GARAGE STEP 1 - EXCAVATION

Up again at 4 something, as we prepared to get Laila ready for school.  The only difference yesterday morning, was that Dad was picking her up, relieving us from making the 1 hour round trip. 

The concrete crew showed up at first light, and started the long process of moving, and leveling dirt, in preparation for placing the concrete forms.  There are two projects - a concrete patio in front of the house, and a 32' x 47' garage next to the house. 

The initial crew of 3, became a work force of 5, around the noon hour.  After an awful lot of dirt had been moved around, and the foundation footings around the perimeter of the garage had been dug, the crew started framing up for the slab pour tomorrow.  There was some discussion about possibly pouring the front patio today, but nothing definite.

With temperatures in the mid 80's, the weather was warm, but not excessively hot for these guys, who spent a lot of the day behind a shovel.  When the front patio is done, and the concrete has dried for a few days, the patio/walkway cover will start to get built.  The main purpose for this addition is to shield the front of the house from the direct afternoon sun, and provide some shade for the new patio area.
 

By mid afternoon, just about everything was framed up, and leveled.  Then, the rebar started going into the footings around the outside of the soon to be solid piece of concrete.    When the sun started to disappear in the western sky, the crew called it a day, vowing to be back this morning, as soon as the sun starts to reappear.

I spent most of the day outside watching these guys, and making a few adjustments, as work progressed.  Initially, there was only going to be a 3 foot ramp in front of the garage, but when I saw how close the sidewalk in front of the house was to the front of the garage, I added another 14 feet to the ramp, and the two will now tie together.

 

 Digging the foundation footings around the perimeter of the garage.

The first of 3 county inspections is set for sometime today, with the purpose of making sure the footings, and rebar is  correct.  The second inspection will occur prior to the roof going on, and the third inspection is the final check, when everything is done.

Today, the last forms for the ramp in front of the garage will be set, and the last of the rebar will go into the foundation.  By mid day, everything should be ready for some grey mud, and this first step for a new garage will be done.