Week 9: Smooth as a baby’s bottom (part 2) – definitely!

The beginning of the week brought good enough weather for the pouring of the concrete floor. It seems amazing to me that all the work of the previous week, the tubes, the mesh and the insulation, gets covered over with what now looks like a concrete skating rink.

I thought these polishing machines looked like bumper-cars at a fairground. I wonder if they are fun to drive?

The surface is beautifully smooth with just a few reminders of the work below, such as the plumbing piping and heat manifolds.

The end of the week was wet and rainy and the workers took a break. The roof trusses and lumber for the walls was delivered, but looked lonely against the grey sky. We cross our fingers that next week’s weather will be more cooperative. 

Week 8: Hot, hot heat

The next step on the construction ladder was to lay the insulation and wire mesh for the new in-floor radiant heat system. This is one of the exciting changes we have been able to make to our workshop as a result of the whole tornado experience. One has limited options when heating a wood shop, due to concerns about dust, so radiant heat is the perfect solution. It is very energy efficient and will keep everything at a comfortable working temperature during our cold, snow-belt winters. Here are some images of the process.

Rigid foam insulation was laid onto the compacted soil surface of the new addition and directly onto the concrete of the old foundation. Next, a layer of thick wire mesh is added which will allow the piping to be anchored flat.

During this phase, the groundwork for the plumbing also needed to be completed before the final concrete floor was poured.

A portion of the old concrete foundation was removed to accommodate our new CNC router, which needs to have a special thickness of foundation underneath it to help limit any possible vibration. The construction crews cut out and lifted the section of concrete, insulated the hole, and then laid the heat piping so that it dipped down into the hole and out again.

The snaking grid of in-floor tubing is quite a sight over the entire surface of the foundation. Another check mark achieved on the construction to-do list!

Week 7: Smooth as a baby’s bottom (part 1)…well, almost…

The next task was to lay insulation against the foundation walls and backfill the trenches.

The in-filled surface needed to be compacted and smoothed out as much as possible, to prepare for the next step – the laying of the concrete floor.

I know it does not look like much, but just seeing this smooth surface and knowing what is coming next, has made us so happy with our progress.

Week 6: Shaking the foundations

It has only been 6 weeks and the rebuilding has started! We are thrilled with the progress we are making. Now, if only Mother Nature will cooperate - I think she owes us one, don’t you? Please keep your fingers crossed for a dry autumn.

The first job was to get the ground excavated for the new addition and to have the footings poured, as well as some minor touch-ups to the old foundation. The excavators that took down the remainder of the old building were a little over-zealous at times.

The week started off with rain on Monday (very disheartening), but luckily Tuesday cleared up enough to start the work on the footings. The trenches were dug and the concrete forms created.

I was not sure how long this whole process would take, but in only three days the forms were coming off and the new foundation footings were complete!