It’s a boy, It’s a girl, it’s a FOUNDATION!

Not a Monumental Feat, but Close Enough.

Jennifer and Bear begin the stem wall pour at the junction point of the three foundation systems.

The completion of the foundation marks the culmination of nearly four calendar months of time, during which we dealt with record breaking rains, seemingly endless hours of dirt, clay, sand, and gravel shoveling, and faulty survey equipment.  

Bear and I did the majority of the work on the foundation, but many other hands were on deck to help as well.  Cynder and Toren were on the site almost daily, contributing their part to the building that will house their new bedrooms, as well as an indoor bathroom and kitchen. We also held several visitor and resident work parties during key project points.

Bird's eye view of the three foundation systems, clockwise from top: 12" pier foundation for timber-frame post, the original pier foundation of existing structure, and the concrete stem wall along the perimiter of the addition.

The perimeter of the nearly 750 sq. ft. footprint sports a 24” wide rubble trench foundation. The trench is filled to finish grade with 1” pieces of gravel.  Perforated drainage pipe, buried at the bottom of the trench, carries water away from the foundation. This allows the foundation to be significantly shallower, at 2 ft. deep, than conventional foundation recommendations for this area without sacrificing structural integrity. Resting atop this bed of gravel is an  18” wide stem wall, made with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), providing an insulating value of  R30.  Straw bales, supported on a sill and nestled between 4”x4” posts, will rest atop this stem wall system, creating the exterior walls.  

Much of the roof will be supported by timbers, providing continuity between the original timberframe structure and the addition. 8”x8” posts used in this system will rest on a separate foundation of piers, located within the inside perimeter of the stem wall. Just as in the original structure, there are 6 such posts which provide support for the building.  These piers and the stem wall abut in four locations.  At two of these points, these two foundation systems meet with a third system, the pier foundation for the original timberframe structure. A criss-cross pattern of rebar connects the systems together.

Friday, October 3rd, was the day of the stem wall concrete pour, the final step in the foundation part of this project. Thomas, Cynder, Toren, Bear, and I were all on hand as the pour commenced.  Dan and Mary Beth, interested in learning the concrete process for their upcoming pour, joined us first.

We made quick use of their hands, as our first corner experienced a phenomenal blow-out!  The concrete pour was temporarily halted as we made braces of on-hand Quik-crete bags to stop the escaping liquid concrete. The rodent-barrier of metal roofing served as a wall in place of the broken Insulated Concrete Form (ICF).  Bear quickly added bracing to the other two corners, as Dan, Mary Beth and I continued with the pour. Luckily, there were no further mishaps in the corners and we were able to complete the pour with the additional bracings in place.

Bear, Dan, Jennifer, Mary Beth, and Thomas help direct, scoop, fill, and smooth concrete for the stem wall.

Stem wall corner blow-out. Luckily, the stop-gap measures proved effective.

Meanwhile, Thomas smoothed the concrete until it looked like dark grey glass. Once Cynder and Toren discovered this exciting step, they wanted in on the fun as well, so Thomas taught them how to trowel concrete. Before long, Cynder had the hang of it, and was working on the south wall. After a while, Cynder resumed her role as construction photographer, and Toren tried his hand at the trowel.  Once I tried my own had at it, I realized that it wasn’t as easy at it looked.  I didn’t seem to have the knack for it, so I returned the trowel to hands that were more patient than mine.  The result:  a beautiful finish, and the inscription of Timberframe Addition 2008 .

Toren works diligently to smooth the concrete surface.

March Hare Summer/Fall 2008 Issue 57

The Road Home		It’s a Foundation!
Low-Tech Solutions		Urine Composting
The Life of Brian		Representing Water
Popcorn, My Love

Come see our past issues for lots of Dancing Rabbit information.