Build My First Home | The trials and tribulations of building a first home

Concrete Slab after rainfall

Posted on the July 1st, 2009 under First Stages by admin

Well, as predicted we had another full day of rainfall. This makes for a very difficult slab finish. Luckily our concrete crew had about an hour and a half window of no rain. This allowed for them to finish the slab and get it covered. Anytime you mix rain with concrete the result is never pretty. The slab is still showing some white rock through to the top layer. A urethane coating will be applied to the slab to ensure a smooth and protected finish. The garage floor will receive a fresh finsh and a half layer of new concrete called a concrete cap. This will ensure a very nice finish to the floor of the garage.

Concrete slab shown after 2 straight days of rainfall. Slab is covered in a tarp shortly after re-applying a new top-coat layer of concrete

Another screen shot of our local weather channel's weather forecast. It's good for the earth, but not for our house!

Finally Approved: We are back on track!

Posted on the June 26th, 2009 under First Stages by admin

Today was a good day when it comes to the building of the house. Finally. we got approval on the plan revisions and a release on the job copies at the building department. This means that we can resume construction! Today, Chelsea and I went to the building department to pick up the revised plan stamped by the county and paid the $75 red tag we received for violating their terms. Boo! Now I have to take the plan to the permit box on Sunday afternoon for our inspection on Monday. Hopefully the inspector will not find any problems and we can be on track for a Tuesday slab pour.

Porches Formed and ready for pour

Posted on the June 17th, 2009 under First Stages by admin

I visited the site today and discovered that the porches were being formed and prepared for concrete pour scheduled for Monday 6-22-2009. I also noticed that the porta-potty had arrived on site. Now the workers will not have to leave to use the restroom. I need to be certain that the block crew fixes the damage to the stem wall prior to pouring the slab. This is becoming a concern for me. In order to pass an inspection the wall must be fixed and I am sure it will get done, I just want to know when so I don’t lose any sleep over it. Ha Ha.

Back Porch Shown. Size: 11' x 22' Should make for some nice BBQ's

Stem Wall Installed Today

Posted on the June 10th, 2009 under First Stages by admin

Well today marks the first day of actual progress in terms of structure on the house. Our concrete block crew installed the stem wall for the foundation today. You can see from the pictures that the perimeter of the house is well defined by the stem walls. These walls will enclose a huge amount of fill dirt that will be poured into the area of the house. Once the dirt is installed the plumber will come out and install the rough plumbing. The slab will then be poured to meet the top of the blocks shown in the pictures. This creates an elevated slab and the northern front porch home look we are trying to achieve. It is looking really good. Check out the pictures.

Concrete Footings Poured Today

Posted on the June 9th, 2009 under First Stages by admin

At last our concrete was poured today for our stem wall footers. The concrete guys did a great job. 12 yards of concrete was used for the footers. Footers are poured prior to the actual concrete foundation. Once the concrete in the footings cures, the block crew will come out and add the stem-wall blocks to the edges of the footings. Then the rough plumbing and fill dirt will be installed. Once that is complete, the final concrete slab will be poured. I took photos and video documenting the process.

Adding Concrete to the footers, creating the grade beam

Always put some extra money into the foundation of your home, instead of purchasing fancy expensive window treatments or a hot tub. Most home builders in Florida will build single family homes on monolithic slabs. This leaves your foundation extremely vulnerable to cracking and shifting. With a typical monolithic slab, homeowners have complained of drywall cracks and tile cracks. My house (shown) is built on a self-supporting slab or also known as a stem wall foundation. It utilizes a grade beam consisting of concrete and steel rebar (shown) to support the weight of the exterior walls and roof structure. Concrete blocks are placed on the exterior edge of the grade beam and then fill dirt is placed inside of the stem-walls. A concrete slab is then poured in the center of the stem wall blocks. This allows for all of the load to be transferred to the grade beam rather than the slab itself.