Building the Exterior Walls with Nudura–October 2011

Task – Building the walls

The Process – We took the Nudura blocks and built them up like Lego (they snap together with the clips that are built into the blocks).  We inserted rebar horizontally on each level.  All the blocks are also clipped together at each joint on both sides at each level.  After all the levels were built then rebar was inserted vertically.  We put 2x12 frames where the windows and doors would go.  We put braces on the inside of the walls to prevent the concrete from braking the forms during the pour.  We had to order a special pump truck to pump the concrete into the walls.  The day of the pour we had to take everything out of the area so we could get around easily.  We also had to build railing for up on top of the braces so that we could stand up there and pour the concrete easily.  While the concrete was being poured we had to use a vibrator to help get rid of air bubbles. 

What I Thought About It – It was interesting.  The pouring was interesting because of all of the different tools we had to use.  Building the walls was interesting because it was working with giant Lego.