Concrete

In a way, building a house is similar to being pregnant. When you are pregnant, every mother offers advice you and tells you about her pregnancy experience. When you build a house, anyone who has built a house offers advice, and tells you about the building experience. In Beit Gamliel, where we live, almost everyone has built a house or done major renovations on a house. So, without even asking, we are learning about house building from everyone.

When it came to the foundation, everyone had advice, so I checked the internet and learned, "Building the foundation of your house is one of the most important tasks while building your house. If the foundation is not properly laid then the entire edifice will be unstable. " (From http://www.indobase.com/home/building-a-home/footings-foundations.html)

Apparently there are several methods for laying the foundation. In our house, the first layer of the foundation is dirt. We had hoped to be able to reuse the dirt that they dug up when they started building. Unfortunately, the dirt was filled with trash. The builders decided to use as much of the dirt as possible by taking out any large pieces of trash and adding new dirt. Then placed a layer of styraphone and then metal rods. Finally they poured the concrete.

I was standing around the site while they poured the concrete and Ofer asked me if I was going to take pictures. I asked him if there was a reason and he told me people often take pictures of the foundation before the concrete is poured. So, I took some picture.

In Israel, the law requires that you hire a company to inspect the construction materials at certain points. The builder noitifies them at certain points, such as when the concrete is poured. Just as they were getting ready to pour the cement, the inspectors showed up for the check.