Foundation Work!

While Amelie and I were in Idaho, things kept going on the foundation, taking advantage of manageable weather.

Here are the raw materials: 12" Sonotube forms for the piers, short lengths of rebar for linking the vertical shaft to the inverted-mushroom base, and specially coated column bases that will not be corroded by the pressure-treatment on the 4x6 columns that will support the 4x8 beams.

Finalizing the layout and arranging everything so the bases line up perfectly is key to the whole process

Tom has temporarily dummied up a joist to verify heights and span and right angles, and this photo also shows how big the excavations are.  In the background is one of the old piers for comparison: it is wide, but not connected with steel, and the posts were simply set onto the bases (meaning that in a quake, the columns would likely walk off their bases).

Tom's friend and colleague Pablo had a small job in San Rafael in the morning, and then came up and cranked out the mix-and-pour in the afternoon.  Here on Friday Tom has already backfilled dirt over the mushrooms and it's time to lay out columns.

These are the rough-cut posts screw-pinned in place to verify lines.  We'll cut and fit for beams in the next week, and roll joists out soon after.

But first, we have to prepare the rest of the wall for the ledger.  This little nightmare is in the corner near the stove--Rodent / Insect Condos, anyone?