Green Builder makes Green Concrete Part 3

In part 2 the making of the forms for the two concrete slabs was discussed.  The forms accurately outlined the perimeters of the garage slab expansion and the cedar covered porch.  So what was this amazing tool that I used to level the forms that cost about $40 but was more accurate then an $800 transit?  It is known as a water level.  The one I used was a 40' long 1" diameter clear flexible tube filled with water.  For a water level, the wider the tube and the less air bubbles in the tube the more accurate it is.  An example how the water level works is at this link.Water Level Video

Now that the forms were level it was time to select the base.  Unfortunately, I'm not talking about something as exciting as the bass guitar player in a rock band.   Although it does have something to do with rock.  haha.  But since we're on the subject of bass players, the question comes to mind who was best bass player of all time?  Any opinions?  Ranker says its Geddy Lee which can be seen at this link Ranker Top Bass players.  This video of Geddy Lee is pretty cool.

OK back to base material used for concrete.  I did a number of google searches and read about crushed concrete and limestone and found that they provided good  drainage and good strength and were used a lot up north in colder climates where freezing of the water in the subgrade is a problem.  If the subgrade is clay then this is problematic due to expansion when it becomes wet and contraction when it becomes dry resulting in the concrete cracking.  In my case the subgrade was sand which has terrific drainage and I'm in Florida where freezing is not an issue.  In fact it didn't get below 32 this winter.  Usually it will get below 32 once a winter in central Florida and then everyone that grows oranges down here is in a state of panic.  Believe it or not the orange growers spray their crops with water on freezing nights to save their crops.

For the base I was leaning towards lime stone when I called the fill dirt dump truck driver.  He said in Florida they just use sand as a base and stone was unnecessary.  But after talking with him for awhile I found in the past they used to use marl shell mix more often which is made of clay and shell fragments and is commonly use as a road base meeting DOT standards.  Clay? Now I was thoroughly confused but the driver convinced me that marl shell mix was good stuff and that's what I used for the cedar covered porch.  For the garage I used sand.

With the base placed we rented a vibratory compactor from home depot.  Dad had always used a jumping jack compactor and we tried to rent that but it was not working and could not rent it.  The marl shell mix compacted well,  held its form and seemed strong.  The sand did ok and wetting it down a little (the compactor had a water tank) helped but it seemed to be less stable and softer then the marl shell mix

Below is what the compacted marl shell mix looks like.



The next step was to install the rebar and then get the work inspected.  But as I would soon discover the road ahead was bumpy and filled with pot holes.  Read what happens in the next blog.


Happpy Building

The Dr