Ernesto, Jose Luis and Ely from Gilsa Construction today began laying steel rebar for the garage foundation.
Above, Ernesto bends steel with his bare hands — plus a pipe sleeve into which the rebar is inserted, with the rebar also clamped into a bending jig.
At a second jig, Ernesto assembles the bends of rebar …That Ely, left, and Jose Luis, right, place the steel formwork into a trench for the garage footings.Ely drills into the foundation slab of the existing garage, cutting the hole into which rebar will be packed, to tie together the existing and new slabs. Look closely at the drill bit. He wrapped masking tape around the bit to mark the depth of the hole he has to drill — the same thing the rest of do when drilling wood.Ely cuts rebar to length. Sparks fly. He’s wearing safety glasses.Ernesto ties together two pieces of rebar, twisting heavy wire around the joint.