Mortar - Ugh


This weekend, Curt and I mortared the whole back wall of the house, since this part of the house gets mostly buried under the ground it needs to be really waterproof.

Curt mixing the mortar.

We had to mix one bag of mortar at a time since you can't let it get to dry. Then we used trowels to spread it on the wall. I spent most of the day in a squatting position to get the bottom of the wall so Curt could get the top. The wall is 8' by 90'. My thighs are about dead, and Curt's shoulders are dead, together we had the perfect work out.

Tools of the trade.

When is was all done this is what it looks like, you can tell that on the last wall we were a bit tired. But all in all, not a bad job.

Last wall, not quite as smooth.

The pile of motor bags at the end of the day.

This is how messy I got, and this is just my legs!

After a shower (see pic above) we had well deserved pizza and wine and pretty much fell asleep. Just another exciting day and night at the Carpenter house.

Rocket!

Ever wonder what these amazing construction people eat to get ready to build for the day?

That's right, rocket donuts, Curt sneaks out and gets them when I'm not looking and trying to make him eat granola.

This is what Pip looks like when he is begging for a donut.

Forms Removed

After the concrete dried we removed the forms, this is how it looks.

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 And the pumper truck left us a really cool Andy Goldsworthy-ish piece of art!

House Plans!

And remember, there is one more window in the back wall!

Here are the elevation plans of the house. I don't have a floor plan, because as I've said before, it keeps changing and so the floor plan I did have is no longer what it looks like. I tried to steal one off Curt's desk today, but that one was also not quite right. When I do have one, I'll post it.

Pumper Truck!

Big day at the house build today. We had to bring in a concrete pumper truck to fill the holes in the walls with concrete. It looks like this when it's all extended. 

Pumper Truck

It looks like this when it arrives.

Then it puts these big feet out, 4 of them and extends the pump. I apologize, I thought I had got a great video of it extending, but apparently I was just standing there with the camera pretending to video it. Since I forgot to hit the button. I guess I was a bit excited.

Then the cement truck comes and pours cement in the pumper truck. The truck had some problems getting in the driveway. But finally made it.

This is what it looks like when they fill the pumper truck.

They attached a hose to the truck and fill the walls!

And I do have video of the truck in action!

This is RJ and Nathan. RJ walked along the whole wall with the pump filling the holes and Nathan was   packing it in. First the fill it up halfway and everyone packs it in as fast as you can. To make sure it's all at the bottom and there are no gaps. This is by the way, really hard work, I helped, so I know.

This is what it looks like when it's all filled and leveled off.

As you can see RJ has hair most women would die for.

That pretty much takes most of the day. Tomorrow we can take the bracings off and start the wood framing. Here is a picture of the new window Curt cut into the wall this week.

And just because I know that you are all dying to see them.......here is a picture of my barn boots! I needed them today to work with the concrete.

The Ravine

We have just about 2 acres, most of it is trees. We do have a little seasonal creek that runs through the property. This will give you an idea of what the ravine looks like. Curt wants to put a zip line in for the nieces! They of course think this is a wonderful idea.

We also have what I lovingly refer to as mosquito pond. It's just seasonal also and standing water, so after the house is done, this will have to be taken care of. Now you know why I have barn boots. It's home to many, many mosquitos, bats, frogs, a pair of ducks, and one giant skunk cabbage. However we do see many footprints of all sorts of other animals that frequent it for drinking. Including.......

Mr. Pippin. Gratuitous doggy photo there!

Scavanger

Have I mentioned that Curt is a scavenger? Here is a picture of some, and I mean some of the wood Curt has scored off old buildings. A few years ago, one of the old abandoned warehouses by his office burned. The sub-floor was old growth clear fir. He got a bunch for really really cheap. Then last year or so the rest of them fell down, so once again, since they were just munching it up like idiots. Curt was able to get more. We have enough for all the beams in the house! Plus some, so we will see where that all ends up.

Man Shed

This is Curt's "man shed" as he likes to call it. He seems to think he sits in here and drinks beer and watches some amazing games on a non-existant T.V. I just let him have his little dreams. It holds all our tools and odd camping equipment we use for family reunions, and odd sports equipment. It also has my barn boots in there for when I decide to go tromping around in the ravine.

Walls

The back walls are finally done and braced and the electrical boxes put in. This is how it looks today.

You can see Curt sitting there doing the last bit of foaming. A little later he was back in Architect mode telling me he was going to cut out one more window. He was marking it as I was leaving. Someday I'll have a scanned copy of the house plans to post, but seriously it seems to change from day to day, I think he thinks it's like re-arranging furniture or something. At least the foundation is done and that can't be changed at this point. Because until it was actually poured, it changed from day to day too.

Rastra

I keep getting asked what the heck is Rastra block anyway? Well, it looks like this.

It's essentially ground up recycled styrofoam cups and cement. It makes a very sturdy, green, high insulated block. Normally this wouldn't really be an option for us up here in Washington since they are made in Arizona and the shipping makes them very expensive. But in another green move by my scavenger of a husband, we found all our ours on.....ready.....Craigslist. Right here in Bellingham. One job had ordered to many and another job had been cancelled, so we scored big time and got them for pretty much half price!

Here is a link for those of you that want to know more.http://www.rastra.com/

Once you build the walls up you have to put rebar in them. It looks like this when done. This is taken from the top of the wall. Once you get all the rebar in and any of the electrical boxes and conduit in them.

Then you fill the holes with concrete. That is happening this Saturday! I'll get some good pictures of that too.