More Foundation Progress

The work to mitigate the expansive soil was completed and the footings for the covered patio, shop, and pool buildings poured. The forms for the stem walls for the same areas are now in progress. Once the stem walls are complete, the first wood framing will appear. Jim (the builder) wants to give the concrete time to cure before backfilling and pouring the slab portions of the foundation. The slab on the covered patio will be the first final finish to appear so we have to decide exactly how we want the concrete to appear. (Stained? Tinted on site? Tinted in the mix? This will be the first of many decisions like this. Hopefully, we’ll get some right.)

The pool work should start soon; they’ll excavate and complete the rough work. Over winter, we’ll have a big hole lined with gunite which collects a bunch of water. Next summer they’ll do the finish work.

What has struck me the most about building a house from original design to concrete is the unforgiving nature of the process. If I were to be a builder, I’m sure that shortly after pouring thousands of dollars worth of concrete I’d realize I’d forgotten to leave an opening for a door or window. Even worse, my measurements would be off by an inch. In the kind of engineering work I’m used to (software), a mistake is usually easily corrected; no concrete has to be broken up or walls torn down. Software is the ultimate forgiving medium.

I mentioned this to our builder and he said that one of the signs of a good builder is how skillfully he (or she) corrects mistakes.