

We also excavated for a site retaining wall that will extend the length of the shoreline.

The wall itself will be 8' tall with about 5' exposed on the water side. It will get the same stone veneer that passes across the house.

...if you REALLY want to mess with the neighbors (and keep the "fort" theme) put some fake portholes on the river side of that wall.

It would sure make for a chuckle when the neighbors figured it out.

 

[Lippyp]

Hell, you could even make a few fake cannon barrels to poke out!

 

[cderalow]

cderalow, you are right again. I've been slack because the guys are working for me rather than on a company job but that's no excuse. Safety shouldn't depend on who is paying the bills.
You'll see something different tomorrow. Thanks for wackin me up side of my head.

I suppose I should mention I'm an STS in the commercial construction industry, so I'm always looking at safety. Drives me nuts to see the lack of it when it comes to residential contractors because they're liable to 29CFR1926 too, and none seem to care or remember.

 

[SuperSocket]

...if you REALLY want to mess with the neighbors (and keep the "fort" theme) put some fake portholes on the river side of that wall.

It would sure make for a chuckle when the neighbors figured it out.

You might even draw the attention of the local law enforcement and military units

 

[ConCretin]

Not a lot of visible progress today. We were shorthanded and the work we are doing is a bit picky. We made a little more progress on the exposed face of the basement wall.

The lower band faced with plywood is the recess that will get a stone veneer. The upper section with the MDO is the architectural concrete.

We also started forming up the footing for the site retaining wall and bent up a bunch of dowels. We would usually have rebar cut and bent by our supplier but we are still designing as we go. Hopefully the design work will get ahead in the near future.

It can be tough keeping the excavator pointing in the right direction and sometimes the trench goes astray. Since we can't get the machine back to widen the trench, We'll just earth form one side.

The footing is wide enough that I'm not concerned if it meanders around a bit - as long as the dowels are right.

 

[ConCretin]

...if you REALLY want to mess with the neighbors (and keep the "fort" theme) put some fake portholes on the river side of that wall.

Hell, you could even make a few fake cannon barrels to poke out!

You might even draw the attention of the local law enforcement and military units

You guys are just full of good ideas. We're tryin to do things right but I'd prefer not to draw any unnecessary attention from the authorities if I can help it. Nothin good generally comes from that.

I suppose I should mention I'm an STS in the commercial construction industry, so I'm always looking at safety. Drives me nuts to see the lack of it when it comes to residential contractors because they're liable to 29CFR1926 too, and none seem to care or remember

There are plenty of hacks out there but I should have known better. All our work is on large heavy commercial /industrial sites where exemplary safety performance is expected. Thanks again man.

 

[Armored Saint]

Ok, I'm super jealous! What a nice build in a wonderful setting!

 

[Meatman]

Concrete heaven! Been following along for a bit, need to subscribe.

 

[NUTTSGT]

What do you guys use to cut your rebar ? I mean, it's not like you're only cutting a couple of pieces, you have a ton of it to cut.

 

[ConCretin]

Ok, I'm super jealous! What a nice build in a wonderful setting!

Concrete heaven! Been following along for a bit, need to subscribe.

Thanks a lot. I'm glad you're along for the ride

What do you guys use to cut your rebar ? I mean, it's not like you're only cutting a couple of pieces, you have a ton of it to cut.

We're using a handheld Portaband to cut the bars and a manual bender. It's really not as inefficient as you would think. I do hope to get the design work far enough ahead that I can move to prefabricated rebar. I'll go through over 20 tons before I'm done.

 

[cdecker]

I've been watching this thread since the beginning. Simply amazing! Keep the updates coming!

Also, as I'm sure your driveway will be concrete, any plans of putting radiant in that as well, or at least the sections close to the house, to help with snow-melt? I put radiant in my 24x32 detached garage floor when I built it a couple years ago, as well as my basement floor when it was replaced (my house was built in the 20's), but my one regret was not laying the pex under my new concrete driveway, even if I never used those loops. I've been told snow-melt loops / systems can actually be tuned to be very efficient! Just a thought....

 

[Mr onetwo]

Hey Dude...it looks like you are finally going to get a break from the weather!The bugs must be hellacious!!Looks like you are making great progress.I am glad to see the safety issue raised and resolved.It only takes 1 accident or (heaven forbid) a fatality to turn a really fun, satisfying project into a nightmare for you and your guys!It is so easy to lose sight of the fact that we are in close proximity to dangerous, even deadly equipment and materials on any jobsite,especially after doing it for a long time.Wow, that got heavy.It just takes me back to some of the things I have seen over the years. Continued success on your build...great job!

 

[tinbender 66]

This is the most fascinating thread ever!!

I've spent most of my life in commercial construction (mostly architectural sheet metal). The last job I did had 26 floor and 13 floor buildings and those things went up a floor a week. It was fun to watch!

Way to go on the safety stuff! Looking forward to all the coming chapters

 

[Ray Oliver]

This is a fascinating thread.

Do you have a rough idea of how long it will take to build the house?

 

[ConCretin]

We are still short handed so we focused on getting the site retaining wall footing ready to place. Still had a little excavation to do;

We finished up the forms and started tying the rebar;

This wall is a little over 100' long. We'll place concrete tomorrow morning and then get back to work on the basement walls.

 

[ConCretin]

Also, as I'm sure your driveway will be concrete, any plans of putting radiant in that as well, or at least the sections close to the house, to help with snow-melt?

We haven't got that far in the planning process. Normally I'd question whether snow melt would be cost effective but with geothermal.......

Hey Dude...it looks like you are finally going to get a break from the weather!The bugs must be hellacious!!Looks like you are making great progress.

Yea, it looks like we've got a spell of decent weather coming up. We'll try to take advantage of it. As for bugs, we've got plenty. The ticks are the worst - every one has the potential to give you a nasty case of Lyme disease.

This is the most fascinating thread ever!!

I've spent most of my life in commercial construction (mostly architectural sheet metal). The last job I did had 26 floor and 13 floor buildings and those things went up a floor a week. It was fun to watch!

Thanks tinbender. I wish we could go that fast.

This is a fascinating thread.

Do you have a rough idea of how long it will take to build the house?

I figure we'll be placing concrete through August to get the house structure done - then comes everything else. I'd like to be done by the end of the year but that will depend on a lot of variables including my ability to keep my crew on this job - paying work has to take priority.

 

[iancoletx]

You have a great attitude and this is going to be one enviable build when you're done. Will keep a sharp eye on the thread. Good luck!

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Wow, with all the weight of that concrete and steel, aren't you a little concerned with winding up with a river level house and garage? lol

This project just keeps getting better and better; your crew is really moving along in spite of all the rain!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Yea, it looks like we've got a spell of decent weather coming up. We'll try to take advantage of it. As for bugs, we've got plenty. The ticks are the worst - every one has the potential to give you a nasty case of Lymes disease.

Have you guys ever thought about flea/tick collars ? Seriously, I have heard of guys putting one around their ankles when working in the areas infested with them ?

Portaband makes alot of sense to cut the rebar.. . . it's easily portable.

 

[ConCretin]

Started the day by finishing up the rebar and placing the site retaining wall footing. The boys had it all in by the time I made it by the site.

We then went back to work detailing the architectural finish on the exterior of the basement walls. We should get this finished up Monday and place Tuesday.

Since I don't have a lot of progress photos, I figured I'd throw this in for you all to chew on. This is the framing plan for the Master Bedroom cantilever. The walls we are currently building are the walls that you see in the plan.

The wall at the top is the 'ballast' wall. The wall parallel wall beneath it is the 'fulcrum. The beams are bolted down to the ballast wall and teeter totter on the fulcrum wall and extend out to support the Master Bedroom Floor. Cool huh?

 

[fergus]

Its all pretty cool! I'll bet you're gonna have some pretty good insulative value with all that concrete huh?

 

[ConCretin]

I'll bet you're gonna have some pretty good insulative value with all that concrete huh?

The ICF wall forms are R22 but the mfg. says the effective R value is 50 for the completed wall section. The roof system provides a similar R value, which we'll enhance with an additional 4" of rigid insulation on top.

An ICF system provides the additional benefit of very low air infiltration, which greatly affects heating and cooling costs. We'll install a fresh air system with a heat exchanger to offset the tightness of the structure.

I anxious to learn what it costs to run the geothermal. Hopefully it's worth the high initial investment.

 

[Thedoc14]

What do you class as "HSS" is that Hollow Square Section?

Nick.

 

[ConCretin]

What do you class as "HSS" is that Hollow Square Section?

Nick.

Yes. Those are steel tubes that tie the floor beams to the roof beams above. The challenge for my engineer was to design the cantilever so that the entire floor/roof system deflects uniformly. We're hanging a 13'x15' room off the side of the building.

 

[ODIS]

Curious to know if you will be the GC for the entire build and how often you have construction meetings. Also, does your engineer and architect attended all of the meetings? Are you the "site super" as well and how are you tracking the progress you are making in addition to the next steps/supply ordering.... Gantt Charts? Perhaps you have already discussed this and I missed it.

Have found your posts to be most informative and enjoyable to read. Thanks for all the time you dedicate to keeping all of us up to date.

Ody.