Task – Washing & Sanding Floors
The Process – We had to sand the floor down so that it was nice and smooth. we used a air palm sander. We then had to sweep, vacuum & wash the floor several times to open the pours to accept the stain.
What I Thought About It – It was very messy and not that much fun. It was too dusty.
Task – Vapor Barrier & Prepping floor for concrete
The Process – We had to take and roll out the vapor barrier in long strips and then staple it to the rafters. We had to tape the edges & seams with tuck tape once it was up. We did the same for the floor after we leveled it with gravel. Then we put down Styrofoam on the ground followed by wire mesh to make the concrete stronger. We took heat lines and laid them down in certain patterns on the ground above the mesh. We zip tied the lines down to the mesh so they wouldn’t float to the surface of the concrete.
What I Thought About It – Definitely not something I would want to do for a living because it was boring. It was kind of like a giant mind puzzle because you had to figure out where the lines went.
Task – Putting in the underground plumbing
The Process – We had to dig a trench one foot deep. We had to place the pipes and make sure that everything fit. Each of the lines had to be placed at a 2 degree angle down towards the sewer tank.
What I Thought About It – It was hard work digging the trenches because we had to thaw out the ground before we could dig it because it was frozen. We had fun having a snowball fight with the snow that was on the ground in the house.
Task – Backfilling the footings.
The Process – We ordered in all of the gravel. Then we took the bobcat and move the gravel into the area inside the forms until it was level. Then we had to pack it and make sure it was level after we packed it. Then we got a tamper and packed it in again and we did that four or five times.
What I Thought About It – I liked the tampering… it relaxed your arms… gave you a good massage.
Task – Putting up the forms for the base of our house
The Process – First thing we did was to pound in wooden stakes into the ground to hold up the forms. We built the forms out of wood. The forms are 24” high and 18” wide. We used 2” thick Styrofoam on the outside of the forms. We also used void form foam on the base of the forms. We bent the rebar into a “c shape and then attached the rebar to the 4 corners. We alternated the “C” back and forth and ran wire between them to hold them in place. We ran wooden planks made out of 2x4’s across to hold the forms together.
What I thought about it – Pounding stakes into the ground is not something that is fun. Cutting the rebar was one of the best parts of this stage. You can actually start a fire with the sparks that fly when you cut it… I tried and succeeded.
Task – Picking up the screw piles
The Process – Get the piles off the trailer using a large fork lift and set them in a central location.
What I Thought about it – I found it interesting. The screw piles were fun to play as an instrument!
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