back to the outside

In the past couple of days, Abe has begun to prepare the garage floor and the side stair to receive rebar and concrete. The side stair leads from the main level alongside the house to the basement and the garden. Great care must be taken to achieve a uniform tread-riser layout, an adequate slope to direct water away from the building and a smooth uniform surface that has enough friction to avoid slipping. Once concrete is poured, you're pretty much out of luck to change things- unlike with wood, where you'd only pull out a few nails and then start all over again, concrete is not forgiving at all and it is very hard and costly to adjust the material once it is hardened.