Deck Day 6

 Today our friend Joey stopped by and helped pour the concrete footings. Our neighbor Benton stopped by as well and the three of us knocked out the project in 2.5 hours. We woke up to a beautiful day and I rolled out the tools in preparation for Joey and Benton.

Upon arrival we started mixing concrete. We mixed two bags at a time. We would empty two bags, pour water, and mix slowly as we went along.

After a few holes we got into a rhythm. Most of the time I would move the bags and Jeoy would mix the concrete. 

After awhile Benton took over this role. He mixed A LOT of concrete.

Once poured into the hole, Benton would smooth out the top using a trowel.

After the top was smoothed out, I inserted the metal bracket into the concrete footing. We used strings to line up the brackets with each other.

The final step was to test fit the brackets with one of the 4x6 beams to verify alignment. Michelle helped me carry a beam over and we gently lined up the brackets to make sure fitment. We made a few minor adjustments prior to the concrete hardened.

See below for the end product.

We purchased 25 bags of concrete and used 20 for the 11 footings. We loaded the five remaining bags of concrete and Joey's tools into the back of his truck and drove it around to the back of our house where we loaded 14 5 gallon buckets of dirt into the back of his truck. Joey wanted the dirt for use in his backyard.

Next step, measure, cut, and install the posts and support beams. Thanks Joey and Benton for all of your help!