10.12.2014

As promised, here's a picture of the trench that Jim dug yesterday.  Now we just have to wait and hear back from George, the septic designer, to see if he wants to come out and inspect.  Jerry, the building inspector, is in charge of all the plumbing inside the house and George is in charge of all the outside stuff leading to the septic system.

Jim got the first piece of steel decking on before I got to the site today - wow!!

Here's the process for the decking...first, Jim has to figure out the measurement he needs.  Then he used a piece of steel channel as a guide for the saw - and held it down with clamps. 

Jim was so impressed with the chop saw that Kyle & Julia got him to cut metal that he bought the same kind of circular saw so he could use it for this application. 

Unfortunately, the depth of the circular saw is 2-3/4" and the steel decking is 3".  Which means he has to turn over the piece of decking, remark it...

...and then use the extra giant clamps that Kyle & Julia also bought him to hold the guide into place.

And finish cutting it all the way through.  Then he has to use his punch and punch holes on the ends of the decking.

Each of these pieces probably weighs about 50 pounds - and they are long and awkward to hold.  Plus you have to put them 10' up in the air, avoiding the studs on the beams and the rebar on the wall. 

Jim managed to get the piece up there - these are the times when I wish I was strong enough to help!

Whew...it's at least up on top now.

Then it has to be moved into place - they pieces lap over each other.

Getting everything in position.

Jim is sitting on the roof/floor!

Then of course the process was repeated for the next piece.  However, when Jim got the third piece up and in place, he discovered that he really didn't like the way the second piece fit.  So then he had to wrangle it back down, recut it, and get it back up.  All of this is a learning process but by the end of the afternoon, Jim felt like he had a good grasp on the best ways to do things and exactly how he wanted the pieces to fit.

He did lots of measuring - you can see from the picture below that he ran a string along the front wall.  It's really important that this first piece be in the precise position so that everything else will be based on it.

Then, using the holes he punched on the ends, he used his new concrete drill to drill into the wall.

I was up on the ladder for this picture...he's drilling holes into the concrete to attach the first piece.

Then he goes back and drills in a concrete anchor so it's all fastened down tight.

This is how the first piece sits precisely on the wall.  Later, Jim will puddle weld through the holes on the decking to attach it to the beam.

Drilling the holes to attach the next pieces to the wall.

Putting in the tap con anchors.

 

 

So, it was a very successful day!  Jim figured out all the different steps involved and we now have 3 pieces of decking up.

 

And the Browns beat the Steelers - always makes for a good day!

 

And it's Julia's birthday - Happy Birthday, Julia!  Hope it was a wonderful day for you too!