Footing Forms

Day two of the project had the footing forms completed (the inspection was requested) and the front porch demolished. The GC had ordered a porta-potty but it didn't show up until the end of the day (which pissed off the GC).

I also learned about an ufer. An ufer is how most new construction grounds the electrical system and house. An electrode is connected to a 20' piece of rebar in the foundation. The foundation contractor had a question if an inspection was required for the ufer.

Here's a photo of the porch demolition. They used a sledge hammer and a jackhammer to bust up the concrete slab and step.

Here are the footing forms.

I rebuilt the stairs that I had originally built for access to the travel trailer that we used to have. I cut them down so they had only two steps. My three-year-old walked out of the house and fell forward since he wasn't used to not having a porch. I felt really bad for him.

The forms for the piers (for the porch) and the foundation walls will be built next. Hopefully the inspection and pour for the footings will happen in the next couple of days.

Foundation Excavation for Additions

The contractors were able to complete the excavation for the foundations in one day. They brought in two machines (a bobcat, and a small trackhoe). It was pretty loud so we vacated the house for a while and went to a combo kids' play area/cafe and then to a park.

Here are the kids staring at the construction workers and work areas.

Just the bobcat showed up at first. I was doubtful that it could do all the work necessary. Turns out that the contractor thought so too and then the trackhoe showed up.

Then the dumpster arrived. Good-bye to our nice lawn. I may have to move the violets again.

Here's another progress shot of the excavation. They dumped all the dirt on Mount Hill.

Here are some photos of the completed excavation. The holes are about thirty inches deep.

I joked that Mount Hill was now going to be named Mount Mount. The seven-year-old made the same joke later in the day saying Mount Mountain.

The support posts for the carport roof seem to be doing their job. We were told not to touch them.

The bobcat really tore up the dirt wherever it drove.

Here's the third bedroom excavation.

Here's a photo of the house from halfway up Mount Mountain.

Here's the GC loading the trackhoe.

The excavation crew found an old bottle of Milk of Magnesia about twelve inches below grade. Now we have a nice souvenir!

Building the forms for the footings and foundation walls happens next.

Pre-Construction Status

I have spent a lot of time over the last week physically preparing the "job site" (the rat-hole) for the construction crew that will be descending on Monday, July 11th. I have also been spending a lot of time before that figuring out drawings, permits, contractors, and financing options. It has been a LONG (two year) process.

We found a contractor would both fit our budget and timeline. We had even signed an apartment lease since he insisted that we move out while he did the work. He ended up dropping us as a project (which unfortunately cost us the money of the lease). We hadn't signed a contract so we had no recourse with the contractor. We wrote a sob letter to the landlord and they eventually refunded us one of the three months that we paid. Big lesson learned for us.

After that fiasco, we revisited the contractor selection process and selected one that has been honest with us from the beginning. He's also affordable and very willing to work with us regarding making the project happen is a way that is least impactful for our family. He also told us early on that even though we wanted to use a bank to finance the project that we would do better to leave the bank out of it.

It turns out that after looking at our budget and our project scope that bank financing wasn't realistic. My father offered to fund the project via a HELOC draw and that is how we are going to progress. We are also only doing the additions on the house and not the kitchen and bath remodel. We will still be installing new windows and siding. 

The additions with include a 3rd bedroom, an office, a guest bedroom, and a front covered porch. He's a link to the additions concepts. LINK Not much has changed.

The main thing that needed to be done was for the area around the house to be cleared of vegetation, debris, and our belonging. I moved the giant sword fern, a rose bush, and some irises. I also trimmed back the rhododendron. I intend on transplanting it as welt, but I haven't don't it yet.

The big fern will temporarily live near the sandbox.

Here are some photos of the house exterior. All vegetation has been removed. All of our stuff in the carport has been either taken to dump (finally) or organized and moved behind the shed or under tarps near the sandbox.

The yard waste bin and twenty-one yard waste bags have been filled. I hope the yard waste truck is willing to pick up all of it on Tuesday.

My spouse is really excited for the work to begin.  The kids are also super excited to see the construction equipment is action! I'm kind of apprehensive and have even been seeing a therapist about my feelings about the project (and my feelings about other things).

And for those who read this blog, there will likely be a lot more posting about the Rat Hole for the foreseeable future. ^_^

Crawlspace Insulation

We are in the process of closing a loan to finance the completion of the Rat-Hole, and we have a contractor lined up to do all of the work (the additions and the remodel work). As we wait for the big rodeo to begin, we're getting some of the things done that fall outside of the general contractor's scope... like installing a new vapor barrier and insulating the crawlspace.

The contractor's truck in the driveway.

Old vapor barrier and foil backed paper insulation.

Compressed air hoses nailing the lathe board to keep the insulation in place.

Insulation!

One of the things we noticed when the work was done was how quiet the floors sounded when we walked on them! Hopefully the floors are less cold next winter.

The installers were able on insulate all of the crawlspace, but we had them not do the bathrooms since we need to repair a rotten beam first.

Fence: Part 11 - End-of-Driveway Address Plaque

I finally finished the end-of-driveway address plaque/monument. I'm glad it's done. I'm not sure that I'll add the reflectors back to the front since they were smashed off a year or so ago. And I don't think the monument needs them. My biggest hope is that it doesn't get run over by a garbage truck.

Fence: Part 10 - Post Caps and Rail Caps

I finished installing the post caps and the rail caps on the front half of the fence. I drilled a single hole in the top of the post cap and counter sunk the screw. I may go back and fill the screw holes with some stainable caulk. My spouse and I really like the proportions of the post cap (it's 4.25" square), and they were only one dollar a piece (at Dunn Lumber). The only piece I have left to install is the fascia piece that sits below the rail cap (on the outside of the fence).

Fence: Part 9 - Pickets

I got all the pickets installed on the front half of the fence back in August. It's nice to have the visual privacy.