[TheForge] OT: My floor is poured: the saga

Tue Sep 16 17:18:33 EDT 2014

Some years back i discovered free bales of styrofoam from the recycling plant.
They were so eager to get rid of them they loaded them for me after hours..
Covered my 12' flatbed with them stacked 9' high.
They made great backfill behind the big  retaining wall and have been stable for the last 15 years or more.
Water resistant , insulating, easy to place and free. I covered them with leachrock about a foot deep for fire and vermin.
If you need more volume, break up the bales on a calm day.
French drain below.

On Sep 16, 2014, at 1:48 PM, jerry Frost wrote:

Not a bad idea Bruce. Straw bales will need a little anti varmit treating
but some roach pruf and moth balls usually takes care of the easy critters.
I have no doubt there is plenty of info online.

Maybe a little skirting for better weatherproofing but it might not be
necessary if the bales fit tightly enough.

Jer

-----Original Message-----
From: TheForge [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bruce
.
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 3:17 AM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT: My floor is poured: the saga

Straw bales!.  Make your basement walls a temporary straw bale structure.
completely removable.  Decent insulation in the winter.

Bruce
NJ

On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:19 AM, Andrew Vida <osan at netlabs.net> wrote:

> 
> On 9/8/14, 10:52 PM, jerry Frost wrote:
> 
>> It shouldn't have started setting up even if they just let it sit 
>> half an hour after pumping. That sounds like they added an accelerant 
>> at the batch plant alright. Take a sample to the State Materials lab 
>> for analysis, the concrete co. is picking up the bill. Have your lawyer
charge it back.
>> 
> I have now spoken with at least a dozen people in the area who do or 
> have done concrete professionally and when I told the story, the first 
> thing out of EVERYONE'S mouth was "calcium"... they must have put in 
> calcium to accelerate the set.  But why?
> 
>> 
>> High humidity weather can allow steam because it's already near the 
>> dew point but the basement shouldn't have been appreciably hotter 
>> than ambient.
>> 
> Basement is notably cooler than ambient, typically, and was that day 
> as well.
> 
>> Did you try touching the slab or pile setting up in the driveway? I'm 
>> almost betting a letter of intent from a lawyer will start getting  
>> offers to settle out of court. Don't forget to add emotional 
>> distress, etc. etc. It SHOULD cost them to keep you quiet. Suckers 
>> MUST pay.
>> 
> Oh, I'm not going quietly on this one.  I've had quite enough of 
> getting screwed around by these two half-wit outfits, 
> thankyouverymuch.  Readymix company is not returning my calls... I'm a 
> very forbearing person, but once you demonstrate to me your malice, I 
> go for the carotids, which is the next move after giving them ONE more
opportunity to make like a cowboy.
> 
> As for Marco... that will be a bigger nut to crack as they have driven 
> my cost to do what I need to do up by at least a factor of 4 or 5.  
> Engineer told not to cut footings for fear of another shear failure.  
> Already have one right in the middle of where those dildoes placed one 
> of the brackets.Not more than 1/16 shift, but that 1/16 more than I 
> wanted.  But because the $$ have now gone way up, I'm sure Marco will 
> admonish me to screw myself, in which case I will have to get very serious
with them...
> but that takes time and time we do not have in any reserve.  When it 
> goes single digits, we are going to be in serious shit.
> 
> 
>> Jer
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TheForge [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of 
>> Andrew Vida
>> Sent: Saturday, September 6, 2014 7:52 AM
>> To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
>> Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT: My floor is poured: the saga
>> 
>> 
>> On 9/5/14, 3:13 PM, jerry Frost wrote:
>> 
>>> It is if he stopped for coffee or lunch. Once concrete starts to set 
>>> it sets pretty quickly. A concrete company that screws up a pour 
>>> like this will have people blaming others, it's the guy in the 
>>> mixing tower, the guy in the truck, the finishers, etc.
>>> 
>> Well, the one person they cannot blame is me.  The pumpers and 
>> finishers were also blameless.  The mix appeared normal until about 
>> 1/2 hour in, after about 5 or so yards were put down.  All of a 
>> sudden it started hardening up very quickly and the finisher was not 
>> happy.  I didn't realize how bad it was until a while later.
>> 
>> These bastards are going to tell me to go scratch and then I will 
>> have to take up my iron bars - there's the smithing content. :)
>> 
>>> When you say it got hot, how hot?
>>> 
>> The 7 yards remaining in the truck was putting off very visible 
>> vapors in 90*+, 90%+ humidity.  It was not hot in the basement, so 
>> they cannot claim that we should have known.  Everything seemed 
>> perfect until the very sudden and rapid change in the character of 
>> the mix.  Prior to that, I was shoveling concrete up into the low 
>> spots because it was flowing well.
>> 
>>    Concrete should get warm as it sets but even a 24" footing should 
>> be
>>> too cool for a bath. If a slab is getting hot, say steaming on a 
>>> cool day it's a hot mix, either WAY past pour time or a hot mix from 
>>> the batch plant.
>>> 
>>> How'd your footings come out?
>>> 
>> Sagged slab - integral footing.  3 runs of #5 rebar all four sides 
>> about
>> 2-3 inches from the bottom, right where it belonged.  Engineer friend 
>> said one would have sufficed and that three makes for a very strong
footing.
>> Footings average about 16" deep x 24 wide.  Floor is about 5"
>> average with a few thinner areas, perhaps 3.5"... still plenty, 
>> especially with the mesh in it.
>> 
>> My only concern now is whether it is too far out of level for a mason 
>> to lay block, if I choose to go that route, which at this point I may 
>> because the forms are now up to about $5K and there is no possible 
>> way.
>> I'd planned on $500-$600, using the clay as the outer form, but the 
>> imbeciles at Marco scotched that big time.
>> 
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