Foundation Almost Finished

The rest of the foundation wall for the basement addition was finished today.  There are 2 spots that the concrete guy needs to come back tomorrow and fill in with concrete.  Now it needs to be waterproofed and the drain tile put in, then we will need another inspection and the floor can be poured.

Basement Block Wall (5/29/13)

Today the concrete guys built most of the block wall for the basement.  It should be finished up tomorrow and then Mike will need to waterproof it and put in the drain tile.

Concrete & Blocks

Today the forms for the foundation were poured and the blocks for the wall were dropped off.  

Putting the blocks right into the hole!

All ready to start building the walls!

Forms

On Friday the concrete guy was out and laid out the forms for the foundation.  Over the weekend dirt from one of the sides fell back into the hole, so tonight Mike had to shovel the dirt back out of the hole.  The inspector will be out in the morning to check the forms, then the concrete guys will be back later in the day to pour the forms.  

A hole's a hole

Holely crap we have a HUGE hole in our backyard!!  Sol was here at 7:30 this morning and got the entire hole dug!  He took about 3 truck loads of dirt away, but with the steady rain all day he couldn't take anymore -- the place he was taking the dirt was really muddy and he was getting stuck.  So we have a huge pile of dirt (and an excavator) that will stay in the backyard until the concrete work is done and the hole is ready to be back-filled.  He also dug out the area where the front sidewalk is going.  Now we wait until Monday for anymore action when the concrete guy gets started.  Off to a relaxing weekend of camping!  Happy Memorial Weekend!!

Getting started in the morning

Bringing the dirt out from the back one Bobcat load at a time

Digging for the sidewalk

HUGE hole!!

Behind the garage.....our yard is a wrecked muddy mess!

Sidewalk area.....and me cleaning the driveway :)  Trying to keep things as normal as we can!

Oh yes...and the septic tank was found but it was deep enough that we can just pour the concrete right on top of it and it will not be a problem.  Oh the joys!

Diggin'

Sol (the excavator) stopped by today to drop off his equipment so he'd be all ready in the morning...and then he got a little carried away :)  The excavator barely fit between the garage and the fence to get into the backyard, it was a tight squeeze but it fit.  Then he started to dig a little and a little more!  He pulled out the pipe that we thought was a septic tank, just a pipe came out and a neighbor stopped by and said they didn't put septic tanks in around here, just those pipes, so we are hoping we are in the clear with the tank.  He pulled out the back steps.....I guess we're just using the front door now!  He took out about a truck load of dirt and will be back in the morning to haul it away and dig some more!

There's the back steps!

Living a little boy's dream!

More prepping for the back addition

Mike pulled out the rest of the patio pavers tonight so the yard is ready to be dug up!  He talked to the excavator, he thinks he will be out on Wednesday to start digging!  The concrete guy was also out tonight to check it out, he is all set to come on either Monday or Tuesday next week to work on the foundation.

Pavers are all gone

Mike picked up some plywood tonight and covered the circle patio so the excavator can drive across it and it won't get ruined.  

Comcast was also out today and ran a temporary line overhead so I won't lose internet when they start digging since the line runs right next to the steps.

We are definitely in full swing with our addition!  YAY!

Bye Bye Patio....hello mess & septic tank (5/19/13)

The hole for the addition in the back will be dug this week so today we got that area ready.

The larger wood steps covering the old concrete step are removed

New sandbox :)

This is the start of a really messy summer for us!

Pulling out the paver patio

Moving the canopy/deck - Mike rolled it out on a few tubes - so thoughtful!

Patio is gone...just a little path to get to the steps

New temporary home for the canopy

Looks so different! Seems like just yesterday when we put in the patios!

And then we found a buried septic tank when Mike was digging out my tulips!

Little crazy boy had to come and check it out (he was supposed to be in bed)

The hole goes down about 6 feet

It was a very productive day.  Mike talked to our excavator and he doesn't think the septic tank will be an issue, he will be able to take care of it in one way or another.  It was a little surprise to find though!

Mike also put the wood steps from the back up in the front for temporary steps.  The door will eventually be moved to the other end of the porch, but for now it will stay where it is.  He also put some of the patio stones from the backyard up front so we wouldn't have to walk through the mud.  We'll be using the front door as our only door soon!  That will be a big change for us!

Mother's Day on the front porch (5/12/13)

Mike started putting the decking on the front porch today!  What a wonderful Mother's Day for me!! :)  He did a lot of figuring and also didn't have the screws he needed so he didn't get as much done as planned, but it's getting there!  I love the pattern that he designed for the deck boards and the boards them self are so nice!  They are some kind of exotic hardwood that should last a long time.  

Enjoying Mother's Day on my new front porch!

Jonah-baby!

Such a cool pattern!

Now it all needs to be screwed down and the steps portion on the far end needs to be finished.  We aren't sure what we will do for steps right now since the sidewalk is not poured, but we will probably do something temporary for now.  Need to get this project finished and usable since next week the hole in the backyard is going to be dug so we will no longer have a back door!  Exciting!