Today the basement floor and front porch concrete slabs were poured. It must have been quick-drying concrete because when we checked it out around 6:00 PM, it looked dry and there were footprints, presumably from the workers who cut the basement floor.

Matt Acker has been great at accommodating all of our requests to make this a truly custom home. One thing we wanted was a basement tornado shelter, which is going under the front porch. We researched the FEMA-320 guidelines with regard to concrete reinforcement for the walls and ceiling. Matt confirmed that the ceiling is indeed reinforced with #4 bars at 12 inches O.C. each way.

Here are the pictures of the front porch and the basement floor...

One other green-building initiative was accomplished today. There is a point available for cleaning out concrete trucks in a slab or basement area. After today's pour, we could see the residue localized right near the basement area. Kudos to Acker Builders and the concrete contractor for keeping the waste material right near the structure, and not out in the middle of the yard somewhere.