Preparations for the big cement pour continues...

So we are now in the final stages of the plan for the pour.  We only have one shot at getting it right so we are trying to allow for all possibilities and make sure responsibilities are clear and timing is in place.  We have been able to use a cage area behind our Technical Education Department that is concrete, fairly flat, and most importantly a fenced and secure area for us to cast our molds. I recently met with Don Landy from our District Maintenance and Operations Department regarding what help the school district could provide.  Don was incredibly supportive and offered many helpful suggestions and a crew to assist.  I continue to be ever thankful that everyone involved is such a positive force in this project.  Jasmine suggested a sandbox to keep the molds perfectly level.  Here is a simple drawing of what she wanted:

Don volunteered his crew to help with this and improved on the design by suggesting thicker and taller boards he had available at the yard.  He even had sand that could be reused at the end of the project for another project as nothing will be mixed or spilled into the mixture to spoil it.  The sand is simply a leveling compound.  A flurry of emails and meetings has resulted in the following simple list of events as described by Jasmine:

Tuesday April 30^th, 2013  Prep Day

            Don and crew build sand box and fill it with sand. Canopy installed?

1.     Rinse rubber molds in sinks in the art rooms

2.     Pat Dry with Paper Towel

3.     Ensure that all bolts and wing nuts are very tight (using pliers) on the mother molds.

4.     Return the rubber molds to the mother molds

5.     Put molds in garbage bags and tape the plastic bag tight around the mold

6.     Put molds in the sand

7.     Cut openings in the plastic bags to reveal mold (access to mold) but keep the mother molds covered in plastic to prevent moisture damage. (weakens the mother mold)

8.     Jasmine to install rebar hanging structure in molds

9.     Level molds with sand, leaving sides as exposed as possible to tap with hammer to eliminate air bubbles during pouring

10. Cover with plastic

11. Weight the plastic

Wednesday May 1^st

1.     8:00-8:30 Jasmine Ensure molds are dust-free, spray with mold-release

2.     8:30-9:00 molds release sets

3.     9:00 Lafarge arrives with truck, technician mixes cement with chemical to catalyze the concrete, Contech Concrete technicians arrive

4.     Approx 9:30-10:00 Contech concrete pours concrete into molds

5.     Jasmine stands by to release air bubbles with hammer and/or stirring deeper shapes (tin can, container)

6.     11:00 Pouring is complete, Contech will finish the concrete surface

7.     When concrete is hard enough soak cloth with water and place on top of hardened concrete.

8.     Cover in plastic and weight plastic.

Thursday May 2^nd

1.              AM hose the fabric on top of the concrete and re-cover with plastic

2.              Noon—check fabric/moisture. Adding too much water to the concrete will not damage the concrete curing as per Lafarge’s advice.

3.              4:00-5:00pm (end of the day) Add more water to keep moist over night

Friday May 3^rd

1.              9:00am Jasmine arrives to de-mold.

2.              Remove plastic and wet cloths.

3.              Prepare dollies and wood for lifting (Jasmine to explain)

4.              Turn the first mold over so that the mother mold is facing up…remove all nuts and bolts, keeping the group together.

5.              Jasmine will use chisels and hammers to pry open the first section of the mother, repeating the process until the mother mold is removed.

6.              Students to group and put the mother mold back together using the letters A-A, B-B etc…

7.              Jasmine to remove rubber mold and return to the mother mold.

8.              Slide the cast bench on to 2x4 supports.

9.              6 people lift wood supports with bench on it, on to the dolly.

Repeat until all casts are de-molded.         

 Students will be a key part of every part of this process where appropriate.  We have a crew signed up to help out whenever appropriate with the key days being the mold prep day and the demolding day.  It has been a long road to this point, and it does not seem real that we are finally here.