Cement-pour day is always exciting. The huge truck churns and grunts. Out comes the goopy gray stuff. The crew spreads it, working quickly as a team. Six+ hours later, it’s a foundation. (And a floor.)
My first-ever garage floor, for my first-ever garage.
It’s actually concrete, not cement. Cement is the the binder that, when mixed with sand and gravel, becomes concrete. (The things I’ve learned during all this!) But we used to call them “cement trucks,” not “concrete trucks.” Maybe it’s because the verb form of that word is so familiar? To cement something is to make it firm. Permanent. It’s a bit scary. You have to get it right the first time.
It’s not our first time. In 2023, we poured the foundation for the house. Then, it was all volunteers–neighbors, relatives, friends. Now, I’m using a contractor. It’s still exciting.
Here’s the process, in photos and captions, as Camp Many Moons on Huron Bay continues to evolve.
When the contractor delivers the trailer, you know it’s about to begin.
First, the styrofoam forms that create the border.
We spent weeks pulling trees, bringing in sand, and making this dirt level — and now we watch it get dug up, piled up, spread around. (To read about our ground preps, click here.) The process of creating is often messy, whether it’s a physical thing or a “relationship” thing. Think about a close friendship (or sibling relationship) that hit a rock but recovered. In the midst of a misunderstanding, it can feel like you’re tearing down your work — but you’re actually preparing for a new phase.
A layer of insulation was added to reduce heat loss, control moisture, and improve energy efficiency. (The house has in-floor heat, and we used a different process for that.)
The contracting crew waits for the trucks to arrive…
…two trucks, actually, which had to negotiate the driveway and narrow private road when they encountered each other.
Out comes the boom from the cement mixer as the driver negotiates it to the right place.
The contractor tells the driver just where to lower the boom…
…and out it comes. The crew spreads it as it comes out.
The pouring and spreading goes quickly, because concrete begins to form up within 30 minutes.
Daylight hours are short in autumn, so they worked into the dark, using a light. (It all depends on when the trucks arrive, and how long it takes the concrete to harden enough for the sealer.)
Not many people get to watch the process of building as it happens; they usually arrive once it’s done. I love seeing the “parts” fall into place, and sometimes helping to put them in place. Last month, after we finished preparing the plot, it looked like this.
Now, it looks like this. (The foundation will continue to dry slowly.)
Before the snow flies, a building will be standing there and this view from my front porch will be entirely different. (Assuming no interruptions.) And next winter….
….I won’t have to shovel off my car before I can leave. This was last February. I do enjoy shoveling — to a point! Plus, I’m not getting younger. So, onward to the garage!
And as always, this is the point of the entire project. Easy access to and constant view of the water, in all seasons. A garage is to serve that.
Congratulations on your first-ever garage floor! You're right that pour day moves fast once the trucks show up, and finishing under a work light is pretty common in the fall, when the daylight runs out before the slab is ready. The insulation layer is a nice touch for a building that will see real winters. With snow on the way up there, keeping the new slab from freezing for the first several days is the part worth fussing over. Enjoy not shoveling off the car next February.
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How nice of you to respond and thanks!
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