Dave's Pics of Progress

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

I finished the forms today, and the rebar is set.

Tomorrow I pour.

I've bought 3/4ths of a yard of sand/gravel mix.

And I will pick up 3 bags of cement tomorrow.

The gravel mix is 3 parts gravel to 2 parts sand. So I will need to add 1 part cement and about 1/2 a part of water.

And then mix..... Hard work ahead but it will be worth it.
I will put some pics up Sunday or Monday.
I'm starting to get really excited.
Next week I hope to pick up my bricks.

[Ken524]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

I finished the forms today, and the rebar is set.

Dave,

I really like your idea of the overhang all the way around. Make sure you take a few pics of your finished forms and rebar before the pour.

Good luck and have fun pouring.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

I'll do it Ken.

I thought I would take some better close up pics of the form in case someone also wants an overhang around the whole stand.

Thanks for keeping up!

Did you get much done on your dome this weekend?

[Ken524]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

Did you get much done on your dome this weekend?

I finally got the courage to open a bag of Heat Stop last night. I laid about 10 bricks. I'll put a few more down today and take some pics. Heat Stop is surprisingly easy to use. As others have said, it's as easy as spreading creamy peanut butter.

Can't wait to see your hearth pics!

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

Well we started mixing at 9:50 am.

Each batch consisted of about a 5 gallon bucket of sand/gravel, 1 gallon of cement, and a half a gallon of water.

Let's just say I got to know my new hoe really well.

25 batches later the forms were full and I floated it.
It took us two hours almost on the nose. My wife and one of my daughters was doing the measuring of concrete and sand. And I was doing the mixing and pouring. My wife or daughter would help with the screed board as needed. It went surprisingly well, and I thought it went pretty quick.

I will post pics tonite. Now I'm ready for some Sunday football, of course I will have to finish it with my finishing trowel as it sets up more.

Oh, the cost of the concrete we poured was about 55 U.S. dollars. I will update my spreadsheet later.

I'm ready; bring on some bricks! and vermiculite of course.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

Here are some pics of the form building process.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

I wanted an 1.5 inch over hang around the sides and back, and a twelve inch cantilever in the front. Here is a close up of how I used 2x4's to create this overhang.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

Just some pics of the form and supports from inside the stand.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

A pile of gravel/sand mix. And two bags of Portland cement. I should of bought three, my wife had to go grab another at the end.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

Me and my new hoe.

The best hoe I ever had.

And I really got to know this one well!

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

The table, the bucket, and my daughter doing the sand shoveling.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

The first batch of concrete. Time was about 9:50a.m. And spraying down the form before the pour. It's best to start with damp forms to hold moisture in as long as possible.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

The bowl we used to measure concrete. The five gallon bucket for sand/gravel.

And the first batch in the form. I mixed 5 gallons of sand/gravel to 1 gallon of concrete and poured in about a half a gallon of water.

I tried to work from the middle to the outside, instead of from one end to the other.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

A few pics of the pour progress. Note - the long board was used to screed the concrete. We just laid the board on the outside edges of the form and swept it back and forth in a quick motion while we moved forward.

And my beautiful wife! So supportive.

[asudavew]

Re: Dave's Pics of Progress

The bucket was cheap and lightweight, but it sure was heavy when full. So to pour different sections of the slab, I would lay the screed board in the direction I needed to go and slide the bucket on top of it to the desired location.