Project Day 16 - Getting Power, Backfilling, & Grading

Today our agenda was to observe the action of backfilling and grading the lot, and to watch the electric company install the transformer, street light, and electric meter. While we were driving to the property, Brad called to let us know that Joshua (the man who did the grading previously) would not arrive until 10:30 AM and Brad would arrive shortly before Joshua.

Because we had time, we decided to go to the lot and check out the finished foundation walls. As we rounded the corner, we saw the pest control guy spraying the grounds for termite protection.



We could also see that Joshua had brought some grading equipment to the site already (maybe last night?).

Dave and I drove over to Dad's restaurant to grab a bite to eat and swallow a cup of java.

We arrived back at the lot to find that Joshua had been there and dumped a load of pond sand, which will be used to backfill the garage, front stoop, and patio areas. Brad was also there.

I walked up the driveway to take photos and no sooner had I gotten to my vantage point, when Hart EMC drove up the entrance road. In the following picture, the garage area is in the foreground. The "stone" you see in the floor area of the garage is filler made up of pieces of cement block that were chipped off of whole blocks, as needed, for the foundation walls. (We're Going Green. Recycling!)



Brad walked up to see Dave who was sitting our car. Dave's gout is much better today, but still a little tender.

The equipment in the foreground of the following picture is the small grader that Joshua will use to scoop the sand into the areas of the foundation that need to be backfilled with sand.



Back to the foundation walls...The square foundation area on the right-hand side of this picture is the future patio area.



Dirt from the area where the RV will be parked must be leveled and the excess dirt will be pushed up against the foundation wall. The dirt will be graded so that it comes up the wall just below the vents that you can see on the top row of blocks.



The area to the far left in the following picture is the garage.



While Dave and Brad were talking over by our car, Dave mentioned that I'd like to have a few cement blocks from the leftovers, if possible. I'd like to put a row of cement blocks along the outside edge of the RV parking area to help reduce erosion from the higher lot. I want to place the blocks so that they are holes-side-up. I plan to fill the holes with soil and grow herbs and small flowers.

Brad's so thoughtful. As soon as he heard this, he quickly set about hauling half a pallet of blocks into the woods to save them for my future use. Dave also went into action to assist Brad. This was really hard work as the humidity was killer today. They were cautious and took a few rest periods before they finished. Thanks guys; you're the best! Naturally, I was too engrossed in taking photos to be able to help. Wink. Wink.



From Observation Station #1 (on the street) I was taking pictures as the electric company set about installing our equipment. Here's an abbreviated series of photos from start to finish.

Backing into Position



Setting Truck Stabilizers



Transformer Dangling Down from Bucket and Hanging in Front of Man Standing Inside Truck



Transformer Being Installed




Transformer and Street Light Installed



Main Power Pole with Equipment and Construction Power Pole with Meter Installed



Throughout the day, about every 1 hr and 10 minutes, Joshua would return from South Carolina with a load of sand to add to the site.



After the electric company was finished, Brad (with a wee bit of help from Dave) loaded the wooden pallets into his truck to return them later today for the deposit money. As they were tying down the load with straps and getting them really tight, Dave began strumming on the straps and making musical sounds. I'm sure Brad thought the heat had "strung" out Dave's brain!



While Dave was walking back to the Observation Station, he stopped to show me something he picked up from the ground. See the twinkle in his eye!



Well, here it is. The remnants of our first wildlife visitor! (Hopefully, you can figure out what it is.)



Brad worked for over an hour (resting now and then) to lift (and tear open) the 75-lb bags of mortar mix left over from the foundation walls. He'd carry the bag and then dump the dry mortar mix into the base of the garage area. Again with the recycling!

Sometime during the time I was busy snapping pictures with one hand, holding my battery-powered fan in the other, reading a book, and sympathizing with how hard the guys were working, the mailman (OK, mail person) arrived. He did not know that our street was even in the subdivision. So, he was on a mission to scope us out and draw the street on the post office maps. I had signed papers last week to have all my mail sent from the street address to the post office box that I had obtained. The mail person and I had a nice chat and then he was off to continue his route come rain, sleet, snow, or humidity.



At nearly 2 PM, we realized that Joshua was going to make a couple of more trips to South Carolina for more sand. That meant he would not be starting to grade until around 5 PM. So, we decided to call it a day and head home. Joshua wanted to finish the grading today so that he could start on a different job tomorrow. We assume that he did finish. If he did, the framing lumber will be delivered tomorrow.

Today was quite an activity-filled day. We will return to the site on Thursday to watch more professionals show us how it's done. So, check back on July 30 for the next update.

Project Day 15 - Building Foundation Walls

This morning I was up and twiddling around getting ready to do a few "light" chores. We had decided not to drive out to the build site today because Dave's foot has been attacked by the ugly gout monster. I spent most of Saturday morning shopping for the anti-gout remedies: black cherry pills, black cherry fruit, blueberries, and black cherry concentrate drink. Saturday afternoon and Sunday I was able to practice up on my nursing and waitress skills.

Sunday, Dave was able to hobble to the living room recliner as a change of pace from lounging on the bed. But, he was still in a lot of pain. So, he felt one more day of staying off of his foot would be a good thing.

However, at 7:50 AM this morning, Brad called and wanted to see if we could drive out to discuss the lay of the land with all the RV parking concerns.

Dave said he was well enough, so we quickly donned our clothes and raced out to the car (one of us hobbled out to the car). Naturally, I was devastated because driving to the building site this morning would mean that my housework would have to be put on hold! (If you believe I was devastated, I've got some swamp land I'd like to sell to you.)

During the drive, Brad called to inform me that the electric meter had NOT been installed on the pole. I guess the statement "We'll have it installed no later that Friday" was a figment of Hart EMC's imagination. Today our CSR (customer service rep) at Hart EMC was due back from vacation. I hoped that when I called her I would get this non-installation cleared up today. However, one more stall. It seems that all the service guys were on one job--bringing up an electric sub-station. So much for my piddlin' needs. But, I was "promised" it would be installed tomorrow: transformer, wiring, meter, and street light.

We arrived at the build site at 9:30 A.M. and lo and behold, we have another "official" confirmation that we are underway with building the new house. We have an impressive, self-contained "Comfort Station."



As Dave and I walked to the top of the driveway to see the progress, we were blown away. These guys set to work like a colony of ants. Each knows their task. Yet, there was little communicating. Each guy was intent on completing his own task with skill and efficiency.

I would turn to have a brief conversation and when I turned back, a wall existed where none had been a few minutes ago.

Overview of Jobsite 9:30 AM (Right Front Corner of Garage Foundation Wall in Foreground)



The next series of pictures shows their progress when we arrived as compared to when we left, only 2 hours later.

Kitchen Side of House

9:30 AM



11:30 AM



Bedroom Side of the House in the Background

9:30 AM



11:30 AM (Bedroom Side of House in Background, Kitchen Side of House in Foreground)



Note the entry door on the far wall in the above picture. This doorway is for the crawl space--well, it looks more like a "walk-in" space to me!

Cement Mixing Area and Some of the Workcrew



Supervisors Brad and Dave!



We left shortly after 11:30 AM and headed back home. We stopped to have a bite to eat about halfway home. I have to say that when we arrived home, I was terribly disappointed that elves had not come in and completed my light housekeeping. Alas, some things you just have to do yourself.

We are going back in the morning sit at the Observation Station as some backfilling will be done to the garage, back patio, and front walkway.

Brad is making sure that the walkway from the front door around to the top of the driveway, and continuing on around to the door of the RV will be nearly flat. His attention to detail should reduce the number of times we "kiss the pavement" trying to put one foot in front of the other. Three cheers for Brad trying to keep ye ol' folks upright!

The schedule for this week has been slightly revised. The framing materials will be delivered on Wednesday, and framing will commence on Thursday.

Project Day 11 - Poured Footings & Assessing the RV Parking

Dave and I were discussing the RV parking situation last night. We came to the realization that our original plan of putting gravel as the base for the RV driveway was now not going to work.

Here's a diagram of our original plan (Plan A).



We had always thought that the driveway into the house would be flat (well, nearly flat). As you can see by the pictures in the previous postings, flat is now not the configuration of the driveway.

In our planning stage, these were the specs:
1) We would pour a cement "pad" for the wheels of the RV to rest upon.
2) The RV door would be near the garage door for easy loading and unloading.
3) Most of the RV's length would be forward from the front of the garage.

The only way that Dave can park the RV is to drive past the house and then back up the driveway. Our cul-de-sac is not large enough for the GMC and travel trailer to make the turn. The combined length of the GMC and RV is 52 feet.

Here's a list of dilemmas we must now overcome because the driveway is not flat:

1) If the driveway surface is gravel, and Dave backs the unit at an upward slant, the gravel would rain stones like fireworks.
2) The GMC and RV must be level to hook or unhook them from each other. With the slant continuing to the front of the garage, the RV must be pushed much further back on the property.
3) The area in which the builder had planned to put the HVAC condenser would now be right in the area where we would need to enter the RV, hampering loading.
4) Dave cannot carry heavy items easily from the front of the garage all the way to the door of the RV. Therefore, he will need to use a cart, which requires a level, flat surface, such as concrete.
5) The cost of all this additional concrete is high; therefore, we are considering a narrower car driveway near the street (see Plan B).

Here's Plan B, but I'm sure this is just an interim diagram.



With Plan B in hand, we decided to return to the lot to see the practicality of changing the parking location for the RV. We couldn't remember how much slope there was to the land on the right side of the house. Of course, we were anxious to see the poured footings as well. So, there ya go. Off we went.

I am happy to report that the area where we are now considering parking the RV is probably do-able. There would not be too much effort required to level that area. However, I did send an email to Brad showing him our Plan B and asked him for some help in trying to figure out the best location and driveway surfaces for the RV area. So, poor guy, I guess he's going to be pondering this over the weekend. Hey, Brad, THANKS!

When we arrived at the lot, we were able to capture a few pictures of its current state. Hopefully, these pictures will give you a visual of some of the items I have written about in this blog.

Driveway with Posts for Leveling Foundation Walls in the Background



Dave Standing by One of the Leveling Posts

Dave is standing at the front left corner of the house. I am taking the picture from the front right corner of the garage (the white footing in the foreground is the garage's right wall).



Footings from Right Side of House (Foreground) to Left Side of House

The "step-up" effect is because the footing in the foreground is lower than in the distance. I am taking this picture from the bedroom side of the house and looking toward the kitchen side of the house.



Notice the chair in the background. That's where the observation station is located so we can watch all the action.

Construction Power Pole with Meter Installed



After reading about the drama over the power meter, you can now see that it was a whole lot of fuss about not much! But, we sure looks "official" now!

Project Day 10 - Digging Footings

This morning we were able to sleep in a little bit before heading out for our 45-minute jaunt to the property. The work crew was not going to arrive until 9:30 AM.

Yesterday afternoon, I had called Hart EMC (the electric company) to order the meter to be installed on the construction power pole. However, they were near closing when I called. I was told to call back this morning to speak with Angie, the customer service representative that Dave and I have been working with. When I called back this morning, I was told that she was on vacation all week. So, I spoke with another woman to order the meter. Because Angie was on vacation, an unexpected situation occurred.

The woman I was speaking with (let's call her Ann) asked me if Hart EMC had been out to "pull the lines," which would be evident by a coiled group of electrical lines tacked to the power pole that existed on our lot.

I said, "no."

Ann told me that first a crew would need to come out and measure how much line we needed. Next, a crew would come out to install it. I asked her how long that would take. She responded that it would take 7-10 business day. Panic sets into my voice.

I informed her that Angie had told me to call back the day prior to needing the meter installed. We went back and forth as I tried to explain to her that the construction power pole would be set up within 10-ft of the current power pole (so in my mind, no need to measure anything).

Ann informed me that she'd try to get a lineman who was in the area to come out today to scope out the situation. I informed her that power was needed no later than Friday afternoon as a work crew would need power on Monday morning.

She called back and said someone would be at our site around 11 AM. My brain is releasing "panic adrenaline" as I know we need power, soon. I can just envision a 10-day delay to the work schedule because I was misinformed a couple of weeks ago.

The time is now about 10:00 AM and Brad and his work crew have yet to arrive. So, I phoned Brad to see if he would be here by 11 AM when Hart EMC was going to arrive. Brad informed me that they were delayed because Chris' (footing crewman) son's dog had gotten out last night and he was up late chasing it.

Those of you who know us realize we can empathize with Chris' search because once our dog (Kalli) gets out, it's a 3-hour wait for her to "decide" to come home.

(OK, back to the building project at hand.) Brad thought he and the crew would arrive a little after 11 AM. I explained the Hart EMC situation to him, and Brad was as confused as I was as to why a crew would have to "pull lines" or measure anything at all.

Dave and I settled in to wait for everyone to arrive!



Our View from the "Bleachers"



The Hart EMC lineman arrived shortly after 11 AM. We straightened out the fiasco. Seems Ann was looking at a work order in our file that stated we wanted to have the permanent power pole moved. We had not ordered that move; however, we had asked to have an estimate to do so. The power pole is located approximately 20-ft to the right of our left property line. We considered moving it 20-ft to the left so that it would be on our left property line. When Hart EMC quoted between $700 and $800 to move the pole, we decided we could live with viewing a power pole on our property!

The Hart EMC lineman stated that no measuring was required and that he would approve the work order for the meter to be installed on the construction power pole (to be erected later today). He stated that the meter would be installed either Thursday or Friday. Phew. Schedule-slip averted.

Brad arrived around 11:30 AM and shortly thereafter, the crew that is to dig the footings arrived and set to work post-haste.

Getting Started (Brad in white shirt. Chris in blue shirt.)



Drawing Footings Lines (Chris and Jesus pondering the plans)



Digging Footings (Chris)



Setting Rebar (Jesus)





The weather today was really great in that there was cloud cover and the heat was not quite as bad as normal. However, the humidity was on the rise. Dave and I had been there for several hours, so it was time to make our way to some "facilities." We went to Dad's restaurant, which is located at our exit ramp and had some pretty good burgers for lunch.

We drove back to the site and Dave decided to move our "observation station" to the top of the hill on our right property line. We brought three chairs (one for each of us and one for Brad). We settled in to watch the digging for a while and we having a good chat, when all of a sudden the rains came. We scrambled to get back to the car. Brad toted our chairs to the car for us (he's such a gentleman). Chris was scrambling to cover his electronic level from the rain (see the device on the tripod in the picture above).

At that point, Dave and I decided we'd head for home. We were sure that the cement would not be poured today as it was nearly 3 PM. Chris was still digging the footing, and Jesus was still setting in the rebar.

As we left, Brad said the schedule would be that the cement blocks would be delivered on Friday. Monday the cement blocks for the foundation walls would be built. And, Wednesday (July 29) the framing would commence.

Of course, with the rain, we were convinced that framing would be delayed. But, much to our surprise, when we arrived home I spoke with Brad and he told me that the footings had been poured and we were on schedule. Imagine our delight!

Dave and I decided not to return to the property until Monday (July 27). We can be there early on Monday and snap a photo of the poured footing before the foundation crew covers all of the footings with cement blocks. An 80-mile round-trip drive to the property in a car that only gets 12 MPG is expensive. So, we are trying to restrict our drives to days when there is actually "action" to observe.

Note: Best laid plans changed. We ended up driving out to the property the next day. Stay tuned for what drove us to revisit the lot.

Project Day 9 - Grading the Property

Today was grading day. Dave & I arrived at 8 AM to catch the action--but we were first to arrive. In short-order, Joshua and Brad arrived. Joshua is the guy who also cleared the property.

We are anxious to see how much of the slope in front is removed--we sure hope quite a lot.

But first, the guys (including Dave) had to measure for the location of the house on the property. I call the next series of pictures "Men at Work without the YMCA."

Note: As it turned out, they are quite the patriotic guys. Brad in white. Joshua in blue. Dave in red.







With plans in hand, they set out to keep within the set-back measurements required by the county and the subdivision. For the most part, the house was to be centered (left to right) within the property boundaries and set back 40-ft from the front property line. In very short order, however, we all realized that the house had to be moved as close as possible to the left boundary line. The elevation of the lot located to the right of our property was much higher than our property. That meant that we would have to cut into the bank too deep if they were to lower the grade on the driveway much more than it already existed. If we did that, the deep cut into the bank would require an engineered retaining wall--an expense that is certainly not in our budget.

I would say that the Men At Work struggled with the revised layout for over two hours. But, finally, the grading began.



The finished slope for the driveway is steeper than we had hoped. But, going too deep would mean adding a retaining wall. So, we are content with the result. We will have to make some minor changes to the area where we intend to park our travel trailer (on the right side of the house). But, for now, we are good to go.



Dave and I left during lunchtime and drove to the post office, the bank, and out to lunch. We ate at a charming little restaurant in the downtown Lavonia square. It is run by Mennonite women and the food was delicious. They have homemade bread and sweet bread for sale. And, their desserts are to die for. We were too full to finish our sandwiches or to eat dessert, so we got both of them "to go" to eat later tonight as our dinner.

When we got back to the site, everyone was gone and the grading was finished.

The grading process digs down about 2 feet into the soil and creates the outline of the house. Here are two of the same pictures that show that "outline." The first picture is without my guidelines. The second contains guidelines to help you acclimate yourself to what you are viewing.





My task, as assigned by Brad, is to order the electric meter to be placed on the construction power pole on Thursday or Friday of this week.

We will be back tomorrow at 9:30 AM as the footings are being dug and poured. Stay tuned!

Project Day 3 - Post-Clearing

Today we are anxious to see the "barren" property. Brad called and stated that there were no trees left on our lot.

Having no trees is good because we can landscape the yard the way we want and we can see the actual lay of the land. Having no trees is bad because we have no trees!

We arrived just as the dump truck carrying the underbrush and a trailer-load of cut trees was leaving. There would be at least one more load of both to haul out for the day. However, we would not wait for the truck to return as it is a 1.5-hour, one-way trip to offload the forest from our lot!

Our Debris



Walking around the property, we see that we do still have a buffer of trees on the farmer's land behind us, which is between our property and the freeway. And, because neither of our neighbors will build any time soon, we still have their trees to make us feel we are "in the woods."

Front of Property



Dave on the Crest of the Property with Entrance Street Behind Him



Dave assures me we will finally plant a Magnolia tree--I have been asking for one in our current home for over 6 years. Now, I hope I'll finally get one! And, the good thing, we'll probably live here long enough to see it get fairly large (God-willing!). I would also like some fruit trees if we can figure out how to keep the squirrels from eating the fruit--and maybe deer. I will also have to rephrase the thought of "fruit trees" because they will probably be more like fruit "bushes." They have to be short enough for us to cover them up on those frosty nights in the winter.

Note: When I mention the location of a picture, such as Back Left Corner, that location would be as if you were standing on the street facing our property.

Back Left Corner of Property (Future Magnolia Tree Location)



Back Right Corner of the Property



View from Back of Property Toward Street



I know it's hard to tell, but the land has a nice slope to it. Not too steep and not too flat (need some slope for rain runoff). However, there is plenty of grading to do yet.

After we took these pictures, we drove to the bank and opened an account. Other than getting our PO Box, this is a major step toward establishing our new lives in the new city.

Our next visit to the property will be when the grading takes place. According to Brad that will begin early next week because a new set of drawings needed to be created. Seems my television watching and reading about the building process has paid off. I had noticed that the builder's plans did not include footings for the screened-in patio (which has a roof and would require footings). I know, I know. Don't let it go to my head!

So, stay tuned for the next entry posting dated July 20 or 21.