Post-second pour--prepping the basement walls

We've finished the second pour and let it cure, now it's time to remove the plywood and check out the foundation. 

It takes a while to pry all that plywood off the concrete.  Brett wants to stack everything up as neatly as possible to keep it out of the way of the crew that is coming to put up the log home.  Our property is about an acre, but it would be easy to let things get out of control.

 The cuts are for the openings for the garage and a door to the basement.

Today we don't have the nice weather.  It's really cold and rainy.  We're at about 9,500 feet in elevation, and although it's only the end of July, it can get pretty unpleasant when the clouds are out.  At night it gets down into the 30's sometimes.

 My hands are FROZEN!

 Could we be any more miserable?  Yeah, just take a picture to document it!

The foundation can't be sealed until the water drains out of the trench.  That's about 3' of water.  Brett tried using a pump but we didn't have one that was powerful enough.  Plus, it's still raining.

So this is our castle, complete with moat!

OK, the weather has improved and the trench has drained.  Time to start sealing the foundation!  Conor & Adrien have on paper uniforms to protect them from the evil tar.

 We just LOVE using tar!  Plus we love our outfits!

The top part of the stem walls is sealed with a waterproof membrane.  The part that will be underground is sealed with tar.  The membrane is much more expensive than the tar.

You can see part of one of the pillars sticking up.  Half of it is now underground, but when finished it will all be underground.  The pillars are to support the porch.

 A better view of the pillars.

The trench has now been partially backfilled.  The concrete footings you see inside the basement are to support columns inside the house.  The slab inside the basement will be poured later.

The black hose is part of the radon protection.  I don't know how it works; hopefully Brett or Don will add a comment about it.