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!