The Foundation Saga, Day 3

[steven newman]

Finally able to get back to this little story.   Ok, it is the morning after all the forms have set up and lined up.   Everything is ready to pour.     On some jobs, we had to set aside three plastic containers.   These would get filled just like the forms will be.    They would then be sent out for testing.   

 

Generator gassed up and running, cords ran.    Empty 5 gal. buckets set out.....?    While we'd wash off with the truck's hose, after the truck has left, we'd still need water to clean the small towels..

Truck is on the way!    We need a Chuteman,  a Vibrator man, and a mag trowel man.     Would help  to have someone guide the truck, too.     Some of the drivers I have seen.....needed all the help they could get.  

 We'd start at a corner, farthest away from where the truck would enter the site.   Then we'd work towards the entry spot.    When the chutes arelowered a bit, we'd have the driver run out a few shovel fulls and check IF it was wet enough to work with.    Usually, we'd add more water....looking for a 6" Slump.     Pour it thin, and watch it fill.    Too stiff a pour is a lot of vibrating to get the mud to flow.   Stiff mud also will "Hammer" the forms, leading to problems.   Like BLOW-OUTS!.    

 

Usually, we'd luck out, and get the newer front chute trucks....trucks with chutes out the back are a bit hard to control.    Front dumpers, the driver is in control of the chute, Chuteman merely directs where the chute needs to go next.    Rear Dumpers.....Fun is not a word I like to use here.    You NEED a driver who will LISTEN to the chute guy.   have seen a few where the chute guy is left hanging from the chute over a trench. 

  Do NOT get in a hurry with placing the mud,   pour enough for one lift at a time.    On the walls  today, that would be a 2' high pour, all the way around, then start again and finish the second 2' pour.    Too much too soon  leaves voids, and can cause blow outs.  

 

Vibrator guy:    Motorized snake he dips to the bottom of the forms, to drive out any air trapped in there.    I say "DIPS' because you do not just slam it to the bottom and leave it there.    You dip it down about 3 times, and then move on about 2-4', and dip again.  While you can slam it to the bottom, you  should pull it back up just a  hair slower.   Lots of times, the V man will walk along on top of the forms, keeping an eye on the chute.  It stops, he stops.    You do want things to get to where the chute will knock the poor guy off the forms.  

 

mag trowel guy:  First lift, he follows along the rest of the crew.   No need for the trowel just yet.    Hs job is to watch the forms, and make sure all connectors stay that way.....usually has a framer hammer in hand. 

 

Ok, first lift is done, second truck NEEDS to be waiting over at the start point, ready to go.    You grab the "sock" off the chute of the first truck, IF it is yours, and not the truck's.    Find out IF the second driver has one.  Check how wet his load is.   And start along in the same direction as before.    You want a hair of a delay between the two, to let the first load settle a bit, but, not too long.    Too much time delay leads to cold joints.    Now as you go along chute man loads enough into the forms to just cover the grade nails, as the V man will knock it down a bit.    Trowel guy works the surface to bring up the  cream.   He also tries to bring the surface up to grade.    Sometimes, we'd have someone with a shovel, walking along and adding a bit of mud to help reach grade.    V Man still has to plunge all the way to the bottom, and pull the snake all the way back out.   usually once every 2' will do the trick. 

 

have a place set up for the trucks to wash out at.   Have a wheelbarrow  there as well, never know IF you will need a shovelfull here or there..     Once the trucks are done, you set up the transit/builder's level at the batter boards.    One  one the transit one on the wall with a speed square and a hammer.   Task is to align the wall as needed.    Hammer it for turning the turnbuckles to adjust the wall.   You work your way around the walls.   Walls are now straight, and plumb.    Trowel man is still working along the top of the wall.     IF it is just grade nails, he will pull them out at this time.     Champfer strips will come off when the forms are stripped.   Sometimes, we would go back over the top of the wall, as some would want a slick finish.   I had a steel trowel cut to just fit between the forms on an 8" thick wall.    

 

Buckets of water to wash the tools up with.  However, do NOT wash the end of the vibrator by dunking it into the bucket, and turn the switch to "ON".......you and anyone else nearby will get a bath.    Just spray it off with the last truck's hose.   Wall is done.    lay some plastic over the tops of the forms and tack it in place.    more to keep any rain OUT.   Reset the yellow tape around the site. put the tools away.....except

 

IF there is to be anchor bolts or inserts floated in to the top of the wall,  trowel man will install those.   They have to be hooked onto the  top rebar in the wall.     Any that were already installed, needed to be shaken a bit, to get the air out from around them, and under the plywood template holding them there.   Put the Generator away, roll up the cords.     Tomorrow you can come back and strip forms all day long.   Stay tuned for that.   

 

This was meant to stop when the wall was poured and stripped.    Framers can take this job from when the concrete is ready for a load on them.....maybe a week, usually 2.   This foundation with have a crawl space, so there are a few things left to do for that to happen..Stay tuned

[Al B]

Well Steve, this is the fun part. This is where you find out just how well everything was done on setting up the forms and how well the bracing was done.  Here in New England, most foundations we poured were for a full cellar under the home. The wall height was usually 7' 4".  This allowed for a cement floor to be poured later, leaving a ceiling height of  7' 2". I'm guessing that our pours may have been wetter than yours, because a vibrator was only used sparingly, usually in areas where there were designed penetrations  in the wall for plumbing, windows, etc. The Boss, and owner of the business always  determined when the mix was what he wanted.

Buckets, wheelbarrow, and lumber materials, nails etc all available in case of a possible blowout. The pour always started at the furthest corner. In those days, we didn't see any front pouring trucks, so  we were usually more concerned about the truck drivers skills than how the pour was going to go.  I have seen cement trucks sinking to the axles and having to get a crane to get them out.  The first pour was usually no problem, with the chute guy  and the boss controlling the location of the chute along with the driver. The rest of the crew was constantly moving about, the perimeter of the forms, watching for any evidence of  problems.  As the pours raised the level of cement , we not only looked for evidence of possible issues but we listened to the sounds, especially in the areas of corners, where blowouts most likely could happen.

Near the end of the pour, we would all move the the top of the forms, using shovels to push the cement  around getting, it to the level of the grade nails, with the chute man directing the pour and the trowel man buttering it up. Anchors were always required. No re-bar was used in most walls that we poured. The anchor bolts were L shaped .

We always let the forms set for a day before taking them down.

In my time doing this work, I witnessed only one minor corner blowout that was quickly controlled

The obvious tool clean up after every pour.

[steven newman]

Have seen ONE bad blow-out.....someone said they knew how to weld wall ties to make them reach to the other side of a large pier......6' tall, 4" wide by 8' long......and they did it( or tried to) pour it all at once.......had to use a backhoe to push the forms back.    Whalers weren't nailed off correctly, and the whaler wires just pulled the nails right out.   Happened down in Monroe, OH.  when we were rebuilding the Worthington Steel  plant.    Pier was for both the column and a crane rail column......Had to come back later with air-hammers (35 pounders) and try to hide the BIG bulge.....

 

Anytime we had to do walls over 6' tall  ( had a few @ 10' !!)  we had to add a walkway along the side.    Have had to also walk backwards, with the vibrator on top of those tall walls.   10' of vibrator is a bit rough to drag up out of the mud......12"  thick walls make for a wide stance.....

 

Have had to set some anchor bolts that were made from #12 rebar.....them's the BIG bolts.  

[Al B]

Steve, when I said that we all went to the top of the forms, that was a bit of a  misstatement. After our forms were set in place, we built a staging all around on the inside forms to provide a comfortable working level to pour, shovel and trowel  the cement. Guess I should have mentioned that earlier.