The Arches and The Bond Beam Forms

Even more challenging than the footing forms were the arch forms. Ben brainstormed and experimented until he had something that worked. Sam built scaffolding so that they would be able to pour the bond beam from a comfortable height.

Sam and Ben built forms around the top of the wall and wired in three rings of rebar for reinforcement. Because the plywood needed to bend (to accommodate the circular shape), a curve had to be cut out of a 2x6 with the convex bracing the plywood on the inside and the concave bracing the plywood on the outside.

The windows required some extra work for a thicker bond beam and got extra rebar around them. They boarded up the windows. They built a special chute to funnel the concrete into the forms.


Money Spent: $1553
$ 233 plywood
$ 127 threaded steel rods, screws, fender washer, whitewood
$ 869 150 20' rebar
$ 181 2x6s
$   3 all thread rod
$ 140 small pieces of rebar