Hello everyone,
Construction has finally started at our site.
I would like to share my experiences, concerns, and questions about the house building process here to get feedback from experienced people.
So, it’s kind of a small building diary.
The earthworks have been completed with the delivery of 340 tons of sand for backfilling, and the trenches for the strip foundation have also been prepared.
The steel mesh for reinforcement is ready on site.
Now the date for the slab foundation is set.
Pipes for wastewater and the multi-utility connection need to be installed, the foundation grounding conductor has to be laid, a drainage membrane has to be placed, reinforcement tied, and formwork set up.
Is all of this achievable in one day, including the concrete delivery?
Before I provide more details, I’d like to hear your opinions.
Best regards
Construction has finally started at our site.
I would like to share my experiences, concerns, and questions about the house building process here to get feedback from experienced people.
So, it’s kind of a small building diary.
The earthworks have been completed with the delivery of 340 tons of sand for backfilling, and the trenches for the strip foundation have also been prepared.
The steel mesh for reinforcement is ready on site.
Now the date for the slab foundation is set.
Pipes for wastewater and the multi-utility connection need to be installed, the foundation grounding conductor has to be laid, a drainage membrane has to be placed, reinforcement tied, and formwork set up.
Is all of this achievable in one day, including the concrete delivery?
Before I provide more details, I’d like to hear your opinions.
Best regards
W
WilderSueden25 Feb 2021 19:33Did you pay for the first failed attempt? If so, I would try to recover that from the construction company. That is quite poor workmanship.
It will be interesting to see what else comes up. As a layperson, I find it hard to believe that it is correct for the spacers to be partially embedded in the frost insulation strip. Or that they are visible beneath the formwork boards. If the spacers fit through there, concrete will also flow through.
Are the architect and site manager provided and paid for by the main contractor? Then you can assume that the site manager does not necessarily represent YOUR interests but those of the main contractor.
If problems already start with the foundation slab, you should definitely get your OWN expert advice—especially since you yourself say you have no building experience.
PS: Is it just the photos, or is the frost insulation strip not cast to the same height on all sides?
Are the architect and site manager provided and paid for by the main contractor? Then you can assume that the site manager does not necessarily represent YOUR interests but those of the main contractor.
If problems already start with the foundation slab, you should definitely get your OWN expert advice—especially since you yourself say you have no building experience.
PS: Is it just the photos, or is the frost insulation strip not cast to the same height on all sides?
dynaudio79 schrieb:
Something isn’t right here.
The guys left again this time without finishing the formwork or installing the reinforcement. That wouldn’t make sense, right? Do these steel angles actually count as reinforcement? We used them for the basement floor too, but the steel mesh was integrated into these angles. The mesh is visible in one of the photos to the right of the portable toilet. If the concrete for the foundation had worked out and the rest of the slab had been poured, they wouldn’t just be able to throw the mesh onto the angles, right? In our case, they worked on it for ages, securing everything with small wires to prevent any movement.
Looking at your pictures, it seems like a lot of steel is missing. Have you compared the site situation with the reinforcement plans?
dynaudio7925 Feb 2021 21:03WilderSueden schrieb:
Did you pay for the first aborted attempt? If so, I would try to get that money back from the construction company. That’s quite poor workmanship. No, of course not. I won’t be paying for it either.
dynaudio7925 Feb 2021 21:07Mike29 schrieb:
It will be interesting to see what else comes up. As a layperson, I can’t imagine it’s correct that the spacers were partially embedded in the frost protection strip. Or that you can see them under the formwork boards. If the spacers can fit through there, then concrete can flow through as well.
Are the architect and site manager provided and paid for by the general contractor? If so, you can assume that the site manager doesn’t necessarily represent YOUR interests, but those of the general contractor.
If it’s already starting like this with the foundation slab, you should definitely get YOUR OWN expert advice. Especially since you said yourself that you have no experience with construction.
PS: Is it just the photos, or is the frost protection strip not poured to the same height on all sides? As I mentioned before, I have since hired an independent construction supervisor who is knowledgeable about the subject. So far, everything is okay.
The formwork is not completely finished yet. Also, it has not been set to the correct height. It still needs to be raised. This means that soil must be placed against it from the outside to prevent concrete from flowing underneath. They simply used the spacers to keep the formwork from falling into the strip foundation. I also don’t like that some spacers were partially embedded in concrete, but I don’t think it will make a difference in the end. I will bring this up again for clarification.
dynaudio7925 Feb 2021 21:13OWLer schrieb:
Do these steel angles actually count as reinforcement? We also used them for the basement floor back then, but the reinforcing steel mats were integrated into these angles. The mats are visible in the photo on the right next to the portable toilet. If the concrete for the foundation had worked out and the rest of the slab had been poured, they wouldn’t have just thrown the mats onto the angles, right? In our case, the mats were carefully fixed in place with small wires so they wouldn’t shift.
Somehow, a lot of steel seems to be missing in your pictures? Have you compared the onsite situation with the reinforcement plans? Yes, the mats are still in front of the portable toilet. They are supposed to be used for the reinforcement.
According to the site manager, they wanted to do everything in one day—pour the strip footing, then reinforcement and formwork, and then the slab itself.
But I honestly can’t imagine that, since tying the reinforcement usually takes a full day.
As I said, the construction supervision is involved, and if something isn’t right, they report it immediately.
For example, they currently want a certificate for the delivered concrete for the strip footing and a statement from the structural engineer regarding any issues if the strip footing wasn’t poured at the same height. Because that’s the case—the back part is about 50cm (20 inches) lower in height.
What exactly are reinforcement plans?
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