11b Hillside Avenue

A rainy end

2010-12-15T17:54:00.002-04:00

We are now shut down for Christmas. We got rained out this afternoon so didn't get through all we wanted - we managed to move/reconstruct the shed and do a bit of cleanup and burning but there is still a bit to do.

We are down until at least mid-Jan but I do have some plans for the slab and adjacent area so hopefully the Jan pics will show some progress.

We have slab!

2010-12-13T22:10:00.004-04:00

Today was the longest day we've worked for a while, but 4 of us managed to hand mix and wheelbarrow and get the slab cast over the extension. It is approx 420 sq ft and we cast 5 inches thick, plus 2 beams. It took 26 bags of cement and approx 1 load of gravel - which will help us estimate for when we will be casting the roof/ceiling slab over the ground floor.

We had great weather today - hot at times but no threat of rain. We finished casting just after 5pm and the slab was holding up well with no signs of cracking - I'll wet it in the morning. We'll probably spend the next couple days clearing up the site and doing a couple minor projects and that will be it for Christmas.

It was a relief to get the entire slab done today because we initially thought we might have had to do it in sections because we were a bit cramped for space, but things worked out well.

Almost ready to cast

2010-12-09T15:48:00.002-04:00

Today was spent getting steel down and getting the boxing in place to cast the slab. Need to get a few more lengths of steel tomorrow and we'll be able to finish the prep work and pull down the load of gravel up on the deck and get casting on Monday.

Steel going down

2010-12-08T17:05:00.002-04:00

Over the last couple rain affected days we have completed the backfill and compacting and managed to get an inch of blinding down on top of the backfill. We sprayed the perimeter of the backfill for termites and put down a layer of polythene.

The backfill is pretty compact now but we are treating the slab design as if it were suspended, even though the back portion of it is actually on grade. Reinforcement is a mix of BRC, 3/8" and 1/2" steel with a lot of 1/2" steel extending over the back wall of the ground floor, since that reinforcement is required for the suspended ceiling slab over the ground floor. Hopefully we can get all the steel down in the next day or so and also pull down the load of gravel we got today. We should then be able to get the slab cast next week and call dat George for Christmas.

Backfill almost finished

2010-12-06T19:47:00.003-04:00

Spent half day today helping out St Monica's get ready for their Christmas concert tomorrow - transported some stuff for them and repaired their stands in the music room. After that we managed to get most of the backfill finished - good weather tomorrow and we should finish.

Rain shortened week

2010-12-03T17:06:00.003-04:00

We lost 2 days this week to the weather. We spent a day removing a fence and hedge from 3 Samaan and doing some site cleanup. We had to wait a couple of days for our backfill delivery - that came today and we pulled most of it down and continued with the filling and compacting.

Came up with a plan for slab reinforcement and extending the beam in 2 places to take structural walls in what will be the apartment in the next phase. To tie in we've cut a couple notches in the ring beam. We probably have another full day of backfilling and then we can start getting some steel down ready to cast.

Rainy end

2010-11-26T17:29:00.002-04:00

We've had a rainy end to the week - lost a full day on Wednesday and a half day on Friday. Hoping for things to clear up by next week but the silver lining is that the rain should help to compact the backfill a bit.

Design change

2010-11-24T16:05:00.002-04:00

The extension of the ring beam was not in our original plan and the result is that we now have an additional 400 sq ft when we go up on the next level. the original next phase envisaged the inclusion of a 1 bdr apartment but with the additional space we've relooked at the design and can now comfortably fit a 2 bdr apartment. It will require some reinforcement of the slab in order to hold load bearing blockwork in a couple places - the same process we used when casting the ground floor slab.

Laundry vent and manual compaction

2010-11-24T15:52:00.003-04:00

Had to do a little pvc work to get the vent for the laundry sorted out - it will run under the slab so we had to get it in before we finished backfilling. We are manually compacting the backfill as we put it down - it is close to sand in consistency and we are using a wheelbarrow to spread it. After each barrow we compact be walking/stamping on it and using a garden hoe to stamp it down. The process is quite lo-tech but I don't think we'd get a better result even if we used a plate compactor.

Backfilling

2010-11-22T15:59:00.002-04:00

Got our second load of backfill and started bringing it down the chute today. We have started filling from the eastern end and will be wetting and compacting as we go. This will probably take us most if not all of the week and we'll probably need to get in another load of backfill.

Fixing leaks

2010-11-20T23:00:00.003-04:00

We had a rupture of the water main feeding the house at 3 Samaan Rd - the line had been run next to the western fence and a tree root crushed it against the fence. We were alerted by the neighbours because the water was coming down on their side. We fixed it during the week but the fix ruptured early this morning and it took us about 6 hours to trace the line up the hill, install a lockoff valve because there wasn't one, and rerun the line on the surface. The pressure in the line is quite high, which made the job a little more complex but we think that is is sorted for good now.

Bringing in backfill

2010-11-20T22:54:00.002-04:00

We've finished the ring beam extension at the back and believe it or not have actually paid to bring in backfill after spending most of the project wondering what to do with the mountains of dirt that we had. We were originally intending to bring up some of the dirt to backfill the area enclosed by the extension but moving the dirt uphill by barrow would not be the most efficient way, to put it lightly. The backfill we brought in is a little more difficult to handle because it is sticking to the chute so getting it down from the deck is proving to be a challenge.

Ring beam extension

2010-11-16T20:37:00.002-04:00

We are extending the ring beam at the back of the house backwards onto solid hill. By doing this we almost double the size of the second floor. It also means that the roof/floor slab extends over the back wall and onto solid ground - this will add to the stability of the slab and alleviate some potential concerns due to the span of slab that would have had to have been supported by the backwall alone. We had envisioned this phase during the initial casting of the ring beam and had left steel extending to allow us to do the extension - the steel is thus continuous right onto solid ground.

We cast one side today and should finish the other tomorrow.

Bush

2010-11-16T20:32:00.002-04:00

We haven't cut the grass that has been growing on site because we wanted it to stabilise the slope and prevent the runoff of muddy water that happened every time we had a heavy shower. Anyway it has been a few weeks now and the grass has turned into bush. The runoff is not so much of an issue now that the retaining wall is finished so we've just sprayed the bush with a systemic weedicide - it'll take a few days but it will be absorbed and go down to the roots and kill most of the bush.

Western wall finished

2010-11-16T20:24:00.002-04:00

We have finished the first phase of the western retaining wall - the drainage system is working well. We will have to extend it upwards as we backfill against the wall. From the early days of having mountains of dirt we didn't know what to do with we are now in the position of not knowing where we'll get all the dirt to backfill and level.

We still need to go up a few feet on the wall to allow us to have level ground in front of the house - at the height we are at currently there will be a slight slope down to the wall.

MIA

2010-11-16T20:17:00.001-04:00

Been MIA for a while in terms of updating the blog - was sick for a few days (we are passing it around our family). Anyways, now have a couple things to update.

God is a Trini!

2010-11-02T11:32:00.003-04:00

At least when it comes to weather systems - not sure whether He cares about the murders etc. though. Anyway, as happened on the last couple times we were due for a hit from a tropical storm, Tomas made a sharp northerly turn at the last moment - its outer bands brushed the northeast coast and parts of Tobago before it hit Barbados, St Vincent and St Lucia as a hurricane. As of this morning there are 12 reported deaths in St Lucia.

As for us here in Cascade we didn't even get any rain at all on Friday, and Saturday was hot and sunny. We had some rain on Sunday but nothing out of the ordinary. On site we are reconstructing our fence and bringing down another load of gravel we got yesterday.

Taking down the fence

2010-10-29T19:46:00.002-04:00

We are expecting tropical storm Tomas to hit TnT tonight. At 8am it was a an active tropical wave and we were expecting some heavy rainfall and high gusts of wind later in the day. In order to preserve our temporary fence at the top of the land bordering Hillside Avenue we took the galvanise down leaving just the framing up - at the time it was out of abundance of caution but I'm very glad we did it because the system strengthened faster than predicted. We are not expecting a direct hit but we will definitely feel the effects.

Hopefully we will not be too severely affected and will be able to get the fence back up on Monday - it will give us a chance to strengthen it as well.

Wall coming up

2010-10-27T20:04:00.002-04:00

Now that we have largely finished the wall on the western side we have a better idea of the height we are going to (in this phase). We have started to come up on the front section of the wall - we will need to come up with the post and the drainage system and then we can backfill. Weather permitting we should finish in the next couple of days.

Sunday workout

2010-10-24T17:44:00.002-04:00

Got a sweat drenched workout today sorting out the drainage on the short wall we finished during the week. Went with the familiar layer of stones wrapped in geotextile then covered in sharp sand - I also put in a vertical section of 4 inch pipe filled with stone and then sealed with geotextile right in the corner. With the weepholes at the base the drainage may be slightly over-engineered but it is something we should not have to think about again.

Short week, flooded neighbour

2010-10-23T07:11:00.003-04:00

This was a short week in that we only worked about two and a half days because one of our guys was sick. We've been working with a mason and labourer for the last few weeks and there is not much for the labourer to do if the mason is not here. We worked on putting up a low wall in the area adjacent to the tanks and getting the blockwork started on the next section of retaining wall. We had a day of extremely heavy rain that caused a collapse of some of the earth onto the new footing and we had to clear that before getting the layer of stone, geotextile fabric and sharp sand at the base.

The heavy rain caused severe flooding in Port of Spain and also resulted in the flooding of our neighbour's apartment in Samaan Court with mud which may have originated on our land. She came up the next day to take a look on our side but we could not identify any pathway where mud could have gone over from our side. We subsequently got an e-mail message from the residents of Samaan Court stating basically that we had caused the flooding because of our storm drains emptying onto their property. I replied pointing out that the drain in question was actually on our land, that their building was illegally constructed because there was no setback from the boundary and that I did not believe that any large amount of water was coming from our drains.

In any event I had volunteered to help pressure wash the flooded patio and did that yesterday. We have not gotten any feedback yet on my reply to them.

The footing is cast!

2010-10-15T19:18:00.003-04:00

Hot sun + high humidity = buckets of sweat, but we got the footing cast today. I think that it was the Monster energy drinks that got us through. It was a lot of work for 3 of us and we had a chute malfunction midway through but we eventually got it done just after midday and that was it for the day!

The big dig

2010-10-14T14:50:00.003-04:00

The last 3 and a bit days have basically been spent digging for the next footing. It was either very hot and humid or it rained and we had a bit of rework to get it done. Because of the slope of the land we ended up very deep at the back end of the dig - maybe 9 or 10 feet - and it proved an effort to actually get the dirt out. We also pulled down some more gravel, bent the steel starter bars and reconfigured the chute.

Weather permitting we will be mixing concrete and casting tomorrow.

The wall is growing

2010-10-09T07:28:00.002-04:00

We have finished the initial blockwork on the new footing - we are now ready to start digging for the next section. Because of the gradient we are planning to step up 2 feet for the next footing.

The footing is cast

2010-10-06T18:47:00.003-04:00

We cast another footing for the retaining wall today - the weather looked iffy for a while but held off in the end. Helped out the guys (2) with the concrete mixing and got quite the workout and sweat drenching. Last couple days were spent finalising and blinding the trench and bringing down the gravel from our receiving deck - weekend rains had brought some material back down into the trench.

Had to make an adjustment to the angle of the wall. The first section of the side wall was done square with the front wall and the guys had dug the trench for this next section to continue the wall straight - which was not actually parallel with the boundary and would have ended up angling the wall in towards the house. Luckily it was resolved before the starter bars for the wall were put in - the end result is that this section of wall is off-centre in relation to the footing and at a slight angle to the first section. It should not be a problem, nor for the next section as we go up. We are starting to hit some serious depth as the land is pretty steep in this corner.

Blockwork starts again tomorrow.

Tanks completed

2010-10-06T18:43:00.003-04:00

The water tank area has now been completed, everything plumbed in and the tanks are back in service. It has definitely improved that corner next to the patio. Had some severe rain a couple days ago and no mud washed down as used to be the norm.

Ready for another footing

2010-10-01T18:41:00.002-04:00

This week was spent finalising the area around the tanks - the tanks are in place, mains, filter and tap rerun and one tank is back in service. In between getting that sorted we have finished the trench for another section of footing for the retaining wall. Got a load of gravel today so we may be able to cast on Monday - still need to get the steel in place though.

Had a short bout of severe weather this week - the drainage we put in place for the retaining wall performed well.

Tank area

2010-09-23T20:49:00.003-04:00

Having completed the drainage in the corner of the wall we've spent the last couple days working on the area where the water tanks were originally situated. We are moving the tanks up against the retaining wall, removing a section of the chain link fence and replacing with blocks and building a planter to cover the drainage pipe that exits at the base of the retaining wall.

The area where the tanks were originally located can now be used to house the barbecue pit.

We survived a thunderstorm yesterday that was directly overhead and resulted in pretty severe flooding in Port of Spain and environs.

Corner drainage

2010-09-22T09:57:00.003-04:00

We sorted out the corner drainage yesterday - this will handle the surface water. We used 6 inch concrete blocks stacked without mortar to form a cavity at the corner around a vertical 4 inch perforated PVC pipe wrapped in geotextile fabric that exits through the base of the post. The cavity around the pipe was then filled with stones. The outer face of the concrete blocks was then wrapped with the heavy duty geotextile fabric and the dirt will then be filled against that.

The theory is that the surface water will enter the column of stones and fill the cavities in the centre of the blocks. The water then enters the perforated pipe, exits through the base of the post and is channeled into the drain alongside the wall. In the event of heavy rain the water will enter directly into the top of the pipe. Any residual water is channeled through a 2 inch weephole that also goes through the base of the post - this is primarily for the sub-surface water. As we continue up the hill with the wall we will put a course of stone and sharp sand at the base of each footing, covering the stone withe geotextile fabric and then topping off with the sand.

Cast the post

2010-09-20T20:12:00.001-04:00

Today we got the post at the intersection of the wall cast - had to sort out the drainage pipes that run through the base of the post and managed to get it done before the rains came in the afternoon.

Blockwork

2010-09-16T20:27:00.002-04:00

Today was spent on blockwork on the footing we finished casting yesterday. Figured out a solution to the drainage issue at the corner using some 6 inch concrete blocks, perforated 4 inch pipe, geotextile fabric, stone and sharp sand. Moved the 2 water tanks to give us some room to work and to decide exactly where to run the drainage pipes as well as giving access to remove the fence and associated razor grass from behind the tanks and replace it with blockwork.

The steel for the corner post looks good and it should be relatively easy to pour - the chute will go directly into the formwork. We will need to get the drainage pipes sorted before we can box up.

Footing cast

2010-09-15T16:26:00.003-04:00

We spent the last couple days digging and bringing down gravel etc. - we got the cage in yesterday, starter bars, rebar for the corner column, realigned the chute and started the pour. Today we finished the pour, got some more cement, blocks and steel. From tomorrow we should start coming up with blocks.

The drainage at the base of the wall is sorted but we have to make some decisions soon as to how we treat with the surface water. One thought is to fill the corner with a stack of loose blocks wrapped in the geotextile fabric and to port the water out through the base of the wall in a 4 inch pipe. Need to evaluate a couple other options.

Short Week

2010-09-11T13:28:00.002-04:00

What was going to be a short week because of Friday's holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr turned out to be even shorter since we didn't work on Thursday because of the weather. Last couple weeks have seen generally fair/hot mornings with afternoon thundershowers - forecast for Wednesday was all day rain so the guys were on alert not to come out - in the end they did come out and the weather was OK - only lost a little time at the end of the day. Thursday started off with rain and the guys didn't come out - cleared up by mid morn and ended up a pretty good day for us here - not sure for Central and South though.

Having said all that the short week was spent sorting out water issues and starting the dig for the western face of the wall. Should finish the first section on our next work day then steel will have to go in as we prep to cast.

Water line

2010-09-07T20:19:00.002-04:00

Today was spent (between showers) relocating the main water line that supplies the current house (3 Samaan Rd). The line was buried close to the western boundary - right where we need to dig for the wall. The line fed a small maze of pipes in the vicinity of the water tanks so in moving the line to the surface and along the fence line we took the opportunity to condemn some of the older lines and simplify the system. We moved the whole house filter, redid the supply lines to the pump and piped the main into a bypass we ran to the pump a couple weeks ago.

The end result should be pipework that is more readily accessible, free from silt blockage and easy to modify - eg. if we decide to put the metal tank back in. The last thing we have to do is to put in a standpipe for a hose and we are done.

All is clear now to continue digging for the wall.

Drainage

2010-09-06T20:24:00.003-04:00

We spent the day sorting out the drainage at the base of the wall - this will be the lowest point on the site and the point at which we get the water out so we want to make sure we get this right.

The solution we are using should work fine and is basically the same as we used on the wall on the other side. We have a bed of stone at the base and a perforated 4 inch PVC pipe sleeved with geotextile fabric, surrounded by smaller stones and then wrapped in a second geotextile fabric - this one with a 25 year rating. We then cover everything with a layer of sharp sand and finally the dirt goes on top.

We also have 2 inch weepholes near the base of the wall. We should not have any future worries about the integrity of the wall - which is the whole point.

September - week 1

2010-09-06T20:19:00.002-04:00

Another short week with a few rain interruptions - but generally the weather has been good. Spent the week basically finishing up the front of the wall. We moved the water tank to get some better access in the corner and to sort out some of the pipework. We need to rerun some of the piping to the outside of the wall. We ended the week by starting to fill the front of the wall with some of the dirt from the excavation.

slowish week

2010-08-28T12:50:00.002-04:00

We are just coming off a slow week after not working the previous week. After removing the formwork for the ring beam we did some site cleanup with the intention of making a trip to the dump, but with the recent rainy weather the dump is not the best place for a small truck so this week was bonfire week - we probably ended up burning more than a truckload of stuff.

We also got some blocks, cement, steel and sand onsite and finally got started with the retaining wall at the bottom.

Mid August update

2010-08-18T06:57:00.003-04:00

Been lapsing on updating in recent times - hope to get back in the swing soon.

The last couple weeks have been spent on one thing - the retaining wall on the western side. In the absence of the excavator we dug the trenches by hand. It was tough going in parts but not as bad as the wall on the other side. The rains have made the dirt softer but also caused some problems. The country suffered two bouts of severe and widespread flooding, a few landslides etc. Whilst we were not directly affected we lost some days to the rain - either the guys did not come out or they spent large parts of the day sheltering in the garage. The dig was hampered because every time we had heavy rain - sometimes 3 times a day - the trench would fill with water/slush and we had to bail/pump out.

We got through relatively OK with the dig and mixed the concrete on the floor of the house and then sent it down on a galvanise chute. It took a couple of days for the pour - rain didn't affect us too badly - and we now have the footings in place across the front. We intend to start coming up with some blocks across the front so that we will have somewhere to put the dirt as we start the excavation along the side.

The major negative during the period was that we were visited by bandits again and they stole the pump we were using to pump out the trenches.

Washout

2010-07-29T16:07:00.002-04:00

The forecast for today was that it was going to be dry, with some Sahara dust in the afternoon. Instead we got a serious thunderstorm in the afternoon that wiped out any chance of further work. Luckily we only had 2 guys today. As I was dropping them down into town we saw a few cars mainly around Sackville St with water up to the door handles and a couple almost completely submerged.

Still raining slightly now - haven't gone up on the land but the guys said that our temporary drains are holding so fingers crossed.

The dig has started

2010-07-29T12:22:00.003-04:00

We've started digging for the footings of the retaining wall - the going is easier than when we did the wall on the other side, which was during the height of the drought. We are pretty much on flat land as opposed to the steep slope but need to worry about the pit filling with water. We have dug a little temporary drain to divert water away from where we are working - it rained pretty heavily yesterday evening and it held up OK.

Need some steel and cement and hopefully we'll be able to cast the first section tomorrow. Also need to repair the water inlet line which we busted during the dig - running on tanks for now.

We lost some time this week - only a half day worked between Monday and Tuesday. Partly due to rain and partly due to an issue between Ian and the crew mainly to do with supervision and man management issues. In recent times Ian has been averaging only about a day a week with Rawle handling things on a day to day basis without what he felt was proper instructions from Ian or explicit authority over the other guys. Spoke to Ian on Tuesday and things are patched up for now but not the root cause judging by the feedback from the guys.

Wall prep

2010-07-23T17:58:00.002-04:00

Today was spent getting ready for the retaining wall. We want to have everything in place to dig, get the steel in and cast section by section of the footings. The plan is to mix the concrete inside the house, build a little platform outside and a movable chute leading down to the boundary area,

Today we moved the load of gravel from down by the gate up Hillside Ave in several truckloads then down through the gravel chute onto the ledge above the house, then over the wall by wheelbarrow. On Monday we work on the platform and chute and hopefully we can even start the digging.

We have a ring beam!

2010-07-23T07:08:00.003-04:00

The ring beam is finally completed so we've reached another milestone. It took us 3 days of casting in between a few more rain delays - including a couple quite heavy downpours.

We are now moving on to working on the retaining wall. With no response from the excavator we've decided to dig manually. This should work out better because we will do section by section - hopefully dig and cast on the same day. The way it has been raining recently if we had the excavator dig out for the entire wall it is likely that the trenches would have been flooded - with all that would entail.

Mid July

2010-07-15T12:38:00.003-04:00

The last couple weeks have been spent getting the boxing and formwork up for the ring beam - in between the rain delays. The last couple days have been fairly clear but apart from that we've lost time nearly every day including a couple complete washouts.

This stage is taking a lot longer than expected and there aren't that many readily apparent signs of progress - but the devil is in the details. Because we want to maximise ceiling height the ceiling will be above the base of the beam - what this means is that all the electrical and other conduit (cable, phone, network, alarm etc) needs to be run through the beams and therefore must be in place before we cast.

We should be finishing the boxwork today and have the gravel, cement etc. ready and waiting so hopefully we'll have good enough weather tomorrow and we'll be able to cast.

Mon - Wed

2010-06-30T17:23:00.003-04:00

As we end June we have been working on getting ready for the ring beam - all the steel is bent and the boxing is going up - some of the bamboo is being put to use already. Still need to add some starter bars and terminate the electrical conduit through the side of the boxing. We pulled down some gravel on Monday - need some cement. Hopefully the boxing will be finished by Friday and we can cast next week.

Saturday

2010-06-30T17:18:00.002-04:00

A couple of the guys came with me up to Deborah & Guy on Saturday in search of bamboo for props - we figure we'll need about 70 pieces and that will allow for us to cast the slab in 3 sections. We managed to get about 40 pieces but were prevented from getting any more because some of it was pretty tangled and there were a couple nests of dangerous jack-spaniard (jep) like insects in one particular stand.

Found a source in the classifieds so may follow up on that.

Last week

2010-06-30T17:15:00.003-04:00

We were rained out on Monday - the crew didn't turn up. From Tues we were up in numbers after having worked with only 2 guys for a while. The week was spent bending steel for the retaining wall footings and constructing the formwork for the ring beam. Because of the rain we have converted the garage into a workshop so that all is not lost during a downpour.

Ring beam

2010-06-17T21:16:00.002-04:00

The guys have been working on the steel for the ring beam - we should be finished by tomorrow. Got quite a bit of ply for the decking and some 2 x 4s - have to collect some more 2 x 4s tomorrow and we will be ready to start the formwork for the beam.

Also finished the cover for the septic tank and decided to put an additional row of blocks on top of the retaining wall.

Had a late morning break today because of a thunderstorm - I was surprised that it cleared up and we could actually get work done this afternoon.

Tue 15th

2010-06-15T21:38:00.002-04:00

Last couple days were spent working on the septic tank - covers and baffle wall. Also got some more steel for the ring beams so we've had some steel bending going on.

Should be starting on the retaining wall in the corner tomorrow - need to get some more steel in for that and talk to Mohan about getting the excavator back in.

9 Jun

2010-06-09T17:32:00.002-04:00

The weather is starting to become a factor now - yesterday was rained off. There was a severe weather bulletin in effect - it didn''t turn out too badly here but one of our 2 guys came and then turned around in the morning thinking that the rain would continue all day. In the end it cleared up by mid-morning but still no work done.

We thought we were getting some ply from T but it was a false alarm.

Got some 4" blocks and cement today and we started on the internal bathroom/bedroom wall which is the last to go up. Had a few rain delays throughout and the forecast for tomorrow is not good.

We got walls!

2010-06-07T19:50:00.004-04:00

Another short week last week - 2 public holidays (sweet T&T!) - the days were spent finishing up the walls and window lintels - and with the exception of the internal wall for the bathroom all of our walls are now finished! The next step is to cast the ring beam and ceiling/floor slab. We need to get the ply and some bamboo props.

It feels different now that the walls are up and the spaces are a lot more defined - it is a lot easier to visualise the final product now that we can see the actual views from the windows etc.

Wed - Fri

2010-05-28T15:07:00.004-04:00

Wednesday was a total washout - the guys didn't come out. After the long drought the country is now facing severe flooding, but it hasn't really affected us on site.

Thu, Fri were spent continuing with the wall stiffeners and a window lintel. Two more main lintels and a couple small ones to go, and one more stiffener and then we should be ready for the ring beam and ceiling slab - we will need the ply for the decking at that stage.

Mon - Tue

2010-05-26T07:58:00.002-04:00

Monday and Tuesday were fairly quiet days onsite - the guys are basically finished coming up with the walls now and worked on boxing up the formwork for a couple of the corner stiffeners and bending steel for the lintels above the windows. We have decided to go right up to the beams over the door openings because the metal frames we have are about 9 feet high.

Today (Wed) looks like it will be completely rained out. Should finish the costing for the retaining wall today.

21 May

2010-05-22T08:13:00.002-04:00

The walls are about 80% finished now. Used a hoe to level off some of the mountain on the retaining wall side. had a conversation with my mother about putting in the wall in the corner by the tanks - which is the lowest level on our property. We are trying to avoid having to come back later with the excavator if she has tenants in the house. Will do some measuring and costing this weekend.

Milestone!

2010-05-20T20:47:00.003-04:00

Today was a milestone - the excavator was actually removed after one having been on site for the last 3 months. Seems like a long time ago that we started cutting into the hill and realised that we had a mountain of dirt to deal with. One good thing is that we got through this major phase without being hampered by rain. With the amount of dirt we had on the slope there was potential for a major mudslide if we'd been hit by heavy rain.

The excavator actually finished working yesterday - we did have some rain over the last 3 days but it actually helped keep the dust down. We ended up piling a mini mountain of dirt at the side of the house but need to move some of it back to produce a grade down to our boundary in the corner where the dirt was deepest - the rest will be needed there when we eventually put in the retaining wall - at that point we may even run short of dirt. I plan to get some exercise over the next couple weeks moving it by wheelbarrow bit by bit. Got a good sweat today removing the galvanise and props we were using as a temporary retaining wall.

In between the excavator working the guys continued coming up with the walls - we are pretty close to being finished. After that we will cast the corners and wall intersections.

Mon 17 May

2010-05-17T18:52:00.002-04:00

Excavator continued to work today - retaining wall on the side is almost to the top with dirt and still a lot more to move. Crew is down to 2 continuing to put up the internal walls.

Quite a lot of rain today and the guys spent quite a while sheltering in the garage. Tomorrow should be the last day for the excavator so hope the weather cooperates.

Sat 15th

2010-05-15T15:08:00.002-04:00

Hadn't spoken to the excavator operator before he left yesterday so I wasn't expecting him this morning - but he arrived at 6:30 am and got to work. He is the best of the operators we've had so far. He finished up behind the wall - it basically took all the material we removed in our new dig, and then he started moving the mountain of dirt in front of the house. Looks like we have a couple days to go still but it will be well worth it if we do not have to build the retaining wall in front.

14 May

2010-05-15T15:05:00.002-04:00

The rains came today and we had the first delay of any consequence - maybe 3 hrs in a couple spells. In between the excavator continued behind the back wall and the guys continued blockwork.

From next week we slow down as we try to dovetail into the availability of the ply for the roof decking.

Digging again

2010-05-14T05:55:00.002-04:00

The excavator started work today - we are starting by backfilling behind the back wall. With the new plan to extend backwards we decided to level the hill and the material that we cut is being used for the backfill instead of the original plan to use the material in front. We'll probably get enough to completely fill the back.

We are also continuing to come up with internal walls and electrical conduit. Rain held off today but is definitely in the forecast.

12 May

2010-05-12T20:51:00.002-04:00

Continued coming up with the internal walls today - and had a slight rain delay at the end. Forecast is for some rain over the next few days. The new excavator came in this afternoon - hope that we can get in a couple of days without the rain. Talked to the owner about leveling the grade behind the house to accommodate our expanded first floor slab and it should not be a problem. Need to move the chute to give him access.

Major rethink

2010-05-11T16:37:00.003-04:00

We've had a major rethink of the project.

The plan up to yesterday was that phase 1 would include the ground floor which is basically a 1 bedroom apt which we would occupy now, and the first floor which would be our master bedroom and a 1 bedroom apt for rental now - the floors would be joined by an internal staircase. The second phase was to convert the first floor apt to bedrooms for the girls, build out the second floor with kitchen, living room etc., remove the stairs to the ground floor and have the ground floor as a self contained apt that we could rent out.

The first thing that prompted the rethink was the realisation that the initial plan gave us the better views but gave the ground floor tenant access to the patio, grounds etc. which really should be for us and the kids to enjoy. We also realised that the floor level of the second floor is almost on grade based on how the land slopes behind the house - it will not take a lot to extend the second floor slab backwards about 18ft - this increases the depth from 22ft to 40ft.

The new thinking is to complete the ground floor as phase 1 but to use the space for the staircase and part of the laundry as a second small bedroom. The laundry moves into the bathroom. So phase 1 now does not include anything on the second floor.
The second phase will involve the buildout of a much larger second floor with 3 bedrooms and the staircase connecting with the ground floor, and a 1 bedroom apt for rental in the additional space gained by extending the slab backwards.
The third phase will be the buildout of the third floor with our kitchen and livingroom on the view side and a 2 bedroom apt on the other side. The 1 bedroom apt on the second floor is converted to an additional bedroom, laundry, office and liming space.

The new plan allows us to complete a living space within our current financial constraints and gives us what is hopefully a self financing plan for the future phases because each of the future phases contains an apartment that should pay for the expansion. It does not involve any changes to our current build except perhaps one window in what will now be the second bedroom.

This is the second major redesign and it incorporates all the improvements of the first and will lead to a better outcome for us in the future - should be the last major rethink though (fingers crossed).

11 May

2010-05-11T16:14:00.002-04:00

Finished waterproofing and waited in vain all day for the excavator to show up. Finished site cleanup and burned some debris in a barrel (we have a permit from the fire dept). Just waiting for the excavator now but can continue the ground floor walls etc.

10 May

2010-05-11T16:12:00.001-04:00

Continued waterproofing today - didn't quite finish and need to get a couple more gallons of Nitobond - rain interrupted play for a little while. Should finish in the morning.

7 May

2010-05-08T08:04:00.002-04:00

Got through about half of the waterproofing of the wall, got in another 2 yds of sand and started cleanup of the site to allow a clear path for the excavator. Rescheduled the excavator for Tuesday next week.

Picked up some aluminium windows from Giselle and Jerry's old apartment in St Ann's - not sure what we'll do with them but they are in pretty good condition and will look good if refurbished and maybe painted.

Ready for waterproofing

2010-05-06T17:23:00.003-04:00

We finished casting everything for the back wall today so we are now ready for waterproofing - which we plan to do tomorrow. We also basically finished the walls of the septic tank and installed the exit pipe - we then tried out the waterproofing additive we are going to use on the back wall - Nitobond - which we put on the inside of the septic tank. It's a product that Ian has used before and he says it works really well.

We are now in a position to get the excavator back in, and by coincidence Mohan - the owner - came up today to get the excavator because he'd got the new tracks in to repair it. Discussed with him what we plan to do and he will bring up a smaller excavator which can actually fit in the void behind the wall in order to backfill.

Last couple days

2010-05-04T20:59:00.003-04:00

Missed a couple days posting - we've basically been working on getting the posts/stiffeners cast on the back wall. The boxing up is somewhat complex, especially as we are putting in electrical and drainage conduit. As of today we have 3 cast - only the 2 corners to go now. Had a little rework on Saturday; after spending a long time to get the formwork done one one stiffener - including conduit - the guys put up the formwork for another one and proceeded to cast it when I was not here, minus the required conduit. Luckily we were able to cut through the concrete on Saturday since it wasn't cured yet.

Got another load of gravel in yesterday and we are just about finished the blockwork for the cesspit.

29 Apr

2010-04-30T09:23:00.002-04:00

More blockwork on the internal walls and we are also coming up with the cesspit. Spent some time working on the formwork to cast the first post / stiffener on the backwall. Got the electrical boxes in and need to cater for a couple of sleeves of 2" pipe to allow for water lines and drainage pipe.

Almost made a big booboo - forgot to put in conduit for switches on one wall and proceeded to load the blocks with concrete; luckily realised the omission before the concrete set and were able to retrieve the situation.

28 Apr

2010-04-28T21:04:00.002-04:00

Continued blockwork and pulled down some more gravel today. Need to get in some more gravel to be able to cast the posts. Got building and electrical standards from TTBS today - seem to be quite comprehensive and should be valuable for us on this and other projects.

Looks like we've got an electrician to work with us - Jeez from Grand Bazaar. He's coming to take a look on Friday. Going to get some blocks from T's project tomorrow - about a pallet and a half of 6" blocks they need to get moved.

Took a look at the detail of the beam and first floor slab and had to make some alterations to the stair design - we have 2 options of either 17 or 18 steps. Mervyn will fabricate for us.

27 Apr

2010-04-28T07:37:00.002-04:00

Didn't spend a lot of time onsite today - had to deal with issues relating to clearing some goods through customs to go to Tobago.

Got the blocks in the morning and the guys continued coming up with some of the blockwork. The first formwork to cast one of the T sections on the wall is up - need to put in some openings for outlets, conduit runs etc. Got the ply and lumber from T's project and it will come in really handy as we go forward.

Continued to tinker with the staircase design.

26 Apr

2010-04-27T05:40:00.002-04:00

No Ian today but the guys continued to go up with the blockwork for the 6" external and internal walls. I need to be very specific with them in terms of where I want the electrical conduit since a couple of mistakes have been made.

Worked on the staircase design today and think it is now sorted - originally thought about 2 runs of stairs and a landing but had to nix the landing and use steps around the curve, otherwise the second run of stairs would have run too far into the floor above.

Also perusing some astronomical electrical quotes - figure we'll do most of the electricals ourselves. Ordered another book on house wiring - how hard can it be ?!?

Had some discussions re window design and acquisition - nailed down the sizes we want to get. Lead time from Abel is 4 - 6 weeks so we may fabricate them ourselves. Also looking at the option of buying basic windows and doing our own custom burglar-proofing.

Ordered another 6 pallets of blocks and tomorrow we should get some plywood from T's project which will come in very handy as we look to box up to cast the ground floor columns.

After smelling the burning for the last couple days saw smoke emanating again from the base of the tree - we got a little rain in the evening but also hit it with the hose again.

23 Apr

2010-04-24T15:49:00.003-04:00

The blockwork for the back wall is now finished and we've started putting in the steel for the columns at the corners and wall intersections - we will cast those next week. Got some threaded rods and bolts to hold the formwork together whilst vibrating the concrete. We will need to get some more gravel. Put the first couple electrical boxes in today and got a start on the blockwork for the septic tank.

The tree, or the coal fire beneath the tree, continues to smoulder.

22 Apr

2010-04-22T21:20:00.004-04:00

24 hrs after the event the base of the tree is still smoking - despite leaving the hose running and draining an entire tank into it overnight - took another tank today and we'll see what happens. There is a massive bushfire on the other side of the valley today.

The guys modified the chute again and started pulling down the gravel but it was a little more difficult than before because the gravel was a bit wet. Also filled some more of the blocks with concrete and got another 2 yds of sand offloaded.

21 Apr

2010-04-21T16:27:00.002-04:00

Another 36 deg day today. After the excitement of the fire I went to get a load of blocks to continue the back wall. Also got some electrical conduit and boxes so that we can start getting them in as the walls start to come up. The guys also worked on trying to reconfigure the chute using the heavy steel scaffolding from Chaguanas.

Had some discussion as to whether any codes prevented us from putting the septic against the boundary - don't think any mandatory codes apply and do not see any future issues with movement of the retaining wall etc. The area of the wall we are using is double 8" block loaded with steel and concrete, the drainage pipe runs under the base and the soil and sand blinding were well compacted before casting. The plan is to go ahead in the current location.

FYAH!!

2010-04-21T16:05:00.002-04:00

The day started with drama and excitement. At about 6:15 am when we were deciding on breakfast and I was watching the news Jordan came to me and said she was seeing smoke - in this season of drought and bushfires she usually tells me if she sees a bushfire across the valley so I didn't pay and particular attention to it. She ran back in a couple minutes later and said "DADDY! THE TREE IS ON FIRE!"

I ran out of the house to see the stump (about 12 feet) of the poui tree engulfed in smoke. By the time I ran up the hill in my slippers it caught fire - with flames at the base and through the top - the trunk was basically hollow and burning. We don't have a hose that can reach the tree so I started a one-man bucket brigade using water from the barrels on site. T came up to help with the buckets and I got a ladder against the adjacent stump to try to get some water in at the top. Eventually I got a hose attached to the water tank but it is only marginally higher than the tree so there was not much water. After many buckets we got things under control and as I write this it is about 10 hours later and I have a hose running into the stump and it is still smouldering slightly.

Our engineer advised us to remove the pieces of wood, tree roots etc. from the backfill material before we filled it against the retaining wall. On Friday - 5 days ago - Ian and the guys gathered up some of this refuse material and burnt it by the garage - maybe 15 ft from the tree. Since then we have been getting the smell of burning - like when you throw some water on BBQ coals - but haven't seen anything. Apparently what happened is the the fire in Friday must have started to burn the tree roots and it has continued burning underground for the last 5 days until it caught up with the tree this morning.

It was a good thing that Jordan was alert and that it didn't happen in the dead of night. The underground burning is probably still going on so the plan is to keep soaking the area around the tree tonight.

20 Apr

2010-04-20T18:43:00.003-04:00

Hot and humid today - got to 36 deg. Got the base for the septic tank cast today - I was looking at some tank designs and think that we will go with a 2 chamber design rather than the single chamber we have in our drawings. Also continued going up with the walls.

Got another load of gravel today - sorted out some payment issues and we are now current. Will probably need another in a couple days to cast the corners, also need to get some more blocks tomorrow.

Sent a diagram of the electricals to Suzanne today - looking forward to getting a quote soon.

Septic tank

2010-04-19T18:21:00.004-04:00

We identified the area where we are putting the septic tank - against the retaining wall, using the retaining wall as one wall of the tank. It will be located between two of the posts and should end up being big enough to cater for future expansion. We are planning to finish up as soon as we can so that when the excavator comes back in everything will be ready to be filled - we are going to use some of the leftover stones from the drainage trenches for the soakaway. We should at least cast the base for the tank tomorrow.

I got a bit of a workout this afternoon using a manual "compactor" made from a piece of I-beam with a steel pipe welded to it.

We got walls!

2010-04-19T18:05:00.003-04:00

We got started on our house walls today - we are working on the back wall so that the excavator can backfill as soon as possible. Hopefully between the retaining wall and the back wall we'll be able to move enough of the mountain of dirt in front of the house so that building the retaining wall is not a requirement - we still want to build it to level the area in front of the house but I'd like to be in a position where we are not forced to build it because of fear of the mountain collapsing during rainy season.

We put down the water stop (swellable rubber strip) under the first course of bricks (8") and are using 3/8" steel rods horizontally across every second course - we are also filling with concrete every course as we go up. At the rate we are going the back wall should be finished in about 3 days - we also need to go up with some of the 6" perpendicular walls at the tees and junctions so that we can cast the stiffeners. We need to double check the waterproofing for the back wall - that should be done on Monday if everything goes OK.

Need more gravel and steel.

Drains in

2010-04-16T18:54:00.004-04:00

Finished off the last outstanding things on the retaining wall today - left the blocks at the top unloaded so that we can go up if we want after we level with the excavator. Got some more of the geotextile fabric and finished the drain for the retaining wall as well as the one for our back wall.

We looked at a potential location for the septic tank along the retaining wall possibly using the retaining wall as one side of the tank - this would allow us to put it in without having to excavate.

15 Apr

2010-04-16T06:34:00.002-04:00

The first real rain in months threatened today - and fell heavily in several other parts of the country. With that threat over us we were relieved to have been able to finish the drain along the retaining wall. We ended up using more of the geotextile fabric than planned and will need some more for the house foundation but I am very happy with that it was done properly and expect no problems even in the long term - the fabric is rated for 30 years and I am confident it will last long beyond that.

We discussed getting the back wall up as soon as practical and then getting the excavator to backfill behind it - before we fill against the retaining wall. That will allow us to move a lot of the material in front of the house that is a concern for the rainy season and will optimise the use of the excavator. Weather permitting we will start going up with blocks tomorrow. We will also clean up the site to give the excavator a clean path to the wall.

14 Apr

2010-04-14T16:13:00.002-04:00

Got the retaining wall completed today in terms of blockwork and casting of the posts. Started pulling down the aggregate for the drain and got the first section in - had to double up on the geotextile fabric to get it to wrap properly around the aggregate in areas where the trench is wide so we'll end up using a bit more than planned.

Didn't get the adhesive for the water stop but I expect that we'll be working on the rest of the retaining wall drain for most of tomorrow morning. Once the wall is finished we expect to cut down on the crew so we'll probably have 3 + Ian instead of the 6 + Ian we've been operating with for the last few weeks.

13 Apr

2010-04-13T21:51:00.005-04:00

Blockwork on the wall is basically finished - need to finish casting the last couple posts tomorrow. T got the water stop (a plastic/rubber strip that goes below the first course of blocks and that expands in contact with water) and waterproofing for the back wall today so we can get that in place and be able to start our back wall tomorrow - just need to read the data sheets.

Got the aggregate in today for the drain - it was a bit larger than I thought it would be but the driver explained that because of the drought WASA had shut down many of the smaller quarries and that most people who had stone were crushing it to mix with sand to sell as half-and-half, so getting the exact size we wanted was difficult - he had been lined up since 4am! I'm not sure but we may need to get another load in to finish around our foundation. We may be in a position to get the drain in for the retaining wall tomorrow - after that we can get the excavator back in.

Did some more tweaking of the new apt design - looking at extending the slab backwards onto the grade but may leave that for the next phase.

New plan?

2010-04-12T20:28:00.002-04:00

Had some new thoughts last night after watching "Income Property" on HGTV and after a conversation on Saturday night at a lime by Guy and Deborah re property rental - anyway the initial thought was to complete the apartment as per original design as a self contained unit without the linking internal staircase and to build out the upper floor with our master bedroom with another bedroom, kitchen etc. - basically another apartment. We would then live upstairs and rent out downstairs. The income should enable us to finish the rest of the house sooner rather than later.

T suggested that instead we build out downstairs as currently planned and build out the area on the upper floor that would have been open deck into a small 1 bedroom apartment with an entrance from Hillside Ave. That seems workable and I've drawn up a couple options in Vizio - need to decide soon. I did a rough check of the height today and the entire upper floor should be above grade - that means we can get windows into the back wall of the apartment which greatly improve lighting and ventilation.

12 Apr

2010-04-12T20:24:00.002-04:00

Today was spent on the retaining wall again - pulled down a load of gravel, should finish the blockwork on the wall tomorrow. Got some contractor grade weedblock material today and finished perforating the pipe. Ordered a load of aggregate to lay around the pipe.

Met with Mario

2010-04-10T16:14:00.001-04:00

Guy put me onto Mario who had done some of his electricals - Mario came up today and took a look at the site. He is going to quote on the full installation and then we'll see what we can do from there - I told him that we can do the conduit runs etc. ourselves

9 Apr

2010-04-09T17:28:00.002-04:00

Continued with the retaining wall today - cast the column at our boundary line, which is the largest. The concrete vibrator continues to be very useful. Managed to get most of the welding done to lengthen the starter bars. Picked up some used galvanise from our neighbour Brent who recently changed his roof - enough for our shed and to send some to Mayaro to build goat pens for Carlos.

8 Apr

2010-04-08T16:19:00.003-04:00

Today we took delivery of the 6 pallets of blocks. We continued to work on the retaining wall - didn't have enough steel for the starter bars so I had to get some more. Got 4 IBC totes from Dayne - in very good condition: plan to use them for the rainwater harvesting system.

Replacement tools

2010-04-07T19:20:00.003-04:00

Went with Ian up to A1 tools this morning and got a chop saw, circular saw and a few miscellaneous items - total came up to $1,800. They'll sleep in the house tonight!

RAIN DELAY!

2010-04-07T19:15:00.003-04:00

For the first time on the project we had rain delay today - we got a 15 minute shower this afternoon and this prevented us from welding some extensions on the starter bars. We had borrowed the welding plant from Mervyn and Ian was going to do the welding - we'll try again tomorrow. In the interim the guys worked on the wall - we got 2 of the columns cast today.

I started perforating some of the 4" pipe for the foundation drain.

6 Apr

2010-04-06T20:03:00.003-04:00

We were unable to operate as planned today because of the equipment we lost as well as having to wait for the police etc. - they came but took no prints because of the dust. Exchanged a few e-mails with neighbours and had a talk with Hazel next door on Hillside - their cameras do not record. In our mind the guy doing some gardening next door in the apartments is our prime suspect.

The guys worked on pulling down some gravel and loading the blocks in the retaining wall - could not cut steel without the chop saw. Also went up to height on two sections of the wall with single blocks. Got some more cement and some ply to box up for the wall columns. Ordered a load of gravel for delivery tomorrow and another 6 pallets of blocks for Thursday.

Tomorrow I'll go with Ian to get a chop saw and we'll also borrow Mervyn's welding plant to work on extending the starter bars.

BANDITS!!!

2010-04-06T10:39:00.002-04:00

We went to Toco on Sunday and had a great time. I got back at about midnight Monday because the crew is working today - T and kids coming later today. Discovered this morning that we have been hit by bandits.

The chain on the kennel was cut with a bolt cutter and the chopsaw, circular saw, chainsaw and hammer drill (Hilti) are missing - total about $9,000 worth. They left an angle grinder, concrete vibrator and misc other things. No evidence of trying to enter the house. The chopsaw belonged to Ian and the Hilti and circular saw belonged to Guy. We figure that access was gained around the side of the galvanise fence up on Hillside Ave and it is possible that the neighbours may have a camera on their driveway that may have picked up something.

Waiting for the police to arrive.

What comes next

2010-04-02T11:35:00.001-04:00

Now that the floor slab is finished we are going to concentrate on finishing the retaining wall on the side so that we can get the excavator back in to basically reconfigure the landscaping by moving the humongous pile of dirt still in front of the house - that should result in a pretty dramatic change to the look of the site. Then we start coming up with our walls.

Front door

2010-04-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

We've basically decided on the design of our front door - joining two of the steel frames we got earlier. It will be a fairly large feature on the front of the house. Still some details to be worked out.

New book

2010-04-02T11:31:00.001-04:00

Bought another book a couple of days ago and just got round to digging into it - this one is about plumbing. I now have a better appreciation of the design and importance of the venting system - which is primarily why I bought the book. It will come in very useful as we proceed.

Ground floor finished

2010-04-02T11:24:00.003-04:00

We got the ground floor finished yesterday - the final section took a lot of concrete because of the trenches for the slab reinforcement areas but we got through it OK. Drainage pipes went in with traps and we did the starter bars for the walls.

The previous areas of the slab did not have any internal load bearing walls but this last section does - so with the starter bars in place we can see exactly where the kitchen and laundry will be.

Deja Vu

2010-03-31T17:13:00.004-04:00

Today was a very similar day to yesterday - we got a load of gravel in the morning and were waiting on a second delivery (that never arrived) so the guys decided to cast another section of floor. We managed to complete the section with the bedroom and bathroom - I got the drainage pipes in as well. We had to move the bottom of the chute but will rebuild it tomorrow.

There was one potential hiccup in that an electrician - Carlisle - told T while we were in mid-cast that we should be putting electrical conduit in the slab and he sketched something on our drawing with some zig-zag conduit going around walls etc. In hindsight I can only assume that he thought our walls were up already, but our original intention had been to run conduit down from the ceiling. After a few minutes waiting to see his drawing and clarify we went ahead as originally planned. in any event I do not see the advantage in running conduit in a ground floor slab.

The rate at which we are going we will finish the slab tomorrow and not work on Good Friday. I've told the guys I'll be buying beers.

We have floor!

2010-03-30T18:21:00.003-04:00

Crew got here early - today is a public holiday. I went to take the compactor back, got back on site at about 10:30 and was surprised to find the guys already casting the floor! The plan was that we were doing prep work today and casting tomorrow but the gravel delivery was late (found out later that it wasn't coming) so rather than waiting the guys started mixing concrete with the gravel we had on site. They mixed on the ply under the chute and cast the centre portion of the slab. For the other sections they will mix on the new slab and barrow it across.

I wet the slab this afternoon but we've already got some surface cracking - today was 35 C and windy!

29 Mar

2010-03-30T12:29:00.002-04:00

Got he compactor back and finished the compacting today. We modified the chute again to direct the gravel straight onto the slab, where we will be mixing for the pour. I figured out and mocked up the drainage to give us floor drains in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry - these will go in under the floor slab. We started to get some BRC and polythene down and all the sides are boxed up - we are basically ready to start casting but will need some more cement and another load of gravel. Work continues on the retaining wall - we are up to the required height for double blocks and need to decide how much we now go up with single blocks.

The guys are coming out tomorrow - Shouter Baptist Liberation Day

25- 26 Mar

2010-03-30T12:24:00.003-04:00

Got some more cement and the BRC today - most of the day was spent pulling down the hardcore and we also got a load of the sand in for the blinding. Dug the trenches for the slab reinforcement to cater for the load bearing walls in the corner near the staircase. Compacted about 40% of the area but I need to return the compactor and take it back out on Monday or pay for the weekend. Hoping to cast on Wednesday - Tuesday is a holiday.

24 Mar

2010-03-25T09:02:00.004-04:00

Not as much accomplished today as expected - we were 2 men short. Loaded some of the blocks for the retaining wall, finished compacting the dirt, got the chute redirected and 2 loads of hardcore delivered and most of the first load pulled down. The hardcore was not what I initially expected - I thought it would be mostly stone or aggregate with large pore spaces when compacted, but it is basically a mix of dirt and stone a.k.a quarry spoil. The quarry owner (?) confirmed that for our application it is exactly what we needed and it is the same stuff that is used for the foundation of highways etc. It basically sets like concrete when wet and compacted.

Went to buy some cement, steel and 4" pipe for the foundation drainage but forgot my wallet!

Don't think we'll be able to get the slab done on Friday. Still need to get sand, gravel, cement, BRC etc.

23 Mar

2010-03-23T20:24:00.002-04:00

Got a plate compactor today at a pretty good price in Tunapuna - took it for 3 days. We started compacting the dirt - had to move some around between the footings and should be finished tomorrow. We ended up with more dirt than needed so have to shovel some out. Work continues on the retaining wall and we started to relocate the chute - should be a big day tomorrow; we're expecting 2 loads of hardcore and need to start bringing in some cement.

22 Mar

2010-03-22T16:39:00.004-04:00

Not one of our most productive days - an electrical pole was being changed on our street so we had no power for about 3 hours. Got the corners boxed up and some of them cast - the vibrator came in very handy again. Work also continued on the retaining wall - horizontal reinforcing steel and weepholes going in.

Made arrangements to get the hardcore, gravel and sand for the floor slab pour and found somewhere renting compactors at a reasonable price. Plan is to spread the dirt and start compacting tomorrow, redirect the chute so that material comes directly onto the site, get the aggregate in on Wednesday, continue compaction and then cast on Friday.

Still in drought conditions so no prospect of weather delays - wind has picked up though so dust is more of a problem. Lots of bushfires but nothing affecting us.

Ordered geotextile fabric on amazon for the wall drainage system - need to get the pipe and determine what aggregate to use around it - may be able to use hardcore if we have any excess.