Friday, July 31, 2015

The Grain Bin House: The Foundation Part 4 and The Rising of The Bin



So, after a very pleasant sabbatical to Ireland for five weeks to attend an Irish Studies program at NUIG (National University Ireland, Galway) as part of my creative writing degree from UIUC (University of Illinois)...I am thrilled to be back on The Poor Farm. I was also thrilled to leave. Even more thrilled to have received the scholarships I did making the trip possible. What can I say? I'm easily thrilled.

Our Grain Bin House was put on hold in late June through mid July due to the unrelenting rains here in central Illinois. While I was gone I was disappointed that I was missing so much of the build and yet slightly happy it had been delayed. Keith kept me up to date via email and  finally Foster Mechanics were able to finish the foundation. Let me say it one more time...this crew was amazing in their work ethic. If you recall there was quite a deep "moat" left around the base of the foundation, it looked like this:

 
 
That moat was filled with concrete creating the thick outer foundation the grain bin would rest upon. After the concrete dried the gravel encircling the black metal form and holding it in place was dug out and put back inside the circle to build up the base for the floor. The black metal form was removed. Keith then wrapped 4 x 8 sheets, of pink Styrofoam board around the outside concrete ring, giving us a moisture barrier between the foundation and the soil. He held those Styrofoam boards in place with dirt and then backfilled completely. So now the foundation is complete and looks like this:
 
 
Eventually the dirt will come right up to the edge of the grain bin completely covering up the pink Styrofoam and it will slope away from the bin to ensure good drainage. The rising of the bin itself started from the top ring with the ceiling pieces attached and then was raised metal ring by metal ring. I have to digress here and give a special thanks to our son Colton who took these pictures in my absence.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Although it resembles the leaning tower of Pisa in the pic above it is now quite level. Prior to the rising of the 21 foot diameter bin, Keith built our Rocket Mass Stove, embedding it in the concrete floor. Yes, our future "furnace" and only source of heat for our new home is buried under concrete. Well, about 1/2 of it is. Confused? Join the masses,  but after you see those pics I think you'll be as sold as I am on the concept. I'll cover all the RMS stuff in my next post. I promise it won't be six weeks from now.

13 comments:

  1. So glad to see you've returned. We missed you. It looks like your new home is rising nicely.

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    1. "Pigzilla" what a lovely name. Must steal it sometime for a short story character. We hope to be in the home by Oct 1. It's a goal, perhaps not realistic but still it is a goal.

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  2. This is fascinating. I had no idea the roof is done first. Much better than putting up the walls then asking yourself, "hmmm, how are we going to get the roof up there".

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    1. Me neither Ann until we started researching this concept. If we had had the moola we would've installed a super cool skylight in the top as well, but that will have to wait until my first novel is published or hell freezes over. It's a toss up on what will happen first.

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  3. Not so fast there Donna. You spent 5 weeks in Ireland and you tell us nothing. Id love to hear about your observations of the green isle. Im sure they would be amusing.

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    1. Thanks Lynda for asking. I will give you the down low on Eire Isle very soon, just feel I need to catch up with the bin. So much is happening even now. Tomorrow am at 0630 blown in insulation!!!

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  4. That's great progress. The bones are now up, and I'm looking forward to hearing about the thermal heating.

    When you disappeared, I thought you were busy with building and the unforeseens that always happen. A nice holiday sounds even better though. Although I'm sure you now have to write a decent thesis to justify the cost to the scholarship board. If you loved the trip though, it won't be hard to write about. Lucky you! :)

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    1. It was grand studying abroad. Not only did I have tons of craic I may have learned a thing or two.

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  5. Well then! I guess I didn't the memo that you were leaving the country to leave us hanging looking for updates and info. Harrumph! ;-D Hey, that silo is much taller than I expected. Will their be a loft inside? And will you be cutting some windows. Bet it's dark in there right now. Glad you had a great trip, but we're glad you're back. We'll expect more timely updates, right? Riiiight? LOL

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    1. Well you see I had hoped to continue the blog in Ireland but internet capabilities were limited, and I was so busy with my schoolwork, and the sun was in my eyes...My apologies really. No, there will not be a loft but an entire second floor with one bedroom, tiny office and small library. Yes on windows, we will have 7 cause it is dark in there and HOT!

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