Bring on the Rammed Earth! + First Youtube Video!

In just 8 hyper-productive working days, the majority of the footings have been poured! We have been putting the hustle on because Jimmy Cotter will be coming on site next week to put up some rammed earth walls and wanted to have it all prepped for him. Today we is an exciting post because with it comes the introduction of our youtube channel and our first youtube video (embedded below). If you have a youtube account and would like to receive notifications of when new videos are added you can subscribe to the channel which is:

http://www.youtube.com/user/altshiftnz

(In the video Napz (in the blue shirt) brings over a laser level to show the level that the concrete should be poured to.)

Here are a few more pictures from the day showing other details, and a view of before and after the concrete pump's magic. The following shot is a simple 400 cm deep hole in which a rebar cage has been placed to act as a base for some timber posts that will help support the green/living roof. Just behind the hole are some of the forms or 'shutters' that were put into the trenches to contain the cement and make the faces nice and flat.

Here is an elevated view (on the earth mound we have accumulated from the trench digging) of what the trenches looked like before and after the pour.

And lastly, here is a detail of the Hebel blocks (an aerated concrete block that has insulative properties) that will serve the thermal break for the base of the rammed earth wall.  The Hebel blocks are the white ones that have the rebar coming through them and in the immediate foreground you can see the face of the concrete footing which will be right next to the front door.

Thanks for reading and get excited for Friday (back in the states and already happening in NZ!). Well Read weekend post coming soon!  PEACE.