More Slab Work

Its been a very busy summer, but I was able to get some time away from work to finish putting in the waste lines that are under the slab.  I did not get any pictures of this process, but I had a plumber look at what I did and he gave me the thumbs up.

Once the sanitary drains were in place, it was time to move the sand around and level it with the forms.  Using strings stretched from side to side and a 8 foot board cut to the right depth for a screed I moved the sand around within the frame and leveled it up as best I could.  Next it will need to be packed and then the grade beams need to be dug out, re-bar put into them, vapor barrier placed down, styrofoam laid out, wire mesh plopped down and pex pipe draped across the whole according to its heat zones.  All that will need to be placed and then the cement can be put on.

Before that though, I need to get my cousins skid steer and move some sand I have in a nearby pile around and build up the edges around the form to keep the slab from blowing out the sides when it is poured.

Chicken Coop Revisited

After some though I have moved the chicken coop to a different location.  The reason for the move is that it ended up being to close to the well.  For now I have moved the building (it is on skids) to its new location.  Not only has it been moved, but for now until the new house is built rather than housing chickens it will be housing tools and building materials.

Well Building 2

I have been slowly going ahead with getting the well shed built.  I spent one Sunday a few weekends ago framing the walls.  As with most projects I start, this one is using mostly reclaimed material or new material off of the sawmill.  In the case of the walls, my father and I picked up several used 2x4's that the local village hall was disposing.  These had been used for shelves and the village had remodeled and was getting rid of them.  I took this stack and cut them to 5 foot lengths.

One part that is new is I purchased green treat 2x4's to line the base of the walls against the cement.  These were drilled to fit over the bolts that had been put in the cement and secured with a nut and washer holding this base in place.  Onto these boards the walls were then set and secured once they were framed.

Next I built some small trusses for the roof.  I cut matching pieces for each part, creating four of them in total.

After the trusses were built, I secured these to the walls and then cut 2x4's to place in the dead space between each truss.

Over the next few weeks I plan to finish the roof with boards and tin and use some plywood siding for the walls.  I have some used white tin set aside that I scrounged for the roof which should work very nice.

Well Building Slab

This past weekend I moved on from the well itself and started to concentrate on the protective building that will enclose the well and keep it from freezing once the cold weather of frosty winter rolls in. The first part of this process is forming and poring the slab that a small well house building will sit on.  I purchased several bags for quickcrete from the local building supply store.  I framed and leveled the from from some scrap 2x4's I had laying around and then with the help of my wife controlling the hose, I mixed up the crete in the wheel barrow and shoveled it into the frame.  I did not get real fancy with troweling the slab since its purpose is more a footing than a slab.  As it was setting I placed two anchor bolts on each side where later I can attached some treated 2x4's onto which the walls of the building will sit.

The following morning I pulled off the forms and then shoveled and shaped the embankment around the slab so water will run away from the finished building.  Throughout the day I spayed it down with water to help cure the slab and now wait for the time to start building the walls.

Well Update

The well is coming along.  After dealing with a well pit that kept flooding with ground water this spring I changed from a shallow jet pump to a deep well jet system.  A deep well jet involves placing a packer assembly down the 2 inch well pipe.  This assembly has a tail pipe and that hangs below it and is connected to the top of the well by a one inch pipe.  Since the lifting capabilities of a shallow well pump are no more than say 26 feet at where I live, the pump needed to be down several feet in the pit to meet this requirement.  The deep well jet pump can lift up to a hundred feet I have been told.  Since this is the case, I decided to add on pipe to extend it above ground level to get the pump out of the pit and standing ground water.  Since it is no longer in the bottom of the hole, I filled up the majority of the pit with fill well above the standing water level and placed washed rock on the bottom of the pit.  It is now only about four feet deep.  Into this pit I have placed one of the 30gallon pressure tanks and hooked it into the water system.  Several fittings later and some hose clamps I now have running water going to the trailer.

In the near future I will be placing another 30 gallon pressure tank into the pit next to the existing one for a greater on-demand reserve that will be available in the house.  At little over two gallons a minute, I do not have great flow, but some water is better than no water and the pressure tanks allow for regular house operation, even if it takes fifteen minutes to fill them up.

The wood form around the hole is the start of a frame for a small slab that will surround the round metal top of the pit.  Onto this slab I will be building a very well insulated well house that can be heated throughout the winter to keep my well from freezing.

Form Boards!

Yesterday after working in 80 degree heat I finally finished forming up for the slab.  After running string lines, squaring up and leveling, the form boards are now in place, but this is only the beginning of the foundation process.  I have to add plumbing, vapor barrier, 2 inch high density styro-foam, wire mesh, dig out and add re-bar for the grade beam and layout PEX tube for the in floor heat.  And finally the cement itself!  Also before the cement I will need to add more fill around the perimeter of the foundation to strengthen up the sand from washing out from rain.

Prepping for Foundation

Now that spring is here it is time to start on the house building.  All winter we have been stockpiling supplies for the foundation.  We will be building on a slab foundation with infloor heat.  In preparation, I wrote up a material list.  Needed was 2 inch high density styrofoam, wire, rebar, plastic for a vapor barrier, and PEX tubing for the infloor heat.  My wife and I have been paying for the material as we have been going along, stacking them up near the build site in readiness of using them.  Our goal is still to build this house without having to borrow any money if possible.

After the road restrictions went off after the spring thaw, two large loads of sand were delivered.  Last weekend I used the skid steer and spread out the piles.  After they were spread I spent some time with a number 2 shovel flattening them out, eyeballing the level as I went.  A better leveling will be needed, but for now I wanted to have a rough idea what I was working with.  After this rough leveling I put the four corner stakes in, measuring their distance and squaring them up with the planned dimmensions of the slab.  We are planning on the house to be 24x28 1 1/2 story.  It will not be big, but it will be comfortable and will fit in with our budget.

Pounding a Well- Part 5

After sitting unused all winter, a few weeks ago I got around to starting the well pump again to make sure everything came through the cold weather fine. Right from the get go the pump would not prime and so I sat back and scratched my head and got to thinking about what could be wrong. I pulled everything except the check valve apart; resealed all the fittings and also made sure the ancient pump I have been using is still sucking water. Everything seemed to be in order, but after reinstalling all the components the unit would still not prime. I then took a better look at the check valve that was new last fall and it was the culprit...cheap china crap. I replaced the check valve with a new one and put everything back together again. After priming the pump I started to get water once again. Now the task will be to hook it to the house via that line i already buried last fall.

Chicken Coop Part 2

Winter has come and has almost gone and so now that I can see the ground I can find building material that has been laying under the snow. It's time to continue with the chicken coop. Last fall I pulled out of the woods an old paintball fort that needed some of the studs replaced that had rotted. After pulling it into position, the fence was put up around it for a run and there is sat all winter. Now that it is time to work on it again, I put up some T11 plywood siding on it and also some used white steel for the roof. I started to trim the edges of the building with 1x4's and once that is all done it will be time to paint it.