I set the forms for the piers for the upper beam and poured the concrete for them. To ensure that the piers are on the correct location, I used a 'hair cross' made with mason string (Measured the circumference of the form, divided by four and made some shallow cuts with a hand saw.
Then I used a level and a plumb bob to locate the forms. To keep them in place I loosely back filled about 12 inches.
I poured concrete to the top of the form and trowelled the top to level, by the time I got to the last pier I run out of concrete just an inch from the top of the form. Since I already have an appropriate coverage for the rebar, I just vibrated the concrete flat by tapping the form.
The 'hair cross' was also used to mark the center point to place the anchor bolts.
On Thursday I finished the excavation for the footings for the lower beam. There was a massive tree root on one of the holes, so I had to move the whole a few inches, and dig a little bit deeper (the root comes from a dead stump, so I have no worries about the root growing and displacing the footing). By the end of the day I had placed the rebar and poured the concrete for these footings.
After I stripped the form I found that the last pier (the one that was not flushed to the top) has a much smoother surface than the first three, so I decided to use the same technique for the lower beam. I placed the post bases on the piers and started working on aligning them. After a while I realized that it will be much easier to do this once the posts are in place.
The rest of Friday was spent placing the form for the lower beam and puring the concrete.
At this point all the concrete for the foundation has been placed, and I need to allow it to harden for a couple of days before I put any load on them, anyway the forecast is for rain on Saturday and Sunday, so I'm going back home....
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