With the excavation phase complete, the next step is to prepare the concrete footings. Steve ordered lumber and it has arrived to the site early in the morning.
At the end of lumber moving day, Steve was very, very sore. He calculated each pressure treated 16' long 2" X 12" plank is about 110+/- lbs.
"They're heavier than I remember."
HOW TO BUILD FORMS for the CONCRETE FOOTINGS:
Set up two parallel planks: 2' wide x 1' tall.
MRLS = Measure, Re-measure, Level, and Square. (I totally made that up.)
Insert a spacer/chair - The orange plastic horizontal thingys are spacers/chairs. They hold up the lumber and have three spots for rebar (pictured below).
This guy has been a really good boy just staying close by. Except for when Steve sees him trotting down the hill in the middle of the street, which means he just probably just took himself for a neighborhood walkabout.
How much lumber did Steve order? (Or, as his mother would say, "How much lumbah did you ordah?)
Answer: 60+20 = 80 total 16'Long x 2"W x 12"H. Steve needed more mid-job.
BUILDING FOOTING STEPS
There are 1' and 2' footing steps, depending on grade height variation.
There's math rules on these steps. A 1' step must overlap the lower footing by a minimum 2'; a 2' step has to overlap the lower footing by a minimum of 3'.
Two hundred fifty 20' lengths of 1/2" (aka #4) rebar.
Insert rebar and hooks - Rebar has to be cut and bent into L-shaped hooks.
Line with plastic - Steve wants to repurpose some lumber for the future trellis on the future deck. Why not? Lumber is expensive! In order to accomplish that, select planks (the unaltered/undamaged ones) will be lined with a layer of plastic on the inside, preventing the concrete from sticking to the wood. Apparently, concrete loves to stick to wood.
Steve needed to get some new tools for the job. One of the tools he did NOT have to buy is a rebar bender. Jairo said he understands rebar and concrete, and built this rebar bending station. Cool, right?!
Perfect right angles.
Jairo understood the job.
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