Grading Around
The Slab
After the slab is poured, you need to wait 2-3
days then remove the forms. The lumber -- 2
X 12 X 16 feet long -- is washed off and saved for
use as headers when the house is framed.
After the forms are removed, the fill dirt that is
piled around the slab is graded almost to the
final grade, that is, almost to the appearance the
lot will have when the house is finished.
Here are some shots of the slab and the
grading. Still have another half-day of
grading to do.
This photo is taken from across
the street, looking diagonally at the house.
The Bobcat is being used to move the fill dirt
around to the near-final grading configuration.
So far, dirt has been packed against the slab and
a terrace has been built across the front of the
house -- step off the front porch onto the ground.

This photo is taken standing at
the front of where the driveway will be looking
toward the carport. Because the carport is one
foot above the natural grade, we will put in fill
and pour a sloping concrete apron to drive up onto
the carport. The small slab between the
carport and the house is a landing for two doors
coming out of the house.

This photo was taken standing on
the carport looking back toward the street.
The copper pipes with red and blue vinyl sleeving
are the hot and cold water supply lines; the white
PVC pipes are either drains for sinks or drain
vents. The square wooden box filled with
dirt is the drain for a bathtub-shower. If
you look closely you can see the anchor bolts
sticking up out of the slab around the perimeter.
When we start framing, the bottom plates for the
walls will be secured to the slab with theses
bolts.

This photo is looking along the
front porch. Look closely and you will see
that the front porch is 3-1/2 inches below the
house slab. The excavator is grading the
dirt here to form a terrace along the front of the
house. Draw a straight line from where I am
standing to take this photo to the garbage can
(the bglack object behind the Bobcat) -- along
that line the terrace will slope to the street.
The excavator will move all the fill dirt from
outside the silt fence and I will close the fence,
thereby keeping all erosion and runoff on my
property. I will open the silt fence on the
other side of where the Bobcat is parked to use as
a driveway for use during construction and we will
put our permanent driveway in the same place.

Finally, this photo is taken
standing at the front door looking into the great
room. The white PVC pipe at the right center
-- with the red and blue copper almost hidden
behind the PVC -- marks the kitchen island that
will hold a sink, dishwasher, and counter.
The cluster of piping with a tub drain to the left
is the master bathroom. Master bedroom is to
your left. The four round grey objects
sticking up out of the slab in the front of the
photo are boxes that will hold electrical outlets
in the floor.

Back to house-building
main page.
On 29 August 2005, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was destroyed by
Hurricane Katrina.
Our new house was lost in the storm. Here is a photo of the house site
after Katrina.


Photo on the left is the house site a few days before Hurricane
Katrina hit on 29 August 2005. The photo on the right is the site on 2
September 2005. The concrete slab for our house is buried under this
debris somewhere. The roof came from the house next door ( on the right
side of the left-hand photo. )
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