Third Post, Part One: The Concrete

This is the final post we have to replace under our back wall (for now). It's a little more complicated than the others. Which is why we jacked the beam level and then left it be for a week. We were making plans, no good can come of this. We'll also have to move our 240V dryer outlet. Our first electrical mod. Yay.

Just you wait. We'll get you. And your outlet too.

So, some of you might wonder what makes this post so much more of a pain than the other two. Well, it's not the new electrical wires slung willy-nilly all around it, though those certainly are irritating. It's where the post sits under the beam and where it wants to sit on the pier.

Ah yes, I see. You have a break in your beam here, sir. We must immobilize the area immediately.

So, to jacks walk into a beam...

Alrighty, let's have a look at [the rest of] the problem:

Two inches to the left. Some of you might be thinking "Quit whining. It's not so bad."  But stay with me here.

And two and a half inches to the inside. Damn. It's ok though, we've got a plan. Structural engineers, avert your eyes, this isn't going to be pretty.

So here's the plan: We're grafting a new pier onto the old one. In order to do that, we'll need to have access to the back of the pier.

Ah, I see the problem. We've got some concrete on our concrete. Hmmm...

I'm just glad the first two weren't this messed up. Also, when pouring slabs, always put the slab on top of your piers. What could possibly go wrong? Besides, you know, termites, rot, and the house shifting.

That's ok. I've had some practice. That grip guard saved my fingers more than a few times. This will only take a moment. Clink, clink, clink... 

Eventually, I chipped away enough of the slab to remove the rusted termite pan. The I found a void behind the footing filled with soil. Soil plus ruined termite pan equals termites and I've had quite enough of termites. I made sure that we'll have an impermeable barrier between the post and the ground.

Cenobite footing? Well yeah, but we have to tie the old concrete to the new and these concrete anchors should do the job. Like rebar, but threaded. and with phillips heads.

Making concrete at home: Getting the ratio of mix to water right is crucial. So here we go, I'll use a bathroom scale to ensure I get the amount of mix and water, once I get a clean bucket, and the home equivalent of a volumetric flask (it's a water bottle), we'll make some mud.

Voila! Sorry, there are no photos of us pouring the concrete because concrete on our hands becomes concrete on our camera. Concrete on our camera means fewer pictures in the blog for all of you. That would be awful.

Once it started to set, we signed and dated it. Sort of. 

Once the new footing has cured for 72 hours (to reach 75% of it's final cure strength) we'll pop a post in and pull those jacks out. You know, the easy part. And now that the house is level-ish, I think we can get gutters. You know, so it will stay that way. 

Crap, I have to hire another contractor. Wish me luck.