The sewer hookup didn’t wrap up until Tuesday and asphalt was done Wednesday. For some reason the street is still blocked this weekend but just where they lay down their asphalt. I am not sure how long it takes to “cure”. Maybe they forgot about the barricades.
The sewer work set us back a bit because we needed another load of gravel dropped out front for the slab prep and the road was blocked. Dean kept a couple of guys looking after as much as they could do without it and the gravel arrived late Wednesday. They shifted it into the last section, the prep was wrapped up by early afternoon Friday and the inspection is booked for Monday.
I am pretty stoked about having all of that insulation and vapour barrier but it seems weird to basically leave a crack around the edge and not attach the foundation to the slab. The insulation around the perimeter gives a thermal break and is used as an edge to trowel the pour so it isn’t just slapped up. Each piece has to be level and is attached to the foundation with metal ties so it doesn’t shift. Each tie has to be drilled into the foundation first too. All that insulation means that the slab won’t suck heat out of the basement as fast as it would without and the cold of the foundation won’t transfer to the slab. The insulation under the slab is R12 too. The foundation walls will also all be faced with insulation and the walls built against that giving another nice thermal break. I am really excited about this and sort of nerding out because i like the idea of having a place that in inexpensive to heat. I am bothered though about all of the styrofoam as i am generally not a fan. I have listed a bunch of left overs on a couple of Free and buy nothing groups hoping someone will keep it out of the landfill.
We are still trying to get quotes on the lino installation. It seems every flooring company is slammed and the only response we got is a guy who will do it as a side job between his other contracts. Other people we have contacted haven’t even responded. I am a bit worried about this because of the whole issue around timing. I am still not sure exactly when we will be ready to install as the weeks tick by. We basically have to be starting to install floors in about a month. Ulp!
In the meantime, i am making marmalade. Seville oranges are late this year and i was starting to panic. Nice to have something to take my mind off the reno timeline.
Looks like careful work for under the slab. I’ll assume that someone has calculated the net benefit.
Glad to hear about the marmalade!
One of the articles i read said that a 4″ concrete slab has an R value of 0.4 and another indicated that homes lose 10% of their heat through the foundation. We now have R12 so i am sure that will be a big help making it cozy down there.