Foundation Wall Pour

Monday morning after the holiday and we are back at it. 10 am we are scheduled for concrete to pour the 10" foundation walls. Height is approximately 7'-10". We'll be setting  5/8" x 12" anchor bolts @ 6' o.c. along the top of wall that will hold the sill plate when the deck goes on. We've also got 3 stainless steel holddown anchors that the structural engineer specified to comply with new 7th Edition Massachusetts Stat Building Code wind loading requirements. Vibrate that concrete Dougie!!!!

That's a GO

At around 12:00 pm the Building Inspector approved our footing inspection and the concrete truck arrived at 1:30 pm with 9 cubic yards of readi-mix concrete for the footing trenches and column pads. Our subs Doug and Dave set about pouring the concrete in trench and once up to level then added a 2" x 4" keyway in the middle of the footing. A keyway in the footing creates a bond between footing and wall when the foundation walls are poured.
So in two weeks we've demoilished, excavated, and installed footings and obtained our building permits in between there. We are on schedule. Friday the wall forms go up, Monday the walls get poured, and dampproofed by Wednesday. Looks like deck framing should start by Monday December 7 or sooner.

Footing Pour

The day before Thanksgiving, we got the building permit, the footing inspection was called in and our concrete subcontractor - Chak-Lee Foundations is cleaning up and getting ready for a concrete delivery at 2:00 pm.

It's been raining off and on for a couple days but the sandy soil and mild temperatures have made the rain a non-issue. The copper grounding wire has been placed in the footing, and a 6" sleeve for the septic waste line and a 2" sleeve for the water line as well. The forms will go up on Friday and Saturday and the plan is to pour the 10" concrete foundation walls on Monday and strip the forms on Tuesday.

I'll be heading out to catch part of the footing pour on video and away we go!!

Progress

Well, here we, November 11, 2009 with Zoning approvals, building permits applied for and a summer of going through different selection scenarios and several construction cost estimates. Negotiatiing with our sub-contractors, vendors and the fall of 2009 is upon us. Our goal was to start construction in October and bring the cost in at $250,000.00. It looks like a November start and a price of $280,000.00 that still needs some tweaking. The 7th Edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code has increased our structural material and labor cost somewhat due to changes in shearwall requirements, anchor holddowns, steel moment frames and impact glass window requirements.
The scope of this project is a tear down of a 1950's ranch house that was unable to sustain a true renovation because of the poor condition of the foundation, energy efficient-less single pane windows, and floor framing that mimicked a crooked walk off a long plank.
My partner, Alison Alessi, designed a two-story 44' x 20' hip roofed structure that needed to sit pretty much in the same location as the existing footprint. Encompassing a full unfinished basement, open kitchen/family-living area, office with mudroom and 3 bedrooms on the second floor. the Master Bedroom on the second floor will exit to the east onto an open deck above the porch roof that will offer the owners a stunning view of Nauset Sound.
The exterior wall assembly will be wrapped with 1" of rigid insulation over the wall sheathing and under a Certainteed fiber clapboard product. The 2x6 wall studs will also be filled with cellulose insulation. The entire assembly will provide an R value of 34. The attic/ceiling space will be blown in with wet cellulose that will provide an R value of 43. The basement slab will be underscored with 2" rigid insulation and the 10" concrete foundation walls will be wrapped on the inside with 1" rigid "thermax" insulation.