Breaking Ground(level)!

It's a pretty satisfying step after weeks of digging and doing foundation work to finally beginning to work above ground level! I'm right now in the middle of creating the forms for the second (and final, for a good while) big concrete pour. This concrete form will be the foundation stemwall for the house, and will also function to define the crawl space underneath the house, through which I will run plumbing and electric, and store materials.


The form is taking shape:

This whole part of the form won't be taken down after the pour, but will remain as a stud bay into which I will put fiberglass insulation to keep the temperature of the crawl space moderated. I am curious about the potential to circulate air through this crawl space to cool the house in the summer. I must research/think more about this. You can also see the pink foam insulation that I installed around the form. The concrete will rest directly against this insulation.

I taped seams and used spray foam around the edges of the insulation to prevent concrete from pouring out through gaps.

Here's the rebar starting to go in.

At this point, I've completed the rebar, and gotten a whole bunch of the outside part of the form done. The truck is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday to make the pour.