Somethings Afoot(ing)

Ok, so the foot metaphor is corny, but it could've been worse. The parging of the neighbors lower building foundation was complete and now the bond breaker is ready for install.

It didn't take too long for ReBar Construction (Our foundation subcontractor) to produce a section of 103's form work and lay the rebar (Steel reinforcing bars). A footing, for those not familiar to the term, is a part of the foundation wall. It's the lowest point of the building where all the building loads (Building walls, floors, furniture and people) funnel their way down and spread into the undisturbed (And compact) soil. In this image, the rebars are tied into a grid (12" x 12") and lifted about 1/3 of the footings depth (18").

There was very little time to waste, because as soon as the guys completed the form work and rebar placement, six cubic yards of 4000 psi concrete was delivered. The concrete was dumped into the excavators bucket and ...

lowered below and poured into the form work. Notice how the concrete gets under and over the rebar grid. FYI, concrete (Without reinforcement) is excellent under compression, but reinforced concrete is great in compression and tension.

Finally the vertical rebars were placed and vibrated into the footing. These two layers of vertical rods will be tied with longer vertical rebars (And horizontal) that will be encapsulated by the buildings concrete foundation wall. They will eventually rise and meet the buildings masonry walls. Tomorrow we parge the neighbors upper masonry wall and prepare (Remove dirt and debris) the site for more footing and foundation work.