The homeowners wanted a garden structure that would echo the style of their home and offer cover for those wanting to get out of the sun.

I suggested they consider the Heritage Pavilion by Dalton Pavilions.  They chose a 14 X 18′ model, but with single columns on the corners.  The 3 column corners are pretty, but take up additional space.

These pavilions are beautifully made and extremely strong.  They are engineered to withstand a 110 mph wind and a snow load of 30 lbs./ square foot.

The strength of this structure begins with 24″ wide sonotube footings that go 42″ below grade.  There are 4 footings – one for each of the corner columns.  Beneath the pavilion will be a wet-laid bluestone patio built on a concrete slab.

How The Patio Integrates With The Footings

In the first picture you see 2 X 4 framing by each sonotube. This precisely forms the four corners of the pavilion’s concrete patio slab.  The slab is poured so it bridges over the footings.

The pavilion has 4 white columns.  These columns are decorative and actually slide over 5 X 5″ steel structural columns.  These steel columns are affixed to the concrete footings with threaded steel rod.  You’ll see this construction in upcoming posts on this project.

New Elevations Begin To Show

I can remember in the early planning stages setting up grade stakes with string lines to illustrate proposed elevations for the new hardscape.  The homeowner was amazed that these features would “sit up” at these indicated heights, and quite frankly, I double-checked my elevation measurements just to be sure.  Elevations can be tricky to “eye-up” at times and for this reason I’m a real fan of grade stakes, string lines and markers set with an instrument.

The main portion of the patio will be done in dry-set brick and will come right up to the wet-laid bluestone patio under the pavilion.  To give definition to the bluestone patio and an elegant segue to the brick, mason contractor Lester Szajna has installed a 12″ bluestone coping as a border.

Here’s the previous post on this project. And here’s the next.

The cabana was designed to be built on a concrete slab – a very common approach to seasonal structures.  The architect was aware of the imported fill on the site and specified the concrete pier footings be dug down to virgin ground.  The fill was a minimum of 5′ deep.  You can see the ladder coming out of the excavation where the sonotubes are set.  The builder used The Bigfoot System with sonotubes to provide maximum load bearing capacity.

Once the sonotubes were filled with concrete the excavation could be closed and compacted.  A wood form for the concrete slab was then constructed and filled with clean gravel. Fill dirt was added to the outside of the forms for support.  There was no concern for “settling” because the entire structure was suspended on the concrete footings.

While the cabana had its own utilities planned, the pool equipment was to be positioned directly behind the building.  This scenario works out well because they actually share many of the services (e.g. electric, water, gas, etc.) and the integration is fairly straight forward.

With the wood form set and supported, steel reinforcing rod is positioned per architect’s specifications.  I should mention that every criitcal step of this process has been inspected along the  way.  As much as a nuisance as these inspections can be, they are there to protect the homeowner.  I keep telling myself that while we’re anxiously awaiting an inspection that will allow us to continue to the next step of construction.

Finally, we’re able to pour the concrete slab and get ready to frame the building.  The slab is a visual milestone as it clearly shows its footprint on the site and its relationship to the other elements.

Also, having the concrete slab in place allows any other nearby grading or site work to be done.  Often this milestone enables other aspects of the project to proceed such as base prep for the pool decking.

As you would expect, communication is key among all the different contractors.  Good project management moderates this communication and weaves together contractors’ schedules with project phases.

Here’s the previous post for this project. And here’s the next.