Idaho 36" Build

[AJH]

Planning on putting a half dozen or so weep holes. I have the 1/2 inch pvc sitting there ready to go, just need to drill holes in the 2x6's so that they stay put when the concrete is poured around them.
Trying to figure out if raising the cement mixer high enough to pour straight onto the form would be better than pouring into buckets and lifting them up to pour into the form... I was thinking that I might be able to make a chute to pour it into certain areas if I raised up the mixer, but then I would have to climb a few rungs on a ladder to load the mixer.... might just be easier to lift the buckets

[AJH]

Pouring the table top tomorrow! Figure after that it will be spring before I start working again. Can you mortar the bricks if it gets below freezing at night? By the time the table is cured enough to remove the supports, temps will probably be below freezing at night...

[rsandler]

My understanding is that the portland cement curing reaction will slow or stop below 40F, so mortaring in the cold probably won't end well. But, you don't need to wait for the slab to be self-supporting before you start putting stuff on it. Probably only need to wait a week, and even then only because you'll want to keep it wet for a week for maximum strength, and don't want to get your insulation wet.

Good luck on the pour!

[AJH]

Well, got the pour done. Turns out I'm not much of a mason... mixer was supposed to handle four 60 lb bags, but we had issues with it not mixing half of it, so had to cut back to two bags at a time. Then, I think we were not putting enough water in it as it came out way too dry. The last 4 or 5 batches I made it more pourable so that we could get a good float on top. I am a little worried that the bottom is not wet enough and will crumble when I take off the forms. Hopefully the water from the top will permeate down and bind it all together though...

Now I need to get my insulation and firebricks, but doubt I'll do much more till spring...

[JRPizza]

Good luck - hopefully the lower parts will wet out as you are thinking. On an unrelated subject, did you diy your corrugated garden containers? We wanted to try something other than the horse troughs that we currently are using.

[AJH]

JR - sent you a message about the garden beds =)

Concrete looks good so far, been keeping it wet and covered in plastic. Supposed to get below freezing on Friday... any tips for tucking it in for a week or so of cold weather? I have some blankies on top and can put a space heater under it to keep temps up. Also, how long should I wait to take off the outer forms and the supports under?

[rsandler]

Structurally you can pull the outer forms already, though you may want to leave them on for a week to help with moisture (and heat) retention. Supports underneath, I left mine on I think a week and a half, but I have a shorter span, since I used an H-shape base. 2 weeks might be better for you.

[AJH]

Well, it looks like a table! =) Got the Cal-Sil board ordered and should be ready for me to pick up in a week.
Half tempted to make a box out of rigid insulation with a small electric space heater in it to cover the top of the table so that I can work on the dome over the winter...

[AJH]

I took the supporting forms under the concrete table. Looks a little chunky on the bottom, which is what I expected with the thick cement I was mixing. Heading down to SLC to pick up the Cal-Sil board and the Ceramic blanket this weekend. Can start fiddling with the dome location and maybe get some bricks cut for when the weather is nice enough to not let the mortar freeze.

Should I pull the pvc out of the weep holes and bust through the top of the table or wait till it's cured more?
Underside picture with the weep hole pvc pipes =)

[MarkJerling]

Did you vibrate your concrete?

[AJH]

Did you vibrate your concrete?

Only the edges. I poured it on a Sunday and realized too late that the rental place to get the vibrator was closed... Had to use a sawzall with no blade to jiggle the outer forms and didn't feel like crawling under it to do the bottom.

[rsandler]

Probably better to knock the weep holes out now (you don't need to remove the PVC, and I kinda doubt you'd be able to). It will only get harder to punch out the top as the slab gets harder, and a rougher "exit hole" is better for drainage then a clean hole anyway.

[mongota]

Only the edges. I poured it on a Sunday and realized too late that the rental place to get the vibrator was closed... Had to use a sawzall with no blade to jiggle the outer forms and didn't feel like crawling under it to do the bottom.

DIY concrete vibrator, just tap the underside of the form with a hammer.

Things are moving along, congrats!

[david s]

Here are a couple of pics of my vibrating table that I use for my precast work. It is basically a frame sitting on four car engine valve springs. Cheap to make and works exceptionally well. The whole frame vibrates when tapped with a rubber mallet.

[AJH]

I got my insulation last weekend, went to the brickyard and got my firebrick, Portland cement, fireclay, lime, and sand mid week. Going to work on the jig for the saw and the IT and start laying out the floor this week. Weather seems to be warmer than normal for this time of year, so I may be able to get some dome work done over the winter =) Going to build a rigid insulation box over the dome and put a space heater in there at night to keep the temps nice and warm for the mortar to cure once I get to that point.