Laid To Rest

My title sounds very solemn but in actuality it was a very happy time for our little beach cottage when it was time to be laid to rest on its own foundation!  I was very eager to see how this was going to be accomplished.  

Thanks to Anthony Sapone and Tom McPhee I have some pictures to go along with my own--but I must confess that I felt I needed to stay out of the way and I wasn't there saying "Hold that pose".  I didn't want to suffer the fate of the wicked witch of the east from the  Wizard of Oz when Dorothy's house fell on her.  Setting the house down on the piers was a difficult, dangerous job!

 So this is how they did it...here was the house being supported by metal beams that were resting on stacks of railroad ties slightly higher than the piers:

Next wooden supports were stretched across the top of the piers.

This was hard work--there was just enough room to stretch the boards under the house 

and across the piers.

Once all the boards were in place they were permanently connected to the piers with metal straps that were inserted into the cement piers when they were being filled with cement...

 and then anchored together with these corner supports.

Once all the wood support system was in place and anchored securely, the wooden railroad ties and metal support beams holding the house up could be removed.

Yaay!  It's standing on its own as some of the railroad ties in the picture above have been removed and the metal support is below the top of the piers.  Eventually all of the railroad ties came down and were hauled away with the metal supports by our wonderful housemovers, Braswell Brothers.

The strapping of the cottage to the foundation will continue to take place throughout the renovation of the house--it's done in layers so the house will remain even when 

severe weather conditions occur.  

Rest in place and rest in peace, little cottage!

 

"Pier" Pressure

My little beach cottage has "legs"!  They're actually called piers but whatever they are called--they make my house look so tall!  This week I showed you how the crew laid a firm foundation for the piers in this post and this one.

Now that we have the rebar and the concrete has been poured,  you may be wondering--what's the deal with the rebar poles sticking up?  I'll show you--it's cool.

 

Our contractor, Anthony, told me about his subcontractor, Vicki, whose business is stacking concrete block--she and her crew thread the blocks through the rebar to build the piers. Anthony seemed to be  rather impressed with this lady so it piqued my interest.  I made a point to stop by to watch her and her assistants in action.

First they put a layer of cement around the rebar poles that were sticking out of the cement footing.  The cement applied was the size and shape of a cement block.

Then Vicki lifted a cement block over her head (wow!) and threaded the rebar through the holes in the block.  Go Vicki!

 Her assistant guided it down the rebar to set it on top of the cement.

Next they made sure the block was completely level--each block has to be perfect so the pier will stand up straight.

Once some minor adjustments were made to level it, then cement was applied to the 

top of the cement block.

...And everything was repeated 

And again...

 

Until the rebar was totally covered and the pier was completed! 

 Once this process was finished for all of the piers, the cement truck came back and the holes in the cement block (with the rebar inside) were completely filled in with concrete--and that is the way you do it!  Those are some strong piers!  

And speaking of strong, I'm still awestruck every time I think of Vicki doing her work--I may just break out in a chorus of "I Am Woman".  Well done, Vicki, well done.

Putting Our Best Footings Forward!

Who knew that Vicky Patton would ever be so interested in how to anchor a house to the ground?  I didn't expect it but I found it to be fascinating!

At the beach with its sandy, shiftable foundation, it is imperative for a house to have strong footings.  My last post dealt with the grid of deep holes that were dug underneath the house.  Next two grids made of rebar were placed at different levels in the hole along with two tall rods made of rebar.

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Rebar (short for reinforcing bar) is made of steel and is used to reinforce concrete structures....which bring us to the next thing.  The cement truck was next on the scene to fill each hole with cement.

Source:  Tom McPhee

Source:  Tom McPhee

Once the cement dried--in about a week--one of the coolest parts of the process happened.  I'll show you in my next post!