Making the Outside of a Wall

Lots of work today, though it hardly seems as amazing as yesterday or last Wednesday.

The morning started with loud banging, as the guys began stripping formwork from the walls. By the time we left for work they had gotten the boards off the back wall, and by the time we got home all the walls had been stripped of formwork.

There's something very satisfying about seeing this pile of formwork in the yard. Somehow it makes it seem more real that there is an end in sight.

The guys also knocked loose concrete off the tops of the walls, which made a bit of a mess on the floor, but made the top of the wall look nice again.

On the exterior, they began preparing the walls for the Bituthene, which is a material that is applied to the wall to keep water out both by blocking it, and by providing a route down to the drains.

In order to apply the Bituthene, you need a smooth wall, but the formwork we had was boards rather than the more usual sheet goods, so the guys used a grinder and smoothed the rough edges down.

In the mean time, some other guys were working in the front. Not only did they do some more digging, but they placed some more formwork. Noel and I have a bet that they will pour the front footings, at least, by the end of the week. It may be time to move the foundation cam. (No films today: it was kind of boring on the inside.)

posted by ayse on 08/23/05