Foundation Complete - Day 35

This morning, it was like Christmas to come around the corner and see a big crane.

I still had frost on my windshield, and these guys were out there in below freezing temps.

At lunch time I came back out to bring the guys snacks and take more pictures.

They were almost done.

I stayed and chatted with Stanley while he worked. He and I have become buds.

As the concrete was being poured, the crew used a piece of wood to level it and spread it out.

Then Stanley would come back with the "swiffer" type tool to smooth out air bubbles and such.

As they poured concrete, they inserted the vertical rebar around the perimeter.

I didn't get to see them use the swirly things that polish the cement.

What's neat is Mom could see the crane from her house. She text me a picture.

Mom's house is in the same neighborhood, just on the opposite side.

It's so neat to realize that this stage of the process is complete!

We have a foundation!

I went back by tonight to see the finished product. You can see where the electric plugs just peep out of the concrete.

By tonight, the concrete was hard, but I wouldn't dare walk on it.

And as I left, the moon was on the rise.

What a wonderful day!

Foundation Inspection Passed

We had to wait for Monday to roll around before we could get our inspection. We needed this inspection before we could pour concrete onto the raised block and gravel to finish our foundation.

On Monday, the guys rolled out the plastic to cover the gravel. This is a moisture barrier.

And those bond beams I mentioned before... they had rebar laid into them.

I thought this was how it would be done, but wasn't 100% sure.

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It's neat to see it all right now.

All that's missing is 4 inches of concrete poured on top.

And since we passed inspection, we're getting that concrete TODAY!

I can't wait for Little JCrew and Mr. Brigglesworth to see the trucks and pump. They loved it the last time when we poured the footers.

We are almost done with the foundation!

Prepping for Concrete Slab - Day 32

After the plumber finished his pre-slab rough-in work, the electrician came to run conduit to the island and two floor outlets in the family room.

Refrigerator water and electric

He was in and out real fast.

Island conduit

The fixtures he put in the gravel stick up and will stick out of the concrete. Then depending on the flooring choice, the tops can be sawed off to accommodate.

The electrician came out Friday morning and the gravel was dug for the bond beams.

Once I know more about bond beams, I will share. I don't know how my builder is handling it, and am anxious to find out, but I do know they are for load-bearing walls.

Each beam is to be 12 inches wide.

Bond Beam Marked but not dug

We are waiting for an inspector to come on Monday before we can get to pouring the concrete. But we also had to rebuild the wall that was used to get all the gravel into the raised foundation. This was done on Saturday.

There is no longer a broken wall.

The gravel that was left outside the wall was sprinkled in low places inside the foundation.

The crew has done a really good job at keeping the site clean. I rarely find things I have to put in the dumpster that they leave behind. And we already have the "plastic" sheeting ready to cover the gravel before the concrete is poured.

Once we have the inspector's approval, we'll get the concrete scheduled and we'll be pumping that foundation! We are all excited to see the walls go up. Once the foundation is poured, I am going to order the windows and exterior doors. Because the framing is estimated to take 4-6 weeks, I have plenty of time to order the windows. Lead time for our windows is about 2 weeks. And they've offered to store them until we are ready for them.

We're ready!

Filling in the Foundation

Day 20 the block crew came back out to finish the garage and porches.

It was neat to see it coming together. I've been told numerous times that during phases of construction the house will feel smaller, larger, smaller, etc. When the flags went up, certain areas felt small. When the footers went in, things got bigger. When the blocks went up, things felt small, and now that the gravel is filled in, it feels large.

Mom's Porch

South Wall complete

Front Porch

Back Porch

Day 23 was spent filling the foundation with gravel and starting the rough in plumbing.

Back Porch

Day 21, the framer, plumber and electrician met on site to get on the same page. Luckily, my electrician and plumber have worked together before and get along. I had read that it was important they did. Yay!

Day 21-22 were gorgeous days, but nothing got done. I was waiting on a load of gravel that didn't come until Thursday. The plumber was eager to get started, too.

Day 23, the gravel was delivered and moved into the foundation. The front wall of my mom's room was left open for the tractor to have access.

While they were moving the gravel, they consolidated all the dirt piles into one giant one.

This helped the tractor have less to move around. I liked how it cleared up the front yard.

Next up, rough-in plumbing and electrical.

Foundation Blocks

The foundation is starting! In one day, the outline of the living envelope was 90% completed. The only part left to finish is the garage...

... and our bedroom wall.

Unfinished side after one day of laying block

When I last left off, we were waiting on Architecture Review Committee to approve our foundation height. That was on a Wednesday. The next day, it snowed! That was not forecasted! Yet, our guys were out there pouring a new footer and installed the silt fence around the property.

I was not aware of the new footer and stepped right in it!

Before - just a square

After - an extra leg off the square

The new footer was because of a change we made but never made the change on the floorplans. The wall between the kitchen wall and garage would be an ICF wall and needed a footer. Luckily, there was a stick nearby and I smoothed out my footprint.

New Footer

On Thursday, we also had the gravel spread out to make a temporary driveway and marked where the dumpster would go.

On Friday we heard back from the ARC with approval. We then had our blocks delivered with sand. The dumpster and port-a-potty was also delivered.

On Saturday we met with the builder and the mason to walk through the block layout. We walked around with a 100' tape measure and the floorplan and double-checked the nail placement and the measurements on the floorplans. Our mason's name is Collin and he is British. He had a team of 10 guys out there Saturday and they worked hard!

They started on Mom's corner of the house and worked around the front. Four courses and a header.

Brick Ties

Below is an example of stepping down the footer I explained. Where the footer was poured higher, less blocks were needed.

Our house has a lot of corners.

And in the front, we have a little jut out. The way they did the blocks was interesting.

From the front picture, you can tell things were added, but when you take a look from the back or side, you can REALLY see the progress.

Up next... finish the block courses, filling it with gravel and getting the plumber, electrician and HVAC guy to come run their lines through the foundation. Fingers crossed, we get that all in this week and the concrete top can be poured by Friday.

I'll keep you posted.