Plasma cutting steel staircase Tung oil applied on trim woodwwork Floors milled from site grown trees Septic field restoration Reflecting afternoon sun Birth of a barn on Bragg Hill Radiant floors Solar panel installation Capping off the chimney Proud shape emerges on the hilltop Pumping concrete into the three gables Forming 12x12 Gables Delivering concrete from the sky Parallam beam positioning Flying flitch beam ICF window framing Precision concrete placement Lower level ICF fabrication Newly excavated driveway Finishing garage deck concrete Pouring concrete footers Rebar safety caps Surveying the construction site Checking out the excavation equipment Rapid soil stabilization Testing the soils for drainage Taking Solar Pathfinder measurements Milling downed trees onsite View to the Southeast over the Benzel Family Trust Future meadow to be cultivated Taking a stroll on Bragg Hill Road

Footers are Defined and Prepped for First Pour

click image to enlarge
click image to enlarge

Now that the home site has been excavated, leveled and compacted, the footers are defined and prepared for the first concrete pour.  Integrated Concrete Forms (ICFs) require special footers capable of supporting the high-density walls of the home.  To accomplish this, brothers Matt and Mike Thompson use lasers, hard work and a green product from CertainTeed called FORM-A-DRAIN™ to define the mold for the weight-bearing footers.  This product is a combination footing form and foundation drain.  Notice the slits in the lineal sections.  This allows water vapor and radon gas to be vented within the footer substrate- both on the interior and exterior of the foundation.  Cool.

Re-bar (made from recycled steel) is set within the footer space between the FORM-A-DRAIN™  to provide the necessary strength for the footers once the concrete is poured and set.

Having had to perform manual and messy “waterproofing” in the basement of an older home, this technology makes good sense.  It solves multiple issues common to basements in Pennsylvania: moisture and radon control.  Besides, The FORM-A-DRAIN™ product is made from 100% pre-and post-consumer recycled PVC content. Keeping this disposed material from ending up in our landfills.  I’d rather have it working for me everyday in my foundation.