New Home Construction

[EddieWalker]

The exposed rock that is showing is very common.

It's caused by air pockets when the concrete was poured in along the forms. On a really tall form, like yours, it's extremly hard to get it perfect. There is a vibratory rod that is used to help settle the mix. But most crews just push a pole into the mix to try and minimize this. Another technique is to hit the forms on the outside with a hammer. None of these methods work all that well.

When they poured the mix, they should do it in layers and keep spreading it. This is important to stop the wall from blowing out from too much mud all at ounce, and to minimize the air pockets.

The places you notice the exposed rock on both sides is just coincidence. It doesn't affect the integrity of the pour.

Since you only noticed this in a few spots on such a huge pour, I'd say they did a **** of a good job.

They should come back and plaster over these places to give you a smooth finish along with filling the holes left from the rods that held the walls together.

In otherwords, there's nothing to worry about.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Eddie,

Thanks for the reply and the reassurance. Glad to know that not only is the work OK, but that you find it better than average. I respect your opinion and this makes me feel much better.

 

[Cityboyfarmer]

I second Eddies opinion. The exposed agregate is nothing to worry about. It can also be troweled with cement to make it look better. That said, I have seen walls poured with forms that have a brick or stone pattern that came out perfectly on the patterened side. The trick seems to be the careful use of the vibrating cable while pouring in layers like Eddie said.

I built a 2200 sq. ft. basement with 4 walls 9' high using wooden forms. Took the crew about 4 weeks from excavation to removal of the forms. Steel forms are a lot faster and easier to square and plumb.

From your photos it looks like your contractor did a very good job.

 

[bmac]

Not much to report since the last post. The weather has not been cooperating. Rain from 2 hurricanes has pretty much saturated the ground here and now our typical (actually, more frequent than normal) afternoon and evening thunderstorms have kept the ground too soupy to work.

The surveyors have been back to precisely locate the foundation on the property and more permitting completed. I went out to check on things today and there has been minimal progress. The basement area has standing water. There is a pump in place but it was not running. I'm sure it needs to be attended so as not to burn up the motor once the water is removed. They have placed the forms along the back footing in preparation of pouring the basement slab. Of course, the slab can't be poured until the basement plumbing is done and that can't be done until the water is gone.

So, there you have it. No pics today. Didn't think there would be much interest is standing water.

Hopefully this thread will not have drifted down to the 3rd page again before I have something more meaningful to report.

Until then, ...

 

[bmac]

WOOOHOOO!!!! Some work actually got done this weekend. Not much, but with the rainy weather we've been having, I'll take anything.

The plumbing rough-in for the basement was done sometime between noon Saturday and 2PM today. They had to bring a pump in to get the water out so the drain and vent lines could be installed. Here's a picture that will bore most of you but has put a big smile on my face.

 

[bmac]

Now, the plumbing scheme for the basement is pretty simple. I'll have a wet bar sink and one bathroom. Still, there is one item that I cannot identify. I'm sure the collective braintrust here will provide the answer (and I'll probably feel like a fool once I read it).

In the attached picture, I've identified the pipes that I can, and placed some ??? over the thing in question. The next post will have a closeup of this area.

 

[bmac]

In this close-up, the shower drain line is on the right. The plastic box thingy is in an area that should be under the shower floor, as I read the plans.

How foolish am I going to feel when you guys enlighten me?

 

[bmac]

Now once everything dries out, they can pour the basement slab. Here's the standing water that remains in the shop area of the basement.

 

[bmac]

OK, my last question for now. I told my builder that I wanted to have a 9 ft ceiling height in the basement. Therefore, he formed and poured 10 ft basement walls. It looks like they have set up 2x6's to form the slab on the rear of the house. I think they are visible in the picture of the water in the basement If I am correct, then the bottom of the 1st story floor joists will be 9' 8" off the slab when I account for the 2x6 plate that will rest on the top of the poured walls. This does not provide much clearance to run the HVAC ducts and still have a 9' ceiling height. Am I missing something here?

 

[EddieWalker]

It looks like a sand box to me. I've never seen it done like this. Kind of fancy. When they pour the floor, they leave space around the drain line so they can adjust it to fit the shower. It's one of those things that's just about impossible to get exact until you put the shower in place.

The trap is what really complicates things.

The top half is a cover. The bottom half keeps out the concrete from the drain pipe.

I use wood forms, others use cardboard boxes. Your guy has used a fancy plactic unit. Very nice, but I wondoer what it cost.

Of course, it might be code for your area, or just the way you do things in your area.

Thanks for the update.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Thanks, Eddie. But if the thing with the box is for the shower drain, what is the vertical pipe to the right of the box? I thought I had everything accounted for. Both of these area in the area where the shower will go.

As for the price, this house is being built on a cost + basis. Other than me kicking and screaming, he doesn't have much incentive to watch what he spends.

 

[jamieac]

Hello, the pipe to the right of the shower box is the vent for the shower.

 

[EddieWalker]

I agree, it's the vent. That's where your wall is gonna be, so the vent will be hidden going up through the wall.


Again, it looks like they're doing a good job!

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Jamieac and Eddie,

Thanks again for the replies. Yeah, it hit me this morning as I was driving to work that the pipe was indeed a vent. At the opposite end of the plumbing run there is a large (4") vent pipe that I erroneously assumed was the vent for the entire basement plumbing. This morning, I guess my brain kicked in and I realized that the vent on the distant end would do very little good for the shower, toilet and sink on this end.

As this is the first home building project I've done, I'm sure I will be perplexed by a number of things along the way. It sure is comforting to have such a large group of experts on TBN to consult with.

Today, the waterproofing material was applied to the exterior of the basement walls. I'm not sure what they used but it is a spray-on product, silver in color, that, according to my builder will set to form a flexible rubber-like material that will not crack even if the underlying concrete forms a crack.

Prior to applying this material, they removed all of the exposed wires that held the forms in place and covered each of these wire holes with a caulk-like material. Again, don't know the exact product they used.

My wife is on a short trip with my daughter and has the camera with her. Hopefully, she'll be back before they backfill the trenches so I can get a photo.

 

[jamieac]

Sounds like your contractor knows what he is doing and is gona give to a dry basement, that product is one of the best waterproofing methods to ensure a good seal. keep the pics coming

 

[Mosby]

bmac, a typical basement slab might have 4 inches of stone and 4 inches of concrete. There are many variables of that, but that is pretty common. If there are bearing walls being used instead of support columns, the slab can be thickened in those areas etc... The question regarding the HVAC is one that finds many folks irritated when it is all done. There will probably need to be a trunk line and return that can be boxed in a bulkhead. The supplies for the registers can be placed between the joists and won't interfere with the ceiling heights. It can be a trouble spot depending on if the plumber and electrician go first and so on... Hopefully your GC has a master plan for laying them out. I have seen many of the subs treat the basement area like a crawl space and take the path of least resistance, where essentially nothing is tucked.
I have also worked with trades that treated the basement area like a showcase for their work that everyone would be looking at like an art exhibit and you didn't have to worry about them!

 

[bmac]

Mosby,

<font color="blue"> a typical basement slab might have 4 inches of stone and 4 inches of concrete. </font>

I spoke to my builder yesterday about this. You are exactly right about the gravel / concrete thickness. His plans are to excavate some dirt out of the basement before the gravel is placed. This will help some on achieving a 9' ceiling. We will also gain 3" with a double plate on top of the poured walls before the floor joists are placed.

<font color="blue"> Hopefully your GC has a master plan for laying them out. </font>

His plan is to run the HVAC ductwork around the perimeter and enclose it in a soffit. Therefore, while the ceiling may be less than 9" around the perimeter, it will probably be more than 9' everywhere else. I can live with that. Does it sound like a reasonable plan to you?

 

[Mosby]

That is what I was referring to as a bulkhead. I have seen them built various ways and locations, but that is there is to cover up without lowering the entire ceiling. By running the lines down the outside walls, it will eliminate the need to run the register feeds through the joist pockets which gives a lot more room to the other trades. If you are not having your builder finish the basement area, have him at least frame the perimeter walls before running your HVAC. It is a lot harder to tie the wall framing to the ceiling joist if the duct is in the way. You will never regret the added height in the basement. We have done that every time. It takes away the basement "feel" entirely. Especially with your back wall out of the ground and windows.

 

[bmac]

Today, the tractor man backfilled the trenches around the basement walls. Fortunately, he was still working when I arrived so I was able to get some photos of the waterproofing efforts done two days ago.

The first pic shows the silver spray-on material over which they placed a black fabric of some sort. The fabric is to keep the gravel and dirt from damaging the waterproofing material. Below the gravel is a fabric covered corrugated drain pipe. This photo also shows the brick ledge on the concrete wall nicely.

 

[bmac]

Here is the opposite end of the house after backfilling. This is near the rear of the house. You can see the drain pipe in the lower part of the picture. In this area, the brick will extend down to the footing that can be seen adjacent to the drain line.