Finally concrete!!! Huge pour day included a large crew + a pump truck we had to get because of the heated floors.
The moment I have been waiting for for a long time finally came. Pour day! One step closer to actually being able to use the shop.
I busted my butt for about 2 weeks every evening installing the tubes for the heated floor covered in Part 9. Once I was done with that we had to start dancing around to find good weather. Turns out the last good weather day was the morning after I finished the heated floors. I finished at about 1am and the concrete crew showed up 6 hours later!
Setting up for the pour
The entourage showed up all at once and filled the whole cul-de-sac. It was quite comical / impressive. This pic is when the pump truck showed up about an hour later. Concrete trucks didn’t start showing up until about 9am.Took quite a few people for this pour. The foreman told me it was about a crew and a half of his.I snapped some last pics before the crew started laying down rebar. Note my spray paint marks indicating where the areas for the 2 post lift will be.
Of course, right after the crew showed up it started snowing…
The crew started setting rebar. 2 foot on center throughout the whole shop.Took the truck a while to get all of the outriggers set up and extend the boom. Luckily the pumper was entirely in the cul-de-sac and no big trucks had to get on the driveway at all.
Why did we need a pump truck?
We had to pay extra for a pump truck (or telebelt would have worked also) because normally the guys would back the concrete truck in if the door is big enough or use ‘mud buggies’ which are basically wheel barrows with an engine to dump the concrete at the back of the shop. Since I have the entire floor covered with foam and tubing, none of that can happen.
Looks good. The rebar is just set on top of the pex then they lift it as the concrete is poured. This is pretty much standard practice, the concrete guys don’t like using rebar chairs unless they have to.
I had debated on putting more rebar where the lift will be but decided against it. Most lifts just require at least 4″ of concrete. I will have 7″ of concrete + rebar.
Rebar around the 2 post lift section.The crew finished up the rebar just before the concrete trucks started showing up.Once the pump truck got all stretched out, they started pouring at the back. It was pretty impressive to watch. The boom bucked around some which ended up denting one of the pieces of trim at the door opening, but other than that it went well. I had to walk halfway to the neighbors house just to get the whole thing in a picture As they were going along they would lift up on the rebar. Not as accurate as rebar chairs but you could tell it is standard practice. If I were to guess, I bet the rebar is pretty close to the bottom of the concrete like in the bottom 1/3No changing anything now! Those pipes are there for good. Pour pretty much done, time to start the finish work. Running the screed over it and starting to form up the door pocketOnce it set up enough they were able to pull the form used for the door pocketThen the two guys that stayed behind to hand trowel around the edges and used a power trowel for the rest. They were there pretty much the whole afternoon making passes as it driedOnce they were done about 5pm they went ahead and sprayed the sealer.Here is what they used in case it helps any of you in the future. Cure & Seal 25Their work was phenomenal This is what it looked like when they left.Another crew came back about 8pm and covered the concrete with blankets because it was supposed to turn really cold the next day. We also let down the tarp to help keep the heat in. Now… we wait.
To my understanding, under normal circumstances you need to wait about 7 days before driving on the new concrete and about 28 days before having any heavy traffic (big trucks, forklifts, etc). Feels like FOREVER.
Hope you enjoyed this update. Stay tuned for the next update when we actually get to start using the shop! Still lots left to do.
