Exterior Openings
It is very important that we seal the area between the dome footings and the vertical wall footings to prevent water from seeping into the expansive clay and start lifting things up and destroying everything we have built so far.
The edges of the dome openings where quite rough and not at the right height so its a manual job of hammer drilling the extra concrete to remove the excess. Keep up the good work Beth!
OK Guess Ray has to do some work too!
This edge is ready to go!
Here is a good look at a sticker imbedded
into the concrete and around a piece of rebar.
To insure that the moisture will run off the aprons we are having the concrete extend 2" beyond the dome footing. To accomplish this we place a 2" foam spacer between the dome and the concrete forms.
The forms could not be staked right against the dome since we have a perimeter drain and did not want to take the chance of punching holes into it. So we had to extend each support out away from the dome footing before staking in place. After adding the screening, we are ready for concrete!
Here comes the concrete! The color should come close to match the window and door frame color.
Lets pour the front porch!
Don't forget the shop entrance!
Smoothing it out before stamping.
Time to remove the forms so the front can
be stamped too. Man was I nervous to
do this - hoping it wouldn't just run off!
Guess they know what they are doing.
Finished product! Wow that looks nice. Still has to be washed and sealed but we will let it dry first.
Garage Apron - A few weeks later!
Because of the mud around here it makes sense to have an area in front of the garages to park a vehicle and get out without stepping into mud.
Smoothing out the rough concrete.
Troweled smooth.
Over half done.
Begin stamping the surface
(boy is it dirty work).
Continuing with the stamping.
Final look. Cool!
Another shot of the apron.
Extra concrete!
They will make the front walk some day.
Patio
The final exterior portion of our project has to be prepared. Leveling and compacting are the first order.
Donna drives the compactor very well.
Boy I love work! - I could watch her all day! :-)
Concrete is here!
Talk about dry concrete! I think we could form it into a statue is so stiff.
Lets spread it around a bit.
And smooth it off a bit.
Keep it flowing - we will get it filled up!
Hand troweling to smooth it off real nice.
Hey guys! He just got it all smooth - now you are roughing it up!
Final look - wow that's different and it looks great!
Closer look at the stamped surface.
Wow what a view - we will be out here a lot!
Back Window opening
The motorized wheelbarrow had a difficult time moving on the snow be they made it to the back of the house.
Its cold out and concrete hardens better if its not freezing so we did our best to cover the openings as well as blanketing the surface to protect it from the elements. It isn't pretty but it worked!