Day 23: Cleanup, control joints and more

Today was a welcome low key day after the pour. We removed all of the wooden forms around the home. We began to lay a 3rd course of APEX block. We also began building a door buck with the 3X8 pressure treated wood delivered last week.

Cesar from Diamond D Concrete arrived to cut control joints in the slab. These joints are about 1/8 inch wide and 1 inch deep and should be the first locations where shrinkage and settling cracks occur. The idea is that the crack is hidden at the bottom of the joint and runs straight instead of randomly across the slab. I chose where I wanted the joints located. Cesar snapped chalk lines to identify where to cut. Some joints will be hidden under interior walls and cabinets, and some will be exposed. The joints are usually filled with grout and can become a decorative and defining feature of the floor pattern. Cesar used a SOFF CUT saw to cut the long joints as shown in the pic below.

Then he used a hand held saw to cut joints in areas that were difficult to access – see vid below.

Finally, Cesar rinsed the slab to wash off the concrete dust produced during the cutting process. Here is a pic of the joints near the center of the family room.

For the next several days I will sprinkle water on the slab. This helps slow down the concrete drying process resulting in a stronger slab. Here is a pic of the wet slab from the East at the end of Day 23.

Green comment for today:
When cleaning up on the job site, sort out all recyclable and compostable materials. Try to think of another purpose for materials that would be sent to a landfill. We say we are throwing things away, but there really is no such thing as “away”.

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