WUI (Writing under the influence)

I had bought the least expensive material to make the forms: OSB. I even made sure that I would put the slick side in so the concrete wouldn't soften it. And look at those stakes. Surely they will keep the forms straight as I fill them with hundreds of pounds of concrete, right? Besides, the inspector (yes, I have a permit) didn't mention that using OSB was a very stupid idea. So I paid $400 in permit fees, another $475 to remove a lot of dirt from the driveway; then $200 for sewer pipes and other miscellaneous items; finally, $250 for the concrete, and only $20 for material to create the forms? And I came this close from ruining everything!

So far so good. The guy shows up 10 minutes before the scheduled time so I didn't have enough time to complete a few preparation steps. I had to hold those two ABS pipes to create two holes for the water supply as he starts pouring.

The first sign of trouble: the front form starts bending dangerously. But the guy doesn't stop so I have to shovel. I'm praying the form holds until he's gone and I have time to brace it.

As the forms are filled all the way across they become more even but I can almost hear the screws being torn from the stakes.

The guy leaves. I start moving pieces of old concrete that were hidden under the gravel in my driveway before I had it removed to braces the forms. Those concrete pieces and a couple of pieces of a cut up 2x3 (sic!) and a few sledge hummer pounces seemed to help save the day.

The forms are relatively even and the final product (too dark to take a picture) looks good.

So, children, learn from my mistakes and buy a 3/4" plywood for your forms and put your stakes every 12" or so. Better yet, stacked 2x12 would have worked much better.

Next, we are raising walls next weekend. I will try to connect the sewer line to the main stack in the house, which will involve some heavy-duty concrete drilling.

posted by Polish Immigrant  # 11:12 PM