Treehouse Pizza

[RandyJ]

Well I got my support slab poured today. Once again I took off from work at lunch time and ran to get a trailer load of ready mix. For anyone in the future this is a great way to go. If you could access your build spot you could just dump straight into your form from the trailer. I unfortunately have to wheelbarrow everything to the backyard. Fortunately there is not to much of a hill. Other that it being a lot of work to lift all the cement from the wheelbarrow to the form it went very well.

I am very happy to have this part of the build done. Concrete work is not my favorite thing to do. It's not that it is that hard to do but it is brutally heavy hard work. I also was hoping to have the base done before my kit arrived and I have met that as it is supposed to arrive on Friday. Even with all the rain we have been getting I managed to build the whole base in 12 days. That is about as fast as I think I could do this with working full-time too. Maybe could have shaved a day here or there but you need to allow curing time foe the concrete too so not much to cut from that time frame. Now the only concrete work I am not looking forward to is the post base for the pavilion.

Randy

[david s]

You should be able to easily drill out that 1/2” from underneath after about 2 days when the concrete is not too hard. At least you won’t hit any reo.

[RandyJ]

Ok. I made the recommended changes. Does this look better? I added 3 weep holes roughly under the edges of the dome. I added shims under the support legs under the slab and moved the form up a bit to compensate. I have roughly 1/2" of space above the weep hole pipes. I found some scrap 1/2" EMT so that is what I used and I covered the top side with duct tape. Let me know if anyone sees anything else. I have concrete ordered for 1pm tomorrow.

Randy

[SableSprings]

Shims are wedges and are pretty easy to knock out. Getting those supports cut is going to be harder than you think. Also, putting shims in on the horizontal wood will help drop them out later...guaranteed you'll struggle trying to cut them out and they won't drop out. As David said, the boards will push out when they are even slightly angled. I used a couple chunks of 2x4 in my ash dump void and it took me over an hour to cut, drill, & pound them out because they had also absorbed water from the pour and swelled up considerably.

As for the weep holes, putting in almost any semi rigid pipe is far easier than drilling through the slab (and possibly hitting rebar). Set them so the top is just below the top level of your slab. That will allow you to scree the top and you can easily clear it after the pour sets with a rod & hammer from below. I know this all seems like a lot of extra fiddling with the shim additions and setting in weep hole tubes, but it will make cleaning up the slab forms a whole lot easier. By the way, I'm sure Menards has packs of wedge/shims for cheap...I'd recommend the plastic ones as they won't split or absorb water (and swell ).

[Giovanni Rossi]

I'm right with you on the wedges Randy. I was ready to use shims under my supports, but had the same thought about the weight and not being able to knock them out anyway. I just sacrificed them and cut them. There must be some engineering concept whereby if the wedge is a certain angle they're easier to knock out??

The drainage tubes were pretty simple to install. I just zip-tied them to the rebar to hold them in place. One thing I can't quite see on your photo is if you have a platform above the horizontal members of your supports. I did, so I just drilled through the cement board and and pushed the tubing though so it rested on the platform. That plus the zip ties held the tubes very well during the pour. I'm sure you know; if you use the tubes, make sure to position the top 1/8-1/4" below the surface so they don't interfere with floating the slab. And stuff the top to keep the concrete out. Drilling seems pretty simple too if you've marked the rebar locations on your forms.

[RandyJ]

Hey david s , I had been planning to just cut the supports off after the slab is cured. If that's not a great idea how am I going to get the shim out from under the leg? I would think with all the weight pushing down it will be stuck there. Maybe I am missing something. I am picturing using door shims.

As for weep holes I had just planned to use a hammer drill and drill afterwards. If I did go before do you think a bit of 1/2" EMT would work? Pretty sure I have some on the job and could just slice up a few chunks before I go home.

Randy

[david s]

STOP.
Before you pour the concrete put some wedges under the props, so they can drop a little. Failure to do this means that as soon as you move a prop off vertical, you extend its length, creating upward stress on the slab and possible cracking.

You may also want to consider having some weep holes through the slab for underfloor drainage which allows moisture from the underfloor insulation to dry a lot easier and faster. This is easier to achieve by casting in some 1/2' plastic pipe rather than drilling the slab later and having to dodge reo.

[RandyJ]

Well I am trying to get ready to pour my support slab on Wednesday. I managed to get the bottom of the slab framed up and the sides as well. I also got all the rebar cut and some bent and put into place. I still need to go back and tie some of it together but for the most part I have it all ready to go. I spent about 3.5 hours on this part today.

I can't wait to have all this part done and move onto the funner parts of the build. I also am just slightly paranoid that if I don't hit this window then I am not sure when I will get the next chance to pour as it is predicted to rain for most of the next 2 weeks.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Well I forged on ahead today regardless of the weather. It looked like it was going to start raining at any time so I ran to menards as quickly as I could and got the rest of the blocks I needed a little more rebar and a bunch of bags of concrete. As soon as I got home it started to sprinkel. So I figured I better work fast . I drilled holes in the slab and pounded the rebar into it. Then stacked the blocks over them. It had not started raining hard yet so I figured I would mix up a few bags of concrete to start pinning every thing in place by core filling every other hallow. It worked out one bag completely filled one void. So I mixed 13 bags by hand and by the time I was done it was pouring and I was completely soaked. Oh well it just helps convince my neighbors I am nuts.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Giovanni Rossi the whole reason I am documenting this build is to hopefully help others in the future the way i was helped on my last build. There are simple things that can make a big difference in how easy something is to do or how cheap it is to do. I know that I have received tons of valuable information from this forum and at work that helps me do these projects. I was lucky when I built my first oven and was at a job sight that had framers and Mason's and concrete workers all of whom I told what I was doing and asked how I should proceed and was told exactly what to do. Now I feel it is my duty to help others the way I was helped.

Now today we have a break in the rain this morning still and seeing as it predicts rain for most of the next 10 days i am going to start stacking block for my stand. It is supposed to not rain on wed again so i am going to shoot for pouring again then. Wish me luck as that will be a solo job again most likely. Just nowhere near the volume.

Randy

[Giovanni Rossi]

RandyJ , This is what I love about this Forum...always learning new stuff. All my DIY projects from junior high working with my Dad to building my oven have used redimix delivery. I didn't know this is an option. While it wouldn't have worked for me, I'm sure you've given some future builders an option to maybe save some $$.

Now, you just need to line up a couple buds to help with that support slab!

Gio

[RandyJ]

Baldywills , thanks for the words of encouragement. I appreciate that a lot. It definitely is kind of hard trying to beat the clock on setting concrete. That was my number one fear on trying to do the pour all by myself. I pulled it off but was completely spent by the end of it. I figure I have about another week of hard grunt work with building the stand and then next Friday my kit will arrive so if I can be close to done by then the fun part can start.

I am at least somewhat use to working by myself as I am a industrial/ commercial Electrician and do a lot of work by myself. Sometimes you need to be extra creative to get things done and some times you just need to grind really hard to get everything done. I am pretty sure all my neighbors think i am nuts though for all the work i have been doing.

Randy

[Baldywills]

Nice slab Randy, Its not always easy working away by yourself, especially if you are up against the clock when it comes to shifting concrete. Now yo will be onto the more interesting parts of the build but you will still have some concrete humping to do so chin up and plough on. Nothing worth doing was ever easy.

All the best

Gary

[rsandler]

We had the slab poured, then left on vacation for two weeks basically the next day. The cracks were there when we got back. Although, 9 months and many-thousand pounds of blocks bricks etc. later, it's still just a hairline crack, hard to see if you don't know what you're looking for. So not likely a big issue in any event.

[RandyJ]

I had forgotten to mention that as rsandler had mentioned I added a peice of rebar at the corner to hopefully prevent cracks there. I had a few 18" chunks left sitting around so I placed them as I was doing the pour. So I guess my question is how long did it take for your cracks to show up? I wet the slab down last night and put a sheet of plastic over the slab. I figured that by earlier next week I will be ready to start making my stand. I will need to clean up some of the over run and get it off to the recycling center in the meantime.

Randy