Week 4 - Waffle Pod Slab (18-23 May)

WEEK 4:  MAY 2015 WAFFLE POD SLAB

 

Week 1 (18-23 May)

 

 

WAFFLE - POD - SLAB!

So, what is a waffle pod slab?

The benefits of waffle pod technology:

 

Because the waffle pod style concrete slab is made in a grid pattern with interlocking concrete pieces, it is given added strength in every direction that could be stepped or driven on. This is why it is a very popular choice for homes and large car parks or large foot traffic areas as there is very little chance of damage or cracking occurring to the waffle pod style concrete slab. This makes the waffle pod style concrete slab perfect for any type of outdoor area or for the formation of a building in order to serve as the foundation, or for any type of outer formwork for any other type of walkway.

 

Lightweight, Easy to handle

Durable, Strong, flexible and dimensionally stable

Excellent sound insulation and thermal insulation due to the natural air pockets in Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and the specially designed moulded cells within the Waffle Pod. Makes the floor less cold to walk on.

Long Term R-VALUE (thermal values)

Low water Absorption

Recyclable (sustainable material) and produces no ozone depleting gases

Ideal for reactive soil types

time savings and can continue in adverse weather (as we discovered!)

First we had dirt... then it became high rise dirt on the low side

 

 On Monday 18/5 our plumber lay the pipes for our internal plumbing -

that happy little row of pipes is my laundry and kitchen!

 

On Tuesday 19/5 the site was hive of busy activity

with polystyrene boxes being laid out in a honeycomb design. 

Finally our woes of wet dirt are behind us with a neat little waterproofing sheet set out over the dirt. 

 

On Wednesday 20/5 the metal reinforcing (reo) was set out over the whole slab, black plastic stirrups holding it about 5cm above the waffles so it's neatly midway between the 8.5-10cm thick slab of concrete when it's laid.

 

The wooden formwork ready for pouring is amazingly high on the low side! Thursday looked like a quiet day but I believe engineers and the Private Certifier had to come and sign off on the quality of work before they could pour on Friday... except that Friday was a solid day of rain!

 

 Saturday 23/5 was the big slab day! What a nice surprise after glum rainy Friday that they caught up the delay so quickly by working on a weekend. The guys were up at 5.30am to start early and by the time I got there after bootcamp in the early morning

all but the garage and alfresco had been poured.

It was awesome to see cement trucks lined up the street waiting for their chance to pour.

While the trucks poured, more ginger bearded cement genies scraped it down

and made it neat and tidy for our future wooden floors.

 Fuelled by brownies, they worked on through the day with polishers to get the slab just so,

and to remove the wooden formwork supports.

 Until at last we have this beautiful piece of concrete slab ready to go. We could start to see the forms take shape now. The front rectangle is our wide garage on the right... 

 and the smaller rectangle in the middle is our patio.

 It's a small set back to the fence line here - weekends ahead of hubby digging retaining walls

and a side boundary fence to be replaced as soon as the site is ours again.

 

 Here you can see our laundry (pipes) and the slight drop to the pathway below that will be easy direct access to the clothesline and a walkway to the alfresco alongside our kitchen.

The drop edge beams look higher than ever.

It's going to take a good deal of garden to hide these!

Hoping it means we will get some beautiful district

and maybe National Park views from the upper storey.

 

Now we wait to see how long they let the slab cure before we start to see frames go up.

So excited for our home to have not just a floor but walls!