In the afternoon when the humidity and heat soared the concrete company was summoned. Hearing them rumble down our road was an exciting as...well...hearing the concrete truck responsible for pouring your first foundation to your first GBH rumble down the road! Even better was the moment all that wet, grey, rocky, slop came pouring down it's rickety metal sluice.
I believe I wept a little.
Filling in the gap between the two metal circles with 9 yards of concrete ($1400 worth) the crew worked in near tropical conditions while Keith and I applauded from the comfort of our white plastic chairs in the shade.
We're just supportive that way.
But after a couple of minutes of rest we did return to our own outdoor work; a new milking set up for Bessie, (I mean Polly) among other tasks. It did not take long though for the guys to get the one and 1/2 truckloads of concrete settled into it's trough. Soon enough the foundation was complete. Almost.
Next, the metal forms on the outside of the foundation will be removed, hard foam insulation will be cut and curved around the concrete and then dirt will be backfilled against that making it virtually impossible for little pests like ants and mice to get into our mini fortress. Big pests, aka family, will be allowed to enter through our single doorway.
The rebar pointing up through the fresh concrete will eventually be bent towards the inner circle and buried within the concrete floor which will be poured over and around the rocket mass stove heater built on top of the inner gravel. Keith and I will build the rocket thingy this next week. Foster Mechanics will then come back, pour the floor and start raising the walls of the GBH.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
At the end of the day, there was a fair amount of concrete still left in the truck and since we had already paid for it Keith quickly put together some wooden forms to contain the surplus and put it to good use. Can you guess what he is making?
Leave a comment with your guess and the first one to answer correctly will get a free bar of homemade soap. I make a mean bar of soap which will treat your skin very nicely. Yes, you can play if you live in another country. I believe in global blog pandering.
A Non See Thru Shower Stall???!!!
ReplyDeleteOh you funny funny girl. But nope. :)
DeleteIt's for your sidewalk.
ReplyDeletePam, you are the winner ! We will use each panel for sidewalks on our farm...somewhere, Probably leading to our new GBH. Please email me with your address so I can send your soap. opies99@gmail.com
DeleteI also thought sidewalk but it could also be a patio or base for a shed or chicken house.
ReplyDeleteGood ideas Janice. Just a little behind Miss Pam but you get honorable mention!
DeleteStorage/Mower/Tool shed?
ReplyDeleteI wish. Not anywhere close to building those yet but great ideas
DeleteThey are Christmas gifts for the grandkids.
ReplyDeleteEveryone's heard the expression, "It's hot enough to fry an egg on a sidewalk", but since you don't want kids to get into the habit of wasting food, they need a dedicated egg-frying sidewalk that a bunch of people haven't walked all over to do their egg-frying experiments so that they can eat their fried eggs without all the worries that come from eating eggs fried on public sidewalks.
A smaller chunk of concrete might have worked for egg-frying when it's hot, but saying "it's hot enough to fry an egg on a little chunk of concrete" just sounds silly.
Funny stuff you. Next week when and if the rains ever stop so going to try that.
DeleteThey look like step risers to me, perhaps to enter the GBH? Nice work by the way. And not that I'm looking, as I have my own man of gorgeousness to perv on, but isn't it great to see them work up a sweat in the yard, without their shirts on.
ReplyDeleteOne of the perks of being a farm wife. ;)
You may look. That is what blog pics are all about. But don't go thinking he's going to build YOU a solid slab of concrete. It is my gift and mine alone. So much better than a dozen roses.
DeleteYou have the Dyson family guessing tonight. So far its table tops or bench tops.
ReplyDeleteOh man I LOVE that idea! I may have to steal at least one for a bench top in the garden. Thanks Lynda.
DeleteDonna, I think they are going to be curing slabs for all the handmade soap you are going to be making! So exciting to be "watching" your new home be built.
ReplyDeleteI say slab for a greenhouse.
ReplyDeletePaul says it's the foundation for an office for the dipshits at the IDPH since they're apparently either over there or watching your blog for every and any asinine "violation".
I say it is going to be a patio outside the GBH~
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see the improvement of your grain bin house. I'm really excited to see its end result. The bin house will surely be useful in your farm. I hope you can share photos of it soon! Take care!
ReplyDeleteRefugia Stein @ Container Domes