Cemented in Place

We spent this morning finishing the final portion of our cement work on the north side of the house.  Once again, the weather was beautifully cool so working outside was great.  Imagine being able to pour cement on January 30!  Sometimes Florida still amazes me.

This pour went much faster than the last one since we could just mix and dump into the prepared space.  We used eleven  60 pound bags of cement. Rick thought that we might have needed one more, but we made do with what we had.

Rick balances over the freshly poured cement
as he tries to smooth the pour in the back.

The rebar that we put in the other slab yesterday helped tie the two slabs together behind the air conditioner. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about severe frost-freeze cycles like we do in the north, so we don't anticipate much movement with these slabs.

The only tricky part was smoothing the cement around the drain pipe that carries moisture away from the HVAC (heat exchanger) unit.  Eventually, Rick worked the cement as much as he could to make the final result smooth and secure.

The poured cement nestles around the drain opening
for the heat exchanger condensation to run away
from the house.

We also noticed today that the air conditioning unit outside is pouring lots of moisture on the cement pad that we poured yesterday.  Rick assured me, though, that cement cures even under water! The weather is cool enough that these slabs may take a few days to really dry.

With that project complete, we now will take a break until after Stephanie's visit next week.  Then, with the weather a bit warmer, we will tackle preparing the front yard for pavers and the back garden for some much needed colorful flowers.