House Build Week 4

Another week down on the house build.  Here’s what happened this week.

Day 21 (Monday, 04/30/18): They started to backfill today, working mostly in the area in front of the house.  First, they brought in slate to build the ground up and then topped it off with some of the dirt they initially dug out.

Day 22 (Tuesday 05/01/18): They continued backfilling today and got the majority of it completed.  They brought in truckload after truckload of slate to fill in the garage and other areas around the house.  Anywhere where there will be pavement or concrete, they used entirely slate.  Where the yard will be they used more of the dirt from our excavation.

Here is the Garage all filled up:

And also the arched driveway that will lead to a side garage door toward the back of the garage:

Chad and I finalized how we want the retaining wall on the garage-side of the house.  This is the only large retaining wall we’re doing and will hopefully help keep the grass more manageable to mow.  I’m really pleased with how it’s all coming together.  I love the gentle slope of the yard so far.  Our current home is situated on a pretty steep slope and I really wanted to avoid that at the new house so that I will feel comfortable mowing.

Day 23 (Wednesday 05/02/18):  They put stones in the basement and patio areas to prepare for concrete coming up soon.  It looks pretty neat and you can get a sense of the space even better.  The inner line of concrete in the picture below will be the edge of the house, and the furthest line that makes the “L” shape will be the patio.

Day 24 (Thursday 05/03/28): They filled in the small patio that will extend off the side of the stair tower, where I have a door coming off the landing going down into the basement.

Also, the plumber started putting in piping for drains in the basement floor, which they have to do before they can pour concrete.  Evie thinks the stones in the basement are super fun.

Day 25 (Friday 05/04/18):  The plumber finished up with all the draining pipework today, so next week, they’ll cover all of those exposed pipes up with stones and hopefully we will get a concrete basement floor!

Weekend:

Nothing happened over the weekend with the house itself, but Chad and I got ourselves to work at the farmstead.  This winter was brutal to some of our beloved trees, so we spent some time hauling dead/fallen ones out of the way of our paths. Chad (with the help of his machinery) mostly did the heavy lifting on this one.

I have been wanting to widen the path that leads down to the creek now for a while, so I worked on that all afternoon on Saturday.  Plants do not like to be ripped from the ground, in case you’re wondering.  They fought back.  Even with the gloves I was wearing I took so many briars to the hands, I feel like I have arthritis in every joint below my wrists.  My rings did not fit the next day.  I also have what I’m pretty positive is a poison ivy rash on one arm even though I rushed home to take a shower right afterward.  And I have enough scraps and scratches on all my other limbs to look like I took a parttime job as a cactus mover.  And the saddest part of all: I’m only like… an 8th of the way done.  BUT the happiest news: the part that I did get done looks amazing, and I found out there is way more space to be used when it’s not absolutely covered in sentient, malicious, bloodthirsty weeds.

We also picked out our carpet this weekend, so yay us!

For more updates, check the Home Building section, and as always, thanks for reading!