As we approach the last few weeks of the semester we’ve become more and more anxious about breaking ground. Though we haven’t gotten the okay to proceed with digging on site we’ve been doing what we can to prepare for the day! This past week we began bending rebar for our concrete slab; this work spilled over into the week with the hopes that we will finish it all up this week!
Before bending any of the rebar, we had a team cut it to length according to the shop drawings. An important part of this process was separating the rebar by lengths and labeling them so that when we started bending we didn’t grab the wrong piece. Once the rebar is bent there’s no bending it back straight.
I’m not sure what year model our manual rebar bender and cutter is but it seems a little ancient. It gets the job done though! We spent some time the first day on-site figuring out the best way to measure the rebar to get the exact dimensions with the bend. Once we determined that, we began bending U-shaped rebar and loops that will tie together within our foundation. This task is very tedious but the process goes pretty smoothly once you get the hang of it! The only advice I would give is to watch out for your fingers…the rebar doesn’t bend as easily if there’s a finger jamming the handle.
With or without a finger in the way, the rebar isn’t a quick push of the handle. Sometimes you have to use your whole body weight!
It was nice to finally enjoy the beautiful weather in Charleston this week! I think it was around 80 degrees the two days we were on-site then the weekend arrived…50 degrees and rainy! Of course. That didn’t stop us though! Those of us from the south were freezing but John, the Ohio guy, felt within his element. We asked if he was cold or needed a jacket and this was his response:
One thing about this group of people, is that no matter what the situation we always make the most of it! Yeah, it was freezing and rainy this weekend and working in that weather sucks but we had a good time. We shared many laughs and felt good about our progress!
Hopefully, we’ll have digging updates this week!