The Silver
Fern Ranch
El Paso,
Texas
Stage 4: The Foundation of a Dream
After
the internal boxing for the footings is removed, the inside area where
the foundation (the floor of the house) goes has to be filled with dirt
(backfilled). Craig uses the tractor (the Kiwi lads' toy) to get dirt and
pour it, while Grant spreads it out. However, the trenches for the plumbing
have to be dug and the plumbing laid before some areas can be filled. In
the picture to the right, Craig demonstrates the standard method of measuring
trenches for household piping (well, if your a silly Kiwi lad it's standard).
The
entire area inside the U-shaped footings has to be filled to the top.
But
at last Craig has to go back to his own work; leaving us with a smile and
a promise to return to help on the house again. In London, Craig co-owns
Kiwi Habitats which can be accessed by the link below - Expert Loft Conversions
and Renovations in England.
But
- life is never as easy as that. After a layer of about six inches of dirt
is put down, the dirt has to be compacted, then another six inch layer,
compacting, and so on until the foundation area is full and flat.
The
team seem to work faster than the Kiwi lads who tried to pour all of the
footings by themselves (silly buggers). With the foundation, a team of
six (plus drivers) pour, spreads, levels and buffs our foundation to a
beautiful smooth sheen.
