Preparing the Gym Floor

Note:  I'm adding several posts tonight that took place over the last week.

With the foundation laid, the Accu-Steel, our builder, starts preparing what will be the cement surface our gym floor goes on top of.  The dirt has already been graded, so now they have unloaded many truckloads of stone into the area.  Then a bulldozer spreads the stone around evenly on the pad.

Once the stone is spread around, it is covered over with a plastic sheet, and then a wire mesh is laid on top of it.  This is done to create an ideal bed for the concrete that will be poured on top of it.  Modern technology plays some surprising roles in this process.  For example, Accusteel uses a laser leveler to make sure the entire gym surface is completely level.  A rotating laser source is set up on a tripod in the middle of the floor, and equipment on the perimiter can use the laser beam to check to make sure the surface is level.

Once the surface is prepared,  the workmen construct a wooden frame around the entire perimeter of the gym.  This frame will hold the cement in until it dries, and then it will be removed. You can see the carpenters finishing the frame here:

With the frame in place, we're ready to pour the concrete floor.  Unfortunately, the weather isn't cooperating.  Pouring the floor will require 6-8 hours without rain and about freezing temperatures.  To complicate things, the heavy rain has made the dirt road to the side muddy. Cement trucks, when fully loaded, are incredbly heavy and there's a threat of them getting stuck in the mud (and stopping all the trucks behind them)  if its too soft.  Accusteel watches the weather carefully and considers how to firm up the road in preparation for pouring.