Getting Even More Concrete

RJStegora’s team smoothed the garage floor with sand and reinforced it with steel rebar.  Pipes were laid to help track the slope of the concrete; it needs to slope downward toward the front of the garage.  Under the slab are conduits with electric lines, one ready for the solar panel’s electricity, and water drains.

Can’t you just smell the ozone coming off the grinder as it cuts rebar?

Once the concrete was poured, the edges needed a bevel, and it is worked first with a power float (bottom photo, resting after a hard day), and then by hand. When finished, the surface will be smooth and the bubbles will have been worked out, and larger gravel and sand moved below the surface.

The garage floor was poured on a Friday, and kept above freezing over the weekend.  By Monday, it was being used for staging, and by Friday after, there was a west-end sidewalk to keep the mud at bay.

Concrete cures better at warmer temperatures, giving it more time to “set.”  There are additives which can accelerate the process, but keeping it above freezing can be accomplished with low-tech methods like a clear canopy to let light and heat energy in, and space heaters can help.  Below is the canopy over the garage’s back sidewalk.

Concrete is a versatile material, and has been around at least as long as 6500 BCE.  Examples of the early use can be found in southern regions of modern day Syria and Jordan, as construction material for houses and underground, water-proof cisterns.  Much of modern concrete is Portland Cement mixed with water. A chemical reaction occurs, forming a hard matrix of durable, stone-like material.

After the garage was done, the next concrete project was the front retaining wall and steps.  The retaining wall got blankets to warm it, as it set over several days.  The step needed the plastic canopy and heat over a weekend.

 

There we have it. The concrete at the edges, and the edge of our 2017 building season.

We’ve got tons of wiring to talk about coming up soon.  All our personal advisors suggest we should make conduit or wire run into any and every potential location, including low-voltage lines for communications systems.  Oh, and the house is warming up, making it nice to work in shirtsleeves.

On a last note, here is what we’re looking forward to in the spring:  tapping the sweet maple trees for syrup. Until then, sweet winter dreams!

Glass+House=Warm (Late November)

Ancient structures for living needed some fresh-air;  the English “windows” is based on the ancient word roots:  Wind-holes.

Sweet Tree Passive House has a lot of windows, especially on the south walls, letting in generous light and heat energy, and almost no air when closed.  The glass has a low iron content for better light/heat energy transferring into the house.  The windows are triple-paned, with argon between panes.  We can expect values of U-0.118 (heat loss rating) and R-8.5.  (link to definition:  http://www.efficientwindows.org/ufactor.php)

In comparison, good double-paned windows may have U ratings of 0.30; lower is better.

The weather has turned very cold in Minnesota, dropping over 30F overnight.  RJ Stegora’s construction team buttoned-up the window-to-wall gaps with a foam tube and calk.

“rod” insulation between window and door frames and walls. It’s a flexible, compressible foam material.

Seeing all the steps which go into making our home a tight, functioning structure helps us to understand what finishes and lights work best in a passive house.  Some selections need adjusting now that we know more.

This material keeps insulation up in the rafters, and moisture out of that insulation. It has about a dozen languages printed on the instructions!

This white cotton material was blowm into the attic ceiling, the exterior cavities on the 2nd floor, and the garage, mudrom, and breezeway ceilings.

The attic has Intello holding up the insulation (see the yellow bales).  The stud wall will be a small closet, and also permits us to have a utility chase.

Next:  a little more concrete.