Building a Concrete Pad for Little Cottage AC Condenser Unit
Building a concrete pad for our little cottage AC condenser unit was a much more sturdy option than using the pad it originally comes with.
We had been talking about getting AC for a long time! And at this point in our fixer upper journey, the unit had finally arrived!
Nate was really happy about the Lennox that was delivered to our house for installation. It was definitely a woo-hoo moment! There were a bunch of parts of the unit that would be placed in the attic by our HVAC guys. This would help us to stay nice and cool or warm depending on the weather.
We were so excited to get our AC unit and also just the HVAC unit in itself so that we could have heat when we needed it. But mostly, we were trying to get through the boiling Texas summer first and needed AC! So when that unit arrived from our HVAC guys, we were thoroughly excited.
BUILDING CONCRETE PAD FRAME
Nate decided to build a concrete pad for the AC condenser unit that goes on the outside of the house.
The unit does come with a pad, which is like a square pad foundation that you can put it on. But it is not as sturdy as building your own concrete pad.
If you have an AC unit installed on the outside of your house and want something stable for it to rest on, maybe consider doing a DIY project like we did and create your own concrete pad that it can rest on. Instead of using the pad that comes with the unit.
Since Nate was building a 36×36 square for the pad, he cut two boards at exactly 36 and then the other two boards at 37.5 because they would go on the inside of the 36 boards. The other two had to be a bit longer because they would lose about 3/4 of an inch on each side when put together.
He was building a wood frame for the concrete pad first and measured the AC unit condenser pad to figure out the right dimensions.
Since he was going to pour concrete in the wood frame, he preferred to use screws instead of nails because it would probably be easier to get screws out later when the concrete was dry.
MAKING IT ALL LEVEL
Then he would also have to level out the ground where it would rest on real good.
He used a large rake to level out the area where he would place the concrete pad and used a shovel to make sure it was smoothed out.
Then he hammered in four small wooden posts at each of the corners and used a level to check if it was even. If it was not even, he would lift up one side of the frame and screw it into the post to hold it in place.
Then from the front to the back he made sure it was at a slight (where the eye wouldn’t even notice) downward slope so that the water could run off the pad. Such ingenuity!
POURING STONES IN THE FRAME
Next he would put some stones (we had leftover in our backyard) in the concrete pad frame before pouring the concrete.
We are all about reusing things around here so Nate also grabbed some of the rocks and stones from when our yard was previously graded for our swale. We had piled some of it in the backyard. So he just took some of that and reused it for the concrete pad he was building. Then he would pour the concrete right on top of that.
All the little materials and things that we have preserved around the house we try to make the best use out of and reuse as much as possible. Hey, it also saved money so that we didn’t have to go out and buy rocks! We’re just pouring back into the house what we’ve taken out. It’s just a cycle that we continue to learn and grow from.
He used a wheel barrow to carry over the stones and pour them into the wooden frame. Then he made it all even and used a compactor tool to pack and level out the stones even more. Now that’s a job that would build some major muscles!
ADDING CONCRETE TO THE FRAME
Then he mixed up some of the concrete. It was a bit soupy, but worked since he was pouring it over those stones anyway. The concrete also had little bits of rocks in it as well.
Then he began to level out the mushy substance and added some rebar to it. He said that when the concrete sticks to it, it doesn’t crack as easily. Then he poured more concrete over the rebar and continued leveling it all out.
After all the concrete was poured, he used a plank of wood to level out the almost overflowing concrete from the wood frame. He also pounded it, which helped to get the air bubbles out as well.
After the concrete had been drying for about three hours, he took a broom to smooth it out a bit. Then he worked to push the rocks down. It’s better to do that maybe before three hours when it’s a little more wet.
Then he removed the screws from the wooden frame to remove the wood, which would allow the sides of the concrete to also dry.
This was a nice creative project that we were able to do ourselves and build with great quality!
Building a concrete pad for our little cottage AC condenser unit helped us to be resourceful and actually use up old materials we had readily available.
Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOS
Thanks for joining us on this journey! We hope that you will find inspiration watching us learn as we go while we’re attempting to renovate and rebuild this old small historic cottage mostly on our own. Stay tuned for more progress updates ahead!
You can also watch a video about this here.
To see more adventures of our tiny fixer upper journey, click on the links below.
