Yesterday the plumbing inspector arrived on site to look at the basement plumbing rough in.  With his approval of the drainage work, we can now prepare the basement slab for the concrete pour.  The first step is to connect the weeping tile under the footing into the sump basin, and then spread gravel to the top of footing, compact it, and lay a poly vapour barrier and rebar on top of that.  The back flow valve is boxed in so that it can be accessed later (it forms sort of a cleanup in addition to flood or sewer backup protection).

This is another example of how winter conditions are going to cost a lot of money that would not be needed if we were operating in warmer season.  While the air temperature is above zero during the day, the basement is very frozen and not likely to thaw any time soon.  We will be renting heaters to warm the area before the pour, and keep it warm until the concrete has a few days to cure.  I am making another big attempt to stay ahead of my other crews, and this cannot be done without a big management push.  The early slab pour will pay off once the trades begin work, because we will have the basement framed.  Here are some of the many advantages of having the slab done before framing is done.

1 - Framers don't leave and start another project (possibly never to return).  Once the roof is done the framers move into the basement and frame the frost walls and partition walls

2 - The HVAC work is much easier - the furnace can be placed on the slab, rather than hung.  All of the duct work is much easier working on a flat slab rather than a rough dirt surface.  Most tin installation is in the subfloor accessible only by the basement

3 - plumbing work can be done for the basement bathroom and bar

4 - the electricians can hang the panel more neatly and wire the basement along with the upper floors.  Once again this saves time over having the electricians come back later

All of the prep work done now allows the basement to be finished very smoothly, rather than have it treated as a separate project.  I have yet to mention #5, possibly the biggest mess maker of all the trades...

5 - The drywall and taping can be done all at the same time so the mess, dust, scraps, and headaches of drywall finishing is only done once rather than twice. This in itself is worth early slab prep efforts.

Hopefully we can get this basement warmed up and poured quickly and make the above 5 items a reality.

Here are some photos of the various stages of the slab preparation. First the weeping tile is connected, second the gravel is placed, third the tamping machine is hauled away (note this is another example of why it is critical to have the stairs installed before the basement work begins), and finally the poly and rebar is installed over the gravel.