Building My House

I have always wanted to build my own house. I am retired now, so I have the time. I found some land, designed a house that would fit the land and my needs and got started. I am doing all the work myself, so progress will be fairly slow. To read this blog from the beginning, start with the oldest archive and read posts from last to first.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Bond Beam Problem Solved




The weather last week was miserably rainy -- 10+ inches -- then it turned cold. So, about all I got accomplished was a solution to the bond beam problem; or more specifically what would I use beneath the bond beam block to keep concrete from going down into the cells where I didn’t want it.
I have a friend that works for a company that rebuilds engine cowls, flaps and ailerons for airliners. They use a LOT of aluminum, in all thicknesses and sizes imaginable. He said they have a lot of scrap that just gets thrown away and that I would be welcome to come raid their scrap bin. I got all I need in one trip…best of all…it was free.

One piece was 4’ x 10’ and .020 thickness (read that as 20 thousandths). I cut all my pieces 6” x 15” using Wiss brand aviation snips and my bandsaw. It took a couple of hours to cut the 80 odd pieces I would need, but it’s done.

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When I pour the bond beam I’m going to have to stand on something so I can get up high enough to work. So, I also build a couple of saw horses this week. I’ll nail a piece of plywood down on two 2x4’s and make myself sort of a scaffold. I only have to get up about 36” above ground level (in some places) to work comfortably, so these should do the trick. I drilled holes in the legs every inch so I could bolt on some leg extensions when needed.