So Close...

So now that the corners are done, all I had to do was fill in between them. One obstacle was trying to figure out where to place the crawl space entry. I knew which wall it was going on; didn't want it on the front facing wall obviously, and the back wall will eventually be covered by a deck. But where to place it on the side? In the center, or towards one end? After much deliberation, we decided to put it a bit closer to the front from center. This way, there would be room for an air conditioner or heat pump past it, further towards the back of the house and away from normal view. See how what seem like simple decisions become complex? Not really complex, but they need to be thought through carefully. No turning back now. 



The other crawl space issue was the height and width of the opening. I purchased a concrete steel-reinforced lintel block to go over the opening. But I began to wonder if I really needed it. All of the crawl space openings I had seen recently did not have one; the sill plate went right overhead. But of course their foundation or floor setup was different than mine, so no obvious answer. I asked online and received some really good information. Forget the lintel block, but add another 2x to rim board to act like a header. Like any other header over a window or door in a wood-framed house. Simple enough! Then the joists would hang by joist hangers. 

Just to confirm we called the local building inspector. Explaining our solution and he quickly agreed. Maybe this was the norm....but not being contractors we don't know. The result of this is that I will have 8" more headroom that with the lintel block. And when the opening will be 24" tall to begin with, 32" is a huge difference. The width will be 32" which with the 32" height, seems plenty big. I set up a string line over top the blocks to act like a sill plate and crawled through...no problem!


So anyway, I had a three day weekend but the weather didn't cooperate on day 1. But Saturday and Sunday were just over 50F which is minimum to mix concrete as I have found through trial and error. 

I had to wait awhile for it to warm up in the morning and could finally start around noon. On Saturday I laid 44 blocks. On Sunday I had to wait longer and then had other plans later in the evening. 21 more blocks down. 

I just need ONE more good day to finish this up! But wait, next decision is where to place the vents!

65 blocks today, 237 total, 60 to go...