The basement walls were poured successfully today.
The Insul Hub team, led today by their concrete specialist Dave and ably supported by the team of Dan, Harrald and David had a long day on site. Arriving at 0730 hrs this morning to get the final details in place and inspect all the joints prior to pouring, and finally leaving at 1830 hrs having cleared the site.
The concrete was supplied by local company Oxcrete, using 3 of their volumetric mixers, and the concrete pump was supplied by their partner company C&G Concrete Pumping.
Pouring concrete into the walls is something which has to be done carefully; too fast and the hydrostatic pressure from the concrete is likely to blow the walls apart! Hence, it took about 90 mins to pour the contents of each mixer. Dave is proud of his unblemished record of not having had a blow-out. There was more risk today as we were pouring 11 courses (2.75m high) rather than the norm of 10 courses (2.5m) or less. There was therefore the potential to exert even more pressure. In addition, rebar had to be added to every section around the 3 retaining walls. However, the skill of the Insul Hub team ensured that the pour went smoothly throughout.
The concrete now needs to cure and next on site will be the basement waterproofing team.
