Next Week's Forecast: 80% Chance of Pouring Concrete

I've always wondered what it would be like to be encased in concrete. Okay, not really. But as the latest pictures will attest, the storm shelter in the basement will likely satisfy my curiosity. (Although I must say, I don't think I will feel any less claustrophobic inside the safe area, no matter how big it is).

We are less than a week away from the Great Colossal Concrete Pour, weather permitting. The forms are up, the LiteDeck is in on the shelter, and final preparations are underway. Here's a look at the LiteDeck WRS (wood rib system) that serves as the ceiling to the storm shelter:

The basic LiteDeck WRS looks like this, in a cut-away drawing borrowed from their website:

The idea here is that the shelter's walls and ceiling will be a single, solid form of concrete. The crews will pour concrete into the vertical walls of the shelter, filling to the brim. As it fills, the pour will continue into the LiteDeck channels, which by virtue of the rebar, will be fully tied into the vertical walls. The fill will continue until there is a 3-4 inch slab across the whole ceiling. When it sets, the ceiling and three walls of the structure will be a single piece of concrete, tied into the existing retaining wall from the original house and to the basement floor.

Here's a shot looking inside the shelter at the temporary support frame:

And one more miscellaneous picture:

After the concrete sets and the supports are removed, the floor trusses (already built) will arrive along with a full crew of framers. We are told that the roof trusses are already built as well. Again, weather permitting, a full framing frenzy is only a few weeks away.

As an aside, I think I may finally be getting used to the change on the eastern vista. While I will certainly continue to miss the trees that once grew so grand, I know I can look forward to sights like this:

Looking at that, I have a catch in my heart.

I'm ready to go home.