Since the shotcrete went up, I have been working on other things such as getting my drain tile in and getting the basement plumbing done. That is covered in the previous post (posted later in time, but shown lower down in the list of posts because of its date).
This is how things looked after the shotcrete was finished (and we got down the drain tile)
Progress is being hampered by the fact that the shotcrete left a lot more concrete on the floor than expected. Instead of being a thin crust that breaks easily, it is 2 to 6 inches thick and pretty solid across the whole floor. This was mostly due to shotcrete blowing thru the lath and on to the floor inside. The mechanical room has it the worst because it is a small room with shotcrete coming in from all sides. I will need to rent or hire a jack hammer to sort it out properly.
This shot is after spending an hour with a power chisel.
I dug out several other areas for drains and to allow the radon pipe to exit…
But I still need to run the drains and radon pipes thru the rest of the structure, and I would guess that this lumpy surface will make it much harder to get the underfloor insulation and radiant floor tubes in place. I am even a bit concerned about broken pieces of concrete tearing the vapor barrier.
I have a crew lined up to get in there to chip the rest of it out, but they are not available for another week or two. And of course, this was not in the budget.