I sometimes wonder if I am building a home, a temple, or a sanctuary; and then I remember - they are the same.
Foundation pour is the first stage of construction. Howard mixes the concrete two bags at a time. This process will take us eight days. We are pouring in January. The weather is chilly, but above freezing. The elements smiled down on us for 10 days straight with dry weather and no wind.
I haul, pour, stomp, pack, pull rebar, tuck, screed, and float. Since the temps are in the high 30s and mid 40s, the concrete sets slowly. The slow cure allows for fixing divots, low spots, humps, and holes. Here, I pull the concrete below the rebar with a knife and trowel, packing the concrete into the corner and side of forms.
Zen. That's what I would call it. We would eat quickly and be outside by 6:30am, moving forms, gathering tools, filling water buckets, moving the ramp, hauling off the empty bags. Constant flurry of activity for eight hours. No talking. Just flowing. Howard would bring his lunch outside and eat between mixes.
We are on our second to last day and the sun is shining. Rain is forecasted in two days, so we are hopping. All facets of the pour run without a single hitch.
This is the slab 7 days later. Rain followed the final day for five days straight. The gods certainly smiled on us for this phase. The Cedar pole in center was stained the first coat today. The gravel walk on west perimeter leveled and graded today.
