Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Preparing the Farm

So, here are some pics updating where we are right now.

This first one shows the start of the form for the pavilion. It is connected directly to our existing building and the roof line will line up with the existing roof line and run an additional 24 feet.


This one shows one of the builders eyeballing the overall shape of the concrete pad prior to doing the fine tuning on the rounded end.


Here is the form completed with the fire pit starting to take shape in the foreground.


And with the gravel base all in place as well as the form for the fire pit. At this point it was just about ready for concrete after a little more tweaking to get all the prep work tied up.


And here is the finished pour.


My wife wanted to have seating all the way around the fire pit but we wouldn't have had enough room to do that and still have an appreciable covered section. In the end, we decided to add a four foot extension to the rounded end and will conceal the seam with a row of bricks inserted into the concrete. I think it will end up making a nice decorative touch to make the pad more visually interesting, plus only you guys, my closest 9228 friends on earth, will know the real reason! That extension has been formed up and, weather permitting, should be poured on Thursday along with a ramp into the back side of the building for easier in and out with the utility tractor, lawn tractor, and 4 wheeler.

Just before the initial concrete pour, we finished the main electric supply with the line into the breaker disconnect and a conduit stubbed out towards the site of the eventual house construction. I was tickled to read the meter at all zeros and figured I'd memorialize it in a photo since it will likely never show this again!


And the final one for now is the rough frame in of the full bathroom. This is 12 feet wide by 6 deep and leaves a 4 foot "nook" on the pond side of the pavilion. I'll keep a grill and refrigerator in that area for entertaining and the bathroom structure will provide a little protection from the elements.


The front wall of the bathroom will be reworked to tie in to the roof line once that goes on. Starting tomorrow, the 8x8 rough cut poplar posts will begin going up to be followed by the beams that will frame in the top. Once those are all in place, we'll be doing 2x6 rough cut tongue in groove lumber for the roof sheathing instead of plywood. That lumber will all be exposed in a cathedral ceiling style with just one main 4x6 beam running from the existing building out to the end of the pavilion roof with 4x6 trusses angled up to it. It should be a pretty clean looking design. All of the wood will be stained a reddish brown. The bathroom walls and the entire back wall of the building will be finished in T-111 that is also stained to match.

It looks like we might have a week that is sparse on rain, so with just a little luck, we may see some solid progress this week. I had hoped to have this whole thing done by the time school let out at the beginning of June. Now I'm just hoping it might be done before the kids go back to school in a month!

More to come!