16 May 2014

Off to Goodro’s again first thing this morning to put the first color coat of paint on the steel beam and pick up some fittings for the cellar wall penetrations.  Back to Fern Lake shortly after 9 to find Larry and The Gang (Rick, Kevin, Victor, and Scott) busy tying rebar.  Given the soil type found here in Leicester (sandy rocky gravel) and the wall height we’re putting in (8′ 8½″), the 2012 International Residential Building Code calls for vertical rebar 41″ on center with two courses of horizontal rebar, the first 12″ below the top and the second in the middle of the wall.  Larry put in vertical rebar 18″ on center and 6 courses of rebar horizontally.  That wall ain’t never breaking!  Larry and I spent some quality time putting sleeves in the forms for the many thru-wall penetrations needed for utilities running into and out of the house.  Awaited a call / email from Dennis Senesac all morning to confirm the size wall penetrations needed for the potential geothermal system.  Hearing nothing, had to fake three sleeves and have fingers crossed they are the right size and in the right location.  At noon had to run back to Goodro’s to exchange the conduit couplings I bought this morning for a larger size.  Returned to Fern Lake just as the crew was finishing lunch, so joined them for an entertaining (and very dirty) afternoon of putting up forms for the inside of the walls.  That is a tricky operation, as all the form ties (20 per 4x8 sheet of plywood) have to be threaded through holes in the form from the inside out.  Needless to say, the pros from Long Ridge (near Dover) knew all the little tricks to make that job, if not easy, at least not excruciatingly frustrating.  My job was to slide ½″ smooth steel rods through the loops in each row of ties, thereby locking the forms together and reinforcing them.  By beer time the wall forms were complete except for the boards that will form the top 8½″ of the walls… a job for Monday morning.  As I was inhaling some pizza as a late lunch / early dinner, Dennis called to say he STILL has not heard from Spafford's… and that the 2″ sleeves I put in the walls for the (hoped for) open-loop geothermal system… really should have been 3″.  Oh, fudge!