Overall – pretty productive in spite of continued and frequent rain.
Monday: cleaned dried mortar from approximately 100 concrete blocks, the result of me ramming the stem wall with an excavator. The mason is on vacation for 2 weeks, so we will concentrate on the house. Called for and received 4 loads of fill stone. Need to raise the “floor” of the house, so a concrete truck will be high enough for a downward slope on the chute, when we grout the stem wall. Called the rental store to reserve a compact loader.
Tuesday: Was on site by 9:30 towing my trailer with the rented compact loader/backhoe, which we used to spread the fill stone. Also rented a plate compactor to compress the fill stone.
Wednesday: not at the site today. Forecast for rain proved to be accurate, with severe weather later in the day. Worked on a variety of administrative tasks and made a few calls to contractors and material suppliers.
Thursday: Sunny day. Called our primary ready mix concrete provider – said they were super busy – 2 weeks. Whaat ? Called another ready mix provider – better – have to wait until Monday. Scored with the ready mix guys in Nashville – said they could bring us grout but wouldn’t be able to have a truck to us until 3PM. Yes please ! The house stem wall is now fully grouted.
Friday: Cleaned the stem wall of spilled grout. Called and received 5 loads of fill stone. The stone is being used to raise the level of the floor to within 8″ of final concrete slab. Spent most of the day, starting a burn pile for years and years of of accumulated dead tree limbs and branches just west of the house where the forest begins. And… 3/4″ rain overnight.
Saturday: Visited the site to mow the property frontage along highway 45. Purchased materials at Menards. Reserved a tractor with a loader to spread Friday’s gravel on Monday. Also mowed dad’s lawn and a friend still in Florida for another month. Returning the favor of allowing me to store vehicles at his place.
Sunday: Spent the day at home, sourcing materials for concrete slab prep. Shopping for simple vapor barrier to be installed on the fill stone and under the rigid foam board and concrete. It pays to shop around; have found prices ranging from $185 to $245 for a 20′ by 100′ roll. The cheapest was also available now, versus a week (or 2 weeks) to ship from other sources.
