![]() You spend a lot of time building the forms, only to tear them down again after the pour. The rest of the building depends on the foundation, so you don't want to cut corners here.Ĭompared to the rest of the building, the foundation takes a lot of time and work. You only pay for the concrete you need, you don't have waste to dispose of, and they can usually provide a little extra if your calculations were off a bit.īasically, just do your research, take your time, and do a good job. If these are available in your area, I highly recommend them. We used a company with trucks that mix the concrete on-site. And, cover the concrete with plastic to protect from rain and keep evaporation to a minimum. But, you'll work harder in that half hour than you did all week! :) According to code, you should also leave the forms on a full week before stripping the forms. The pour itself goes FAST, usually less than an hour per pour. This is especially important around doorway openings, foundation vents, etc. This will work out air bubbles that may form as the concrete is being poured, so you don't end up with voids when the forms are stripped. When you are pouring your concrete, take a long stick and "jab" up and down along the inside and outside of the forms. We had to install special tie downs in the foundation walls on each side of the garage doors to keep the building on the foundation in case of an earthquake. They'll have requirements for footing sizes, the size and locations of rebar, etc. It's more of a reference manual than a how- to guide, but I liked it a lot.Īlso, different areas have different requirements (soil types, seismic risks, etc.), so check with your building department to see what is needed in your area. When you get to the framing stage, one of my favorite books is "graphic guide to frame construction". You could also check out Fine Homebuilding magazine, and the books offered by Taunton press. My favorite books are no longer in print, but your local library should have plenty of books showing how to do concrete work. They make special form ties for this kind of thing, but the bolt approach worked fine for me. The pipe let the bolt come out easily, and the PVC is easy to tap out and patch the hole with grout after the pour. I installed a short piece of PVC pipe as a spreader, then passed the bolt through that, with big washers on each side of the form. ![]() I wanted a little extra insurance, so I bolted the inner and outer forms together every 8' or so. These attached to stakes driven in the ground to keep the forms from tilting or shifting as the concrete was poured. ![]() Then I installed diagonal braces every 8' on the inside and outside of the forms. In general, walls’ most common weak spots include narrow, tall spaces like those found around garage doors, and areas with numerous window and door openings. ![]() They resist diagonal forces such as gale-force winds and seismic shifts. I did add a few concrete nails into the footings to add a little extra support.Īs for the tops of the forms, I installed 2x2 spreaders to keep the forms tied together at the right distance. Shear walls are made by gluing and nailing sheathing to hardware-reinforced framing. The footing forms were already staked and braced with dirt on the outside. I left my footing forms in place while I poured the walls, and just screwed the wall forms to the tops of the footing forms. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |