Modern Vancouver Special: About A House

There really isn't anything exciting going on at the site for the past 6 weeks while the team works on the foundation. However, I was amazed at how much construction material goes into building the foundation and requires as much meticulous attention to details as framing. It's doesn't get enough credit because it's flat!

Jan 6: House positioned, surveyed, backfilled and ready for foundation construction.

Week of Jan 9 to 13: much of the construction material for the foundation was delivered.

Week of Jan16: freezing, icy weather set back, no progress for the entire week. Wished we had taken a picture of its frozen state. Opportunity lost!

Week of Jan 23: work resumed to build the foundation frame but interrupted by a few of days of continuous downpour.

Week of Jan 30: An intense week of banging to build the wood frame around the perimeter.

Week of Feb 6: The wood frame for the foundation is complete, now all the steel rods need to be inserted into the gaps. These rebars will be set into the concrete.

Feb 10: Up to this point since Feb 1, we have had amazing sunny dry days as the team work furiously to catch up. Foundation framing passes both structural engineering and city. Ready for concrete pour.

Feb 13: Concrete poured for the foundation walls and crawl space floor.

Concrete mixing is a pretty sophisticated process. It is mixed just before it's sent over for the pour and the recipe du jour depends on the weather on that particular day. We had 2 different kinds of concrete applied, a high water resistance composite for the crawl space and a "normal" for our region for foundation application mix for the rest. A total of 3 drums worth of concrete poured for the crawl space and perimeter of the foundation.

The stuff you learn off the internet... "concrete is the most consumed material by us humans after food & water." Here's a link for anyone truly into the specs of concrete, and I had always thought they're the same as the ones in an extremely heavy paper bag that you buy from the local hardware store!

Feb 14: Need to wait 2 weeks for the concrete to completely set before the framing for the house can begin. Meanwhile, the boards are coming off the foundation.

Feb 23: Drain tiles are installed and passed inspection.

Feb 24: Pouring money into the ground! Back fill with sand up to the slab on grade level. This is necessary due to the softness of the soil in the Cambie area. 7 truckloads today and probably 5 more next week. Maybe we should hold a sand castle competition before we pour the final slab on grade!