More Concrete

        We spent a lot of time coming up with ideas of what we could do with the extra concrete left-over from when we had the concrete truck come out and pour our footings holes. If you don't use all of the concrete that you order, then the concrete truck company charges a LOT of money, because they have to somehow dispose of it – and before it sets in the truck! So there were a lot of discussions of possibilities, but nothing that we could really agree on as definitely the best idea. We were both thinking that our own ideas were obviously superior, and the other person's ideas were a bit silly and unfeasible!So the afternoon before the truck came out we took advantage of the last half an hour of sunlight to walk down to the house site, and look around to decide what our best options were.

         Then Josh had the brilliant stroke of genius that we could grab the empty tyres that were sitting on the property when we bought it, and fill them with concrete. I think the previous owner was perhaps planning on building an Earthship at some stage, and that's why they had collected old tyres. I had seen a few other different uses for tyres too, such as using them as the corner supports for sheds, as the underneath base for a raised floor, or for heavy weights to use as a land anchor.

         So we used the last of the afternoon light to roll the tyres down the hill to the tank pad, as that is the only piece of ground which is level near the house site. Early the next morning I shovelled some sand into the wheelbarrow and wheeled it down to the tank pad, and made a little sand pad for each tyre. This was so that it would provide a roughly level base, and be easier to move after the concrete had set. Meanwhile Josh was giving the footings holes a final check to make sure they were ready for concrete, and building a little rock retaining wall around one of the holes which was in a bit of a hollow.

A few more minutes before the truck was due, I rushed up to the shed and grabbed some wood and some nails, and very quickly banged together a formwork. Just in time too – I carried it down to the house site just as the concrete truck was coming up the driveway. Josh was directing the truck where to back over to the footings holes, so I quickly jumped onto the other side of the house site and started shovelling a vaguely level spot for my formwork to go. It was at the spot where the stairs for the verandah will probably be going up, so hopefully it will provide a nice base for them to attach to. At the very least it will be a good spot to wipe our dirty feet before climbing up to our wooden floor while building the framework on our house!

 

         Then as the truck was moving over to this side of the house, I moved to a different spot and started shovelling another vaguely level area. I know what you are thinking – why didn't we do all of the prep work BEFORE the concrete arrived? Well, first we couldn't agree on what was the best plan of action, and then when it came to the crunch suddenly we were busy doing lots of other work during the week. That's the way life works sometimes!

Anyway, by the time the truck had finished filling all the footings holes, the step formwork, and the tyres, I had cleared a big enough area for a little shed. The last of the concrete in the truck was poured into the middle of this, and we roughly smoothed it out into a circular shape. Then we got a length of wood and pushed it over the slab a few times until it was about level.

         I am imagining this little slab to be the base of my cob hut that I am planning to make. We have plenty of clay on site which was dug out of the footings holes, so if I mix it with some sand and some hay or cow poo, then I should be able to build some cob walls. I am planning to embed the lower sections of wall with rocks, and the higher sections of walls with beer bottles. I am not sure how I am going to make the roof as yet, but I am open to suggestions! The rocks which I placed around the perimeter of the slab do not actually provide any structural function, but I went to all the trouble because I think it looks pretty.

         Overall the truck was on-site for about an hour and a half, though it felt like a lot less time since we were running around pretty busy and crazy for all of that time! I spent a couple more hours doing some smoothing of the concrete and cleaning up around the site afterwards, so it was a pretty big day. Josh had to go back to his computer work after the truck left, so it seems that there is no rest for the wicked :P