July 30 - Filling the Foam Walls with Concrete

Once the foam block walls are in place, the interior is filled with concrete. No wheel barrows and garden trowels for this job. We need a real live concrete pumper truck. Yep, one that pumps concrete up in the air about a hundred feet or so and then lets the mud free fall down a hose that must be guided to the holes to be filled.

The concrete pumper is a rather majestic looking beast with a long, graceful neck that reminds me of a swan. The truck was only moved once and from those two positions the boom was able to fill the entire perimeter of the building.

The truck driver and pump operator controlled the movement of the boom and the flow of the concrete from a wireless remote that was belted around his waist.  

Mark Vonada slalomed the hose around the protruding rebar trying to put as much as possible inside the blocks while dumping as little as possible on the outside. Mark seemed to think it was important that he not let go of the hose when it was full of concrete and under pressure. I tend to agree with his view on this subject as I suspect this setup could put a lot of concrete where it is not wanted in a hurry if left untended.

When the mud flows, a lot of folks are real busy. Some are poking and prodding the mud with sticks while others are using hammers to beat on the wall. Both jobs are needed to settle the concrete into the foam blocks and eliminate voids. The pounders use flat boards to protect the foam from direct hammer strikes. The prodders and pokers use about any piece of lumber they can find. In the door openings where the top of the wall is the final height for that section, the top is troweled somewhat smoother. Frenetic activity abounds at those moments. As the photographer tried to stay in close to capture this image, Mark suggested that he may want to find a position a little more removed from the action. As the stream of concrete approached, I quickly came to agree with his judgment.

On one wall, it was necessary to pour part of the footing as the wall above it was being filled. This seemed to go well but a while later someone noticed the wall bulging a bit on the side with the freshly poured footing. This seemed to be a matter of some urgency and many folks joined in putting their energy into battling against the bulge. Another board was added at the top of the wall and the bracing boards shifted to help move the wall back into its proper position.

This picture shows Ken Wuollet using a size large 2x4 as a lever. This seemed to help considerably as the wall decided to resume its original and upright position, just like the seat backs on airplanes during take off and landing. It is fortunate that Ken stayed awake that  day in physics class when Archimedes and his lever was discussed.

 Dan Hillukka sights approvingly down the adjusted wall which has now been pushed and prodded upright again and held in place with more bracing boards. 

So the walls are above final grade level and the back filling both inside and outside can now begin. It is a little bit sad that nearly all of the work done to this date will be covered by dirt and will not have a chance to be admired. So, take a good look now.