Herding Cats

A few weeks ago, we completed all the necessary steps to be ready to pour our slab:

1. Evening out all the gravel (yes… this involved more shoveling)
2. Using a plate compactor to pack the gravel
3. Realizing the garage area was too high (more shoveling)
4. Packing the last minute gravel height change by bunny-hopping over every square inch
5. Digging out trenches for our grade beams
6. Cutting foam insulation to go under the entirety of the slab and fitting it around corners, down in trenches, and around plumbing fixtures
7. Covering the whole area with waterproof plastic which was cut and shaped to fit into the grade beam trenches
8. Propping up and connecting rebar in a grid pattern
9. Passing the inspection with flying colors (“This is way more than we expect”)

Some redneck engineering was required to get the compactor up to the upper level

Cutting the foam insulation board to fit around the plumbing and grade beam trenches

The rebar laid out where the slab will be poured

A closer look at the grade beam trenches and rebar grid

But then we ended up having to wait for the stars to align. In order to pour, we need to arrange to have concrete delivered, have a concrete pump to pour it, and hire a team to do the finishing work… and all three of these things come from different companies. Plus there’s another big player involved: the weather.

Attempt #1

• Weather: looked promising
• Concrete: booked
• Concrete pump: not available anywhere
• Finishing team: booked

Attempt #2

• Weather: looked promising
• Concrete: not available anywhere in a 90 mile radius
• Concrete pump: booked
• Finishing team: booked

Attempt #3

• Weather: rain
• Concrete: booked
• Concrete pump: booked
• Finishing team: booked

Two Weeks

• Weather: constant rain on the forecast

Attempt #5,132 (possibly an exaggeration)

• Weather: looked promising
• Concrete: booked
• Concrete pump: booked
• Finishing team: booked

The big challenge is that the concrete providers keep their mornings available for big companies. Since we are individuals and not worthy of their special attention, we have to book far in advance. However, the weather is completely unpredictable – even one or two days ahead – so we kept booking a time, then having to reschedule when the weather didn’t cooperate.

But last Thursday, we finally poured a slab! We won’t need another inspection or permit for a while, so it’s full speed ahead.

Pouring the slab!

Doing the finishing work on the slab