An Early Christmas Present!

Are You Ready to Pour the First Foundation Walls?

Wall Construction Continued…

Foundation Wall Formwork…

  At the base of the wall, on top of the concrete footing, you can see the expandable waterstop we carefully installed at every joint that might seep water from the high water table. It is the black “bentonite” material with the yellow stripe.  The wall reinforcing and the formwork for the cellar walls are …

The Pour Continues…

Pouring the First Footings!

  Preparing for the concrete pour is stressful as once the truck arrives, the concrete has to be poured or else… Has anyone ever heard  of “concrete overshoes”? And the East River is right down the street… And East Harlem used to be controlled by mafia gangsters… You get the picture?

Footing Forms are constructed

  String lines are set from the surveyed property lines outside the construction area. Footing forms are constructed and rebar is placed per the drawing requirements.

The Rebar Arrives

Formwork and rebar arrives on site as shoring nears completion and excavation of the cellar is in process. The soldier pile drill rig has to be removed from the site as space is at a premium in the urban environment.

Digging for the Elevator Pit

  Our original plans called for the elevator to stop at the cellar floor, This meant that the elevator pit would have to be excavated a minimum of 6 feet deeper than the finished cellar floor elevation. Our geotechnical surveys and borings reported that the water table might be encountered at approximately 14 feet below …

Shoring Almost Complete

  All the drilling is complete and the excavator is finishing the excavation and shoring installation. You can see the drilling rig in the background, waiting to be taken offsite. Here are a couple of photos showing the shoring progress. Sometimes the excavator sits rather precariously at the top of the excavation. However the operator, …