It begins!

[mfiore]

Dick

I think I will fill the cores. It's too late for me to dry stack, but I'm a little concerned about the integrity of some of those mortar joints (see my last post).

I was worried about the foundation, as it was very stiff concrete and difficult to level off. After drying, though, I was only 1/8 inch off level at it's worst points . Pretty happy about that!

[thebadger]

Mfiore

Glad to hear. I was off about 1/4 of inch which I made up when I poured my hearth. Sounds like we're buidling very similar foundations.

I'm hoping to fill my top dome with sand so I can finish my rows - on course 6. Hoping to end up about 17 inches high.

Dick

[dbhansen]

Filling the cores might give the most peace of mind; I probably should have done that myself.

The masonry jointer tool is used after the mortar is set and slightly firm. You slide the curved portion of it along the joint, compressing and sealing the mortar. It helps keep moisture out, so it may be an important step for a below-grade wall that isn't filled or sealed.

BTW, I concur about our winters! I'll be so happy when I can start working above grade! The cement truck arrives tomorrow for my foundation.

[james]

Filling the cores is just labor and money. :-) No skill required. If you want to do something, but not the entire stand, you can fill either just the corners, or the corners and one core in the middle, or every other core.

Drop in a section of rebar.

We have just finished a block wall completely around our house -- and we pumped all the cores. Time and money! Still, for a big wall that was the right thing to do.

James

[james]

One more thing. I really like dbhansen's Avatar. Excellent.
James

[mfiore]

What is the true benefit of filling the cores? I understand that it will add more stability, especially if rebar is put in.

Will it help, though, if my mortar joints are not the best (will it keep water from entering, freezing, heaving, etc).

Thanks again
(PS. I agree, very cool Avatar for Daren!)

[dbhansen]

Thanks about the avatar. It's the only good thing to come out of my brief foray into Google SketchUp!

Concerning the cores, it seems like a below-grade wall may need every core filled, especially if the first row or two of block is mortared down already. Otherwise you'll have water filling up the cores and freezing. Perhaps that wouldn't be a problem as long as there is space above for the ice to move into, but you might want to consider filling every core like Badger did. If they weren't mortared at the bottom the water would have somewhere to go.

[mfiore]

Update: I've had two nice days off work and was able to make some progress with the foundation. I put down 4 courses of 8x8x16 concrete block down (over a 12 inch concrete footing). The foundation was tied to the footing with re-bar in the corners.

I plan to fill the cores with concrete tomorrow. I don't think I will seal the foundation. As I got used to working the mortar (and higher up) the joints looked better. I also don't think I could get down the sides of the foundation to seal adequately (I only allowed 4 inches each side of the foundation).

Questions: I plan to put some vertical re-bar into the cores as I fill them with concrete. What is the best way to do this? Should the re-bar just fill be used to lock the foundation blocks together, or should it extend above the top of the foundation (and into the future slab of concrete at ground level) to tie it all together. If the latter is the case, is it enough to have the re-bar poke up a few inches into the future slab, or should it be longer and bent over 90 degrees to provide horizontal support to the slab.

I realize these all sound like silly questions with perhaps obvious answers.

Also, what is the best way to bend re-bar (without buying a "re-bar bender").

thanks

[gjbingham]

My neighbor, the iron worker recommended tying in the cores to the slab with bent rebar. He does it for a living and teaches it at a trade school. I took his word for it.

I used a forked tree to bend my 3/8th inch rebar. It works really well. A 5 or 6 inch forked tree allows you to put the rebar in the fork at the point you want to make the bend. Walk with the rebar around the tree and check your bends in the forms. Once bent most of the way, you can do the rest by hand/foot pretty easily.

[dbhansen]

Lookin' good, Mike! I bet you're glad to be out of that hole. You're almost caught up with me; I poured my slab last Friday and hope to start the stand this weekend, weather permitting.