A good foundation is paramount when building a house – if things are a bit off here, it effects the whole structure. The foundation for our house is going to be “pier and beam”.
First come the piers:
Concrete pads are set in the ground at intervals and leveled. This is back breaking work as each pad weighs 50 lbs. and must be put down and pulled up several times until you have the dirt just right underneath. After the pad is set, blocks are stacked on top – all to the same height or it has to be done again. I set three myself and my shoulders and back were sore the next day.
I can only imagine what my dad and brothers felt like!
After everything was stacked and leveled and checked several times, it was time to fill the holes with cement. This landed on a Saturday so it was a whole family work day!
Nothing like parents making mudpies to catch a child’s interest! Ivy helped with the mixing…
…and Lance with the scooping and filling.
Even Eden got in on things, helping me cut the rebar for each hole.
Katie supervised and I held up a shovel.
It all looked like so much fun that my mom had to try it out too!
Now that the piers are set – next step is the beams!
Sounds like I’m glad I missed the pier-setting day 🙂
Great progress!
Looks like you had plenty of ‘help’.