Plastic and pipes - I hope it's not made in China

Yesterday the plumbers came to dig some trenches and put some pipes in. I wish that I could be at home during the day to see how all this is done. Like, how far down do the PVC pipes go? What do they use to dig the trenches? Basically there is about a 2 foot deep by 1 foot wide trench that goes all around the perimeter of the foundation. This, I am assuming is where the footer of the foundation will go. Then, in the middle of the foundation are more intersecting trenches that basically divide the smoothed out dirt into grids. You will notice big sheets of thick plastic laying over the whole shebang. I think that is a moisture barrier that prevents moisture from the earth getting into the slab. Next will come the rebar and finally the concrete. Note, these are all things that the additions to our current house do not feature. I think that (and poor drainage) must be why some of the vinyl tile in the living room separate easily from concrete sub floor. In the picture below, the pipes closest to you are where the master bathroom's toilet and sink will be.
The picture below is taken from the side view (I was standing at the side closest to the middle of the lot, or closest to George and Vicki's house). The pipe closest to you is for the washing machine. By the way, I am really enjoying my recently purchased front loading washing machine. But I think Rich would invest a lot of money if there were a machine that put away or hung up clean clothes. That machine is not named Amanda. In fact, Rich has taken to calling our living room his walk-in closet. In the distance, just beyond the tallest tree, you can see the blue pickup. You can't tell, but it is loaded with the parquet flooring that yours truly, singlehandedly removed from old guest room in preparation for demolition day.

Below is an eye level view of the trench that runs the perimeter of the foundation.

Hopefully, the next time I post you'll be looking at some concrete!

I Need a Yurt

I wouldn't really be meself if I wasn't worrying about something. I am worried (not in a terribly bad, all consuming way, just more like a cough that tickles your throat the tiniest bit sort of way) that the house is going to be too small.

Now it shouldn't be; there's only me and Rich there, it's got 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and two (2!!!!!!!) living rooms for crying out loud. We thought long and hard about how much space we needed and what we didn't need. I know for a fact from 9 1/2 (!!) years of appraising that I like the sense of coziness from smaller houses rather than vast spaces of too muchedness that being in a grande house gives me. Our master bedroom is going to be 50 square feet bigger than our current bedroom. We'll be using about the same amount of space we use in our current house, but more functionally.

For the past 3 years or so, I have been trying not to have so much stuff. What does one need all this stuff for anyway? Oh, Rich would try to argue that there's a need for 12 old carburetors, 8 car stereos, 4 International Scout engines, and various car parts I couldn't even name. But he would be wrong. I always think back to a Life magazine spread I saw a loooooooooooonng time ago that showed families from various countries/cultures all over the world standing outside their abodes with all of their worldly goods. There was a nomadic family of 11 from DHEEWDNdjshjsyas standing outside their yurt with a spoon, a wooden bowl, and 5 blankets. Now compare that to a family of 4.5 from America standing in front of a sprawling ranch style home with 10 walk-in closets full of clothes, 8 T.V.s, every appliance known to man, books, not less than 50 pieces of furniture, their 3 cars, oh, I could go on and on.

Turns out it was from the Sierra Club, and I may be exaggerating a little tiny bit. But, I think their point was and my point is, that it makes me really think about what I need and what I don't need. I mean really need. I mean Webster's Dictionary definition of need (a lack of something necessary, useful, or desirable). So, I can still buy things that look pretty, but, I think if they are going to sit unused in a drawer or closet for eternity, I don't need to acquire such things. And if I don't need a lot of things, then a 1,500 square foot house should be more than adequate.

BUT..... when I look at this area where the new house is going to sit, it just looks like I might need a bigger house............

Dirt Spread

I only had enough battery power this morning to take one shot of the dirt spread. Even though there is still so much to be done before we have a house, the difference between piles of dirt and spread dirt is incredible. Before the dirt piles were spread it was hard to envision the perspective/view that we would get once the slab was poured. In fact, I balanced on top of the forms to get the view picture I posted a while back. (Rich didn't think I could do it. He said "I don't think you're coordinated enough to do that." He was almost right. I am not very coordinated, but enough so to balance for a nanosecond or two.) I digress. Now that the dirt is spread out so that it pretty much reaches the top of the forms, and I can stand there pensively for more than two nanoseconds, I get a better feel for what life will be like on the front porch.

The plans we bought originally called for a wooden railing along the porch. We thought the house would be much closer to the ground so we told the builder that we didn't want the railings on the porch. Well, after seeing how high off the ground the porch would be, Rich said he called the builder, Bob, and told him to add the railings back in. I was surprised Rich did this because he was pretty adamantly opposed to having railings. But, he explained that with the house that high off the ground, we wouldn't want Willie falling off and injuring himself. Good point!

My playground is gone

It's been so hot outside that I never utilized the 18 piles of dirt as a cardiovascular playground like I intended. Scuttlebutt has it that workers are out there as I type this spreading the dirt that will be the foundation's foundation. Incidentally, that work supposedly happened on Friday. At least that's what the subcontractor told our contractor. Well, I guess that's the way things work in this industry. But, I am starting to have a better respect for the work that contractors do - coordinating schedules, making sure the job is done properly, making sure people show up to do their jobs. If I didn't already have a full time job, it isn't something I would mind doing. Check back soon for pictures.

Oh also, I have been reading up on some of the damage done to the lower Yucatan in Mexico. A lot of homes and people's lives have been devastated but not much ado is being made of it in the media (in my opinion because the people affected have not responded with widespread rioting and looting like some others that shall remain nameless - just quietly trying to put their lives back together). If anyone is feeling generous or just wants a good read of an account by a Texan living close to where Hurricane Dean made landfall look here It's a very interesting and well written tale complete with pictures.

dirt delivered

Or a really intense gopher problem, or a giant sandbox

Progress

Finally weather and contractors compromised and we have begun construction. I meant to take a picture before this all happened, but didn't (use your best imagination to envision four hot pink stakes in the ground about 6 inches tall with some hot pink spray paint on the ground around them - would've been a waste of KBs huh?).

I arrived home yesterday evening to find that the slab had been formed. This doesn't mean we have a slab (there still needs to be a gravel/sand base put down and then the pipes for plumbing put in before they actually pour concrete), it means we have some boards set up to contain the concrete once it is poured. This is a picture looking toward the front of the house. You can also see our existing house behind. The portion on the right is the garage which is staying, but the portion to the left is getting torn down as soon as Rich and I finish cleaning those rooms out. They have most recently been used as Rich's computer room and a guest room/exercise room.
The next picture is looking at where the rear of the house will be. The left hand corner is where one of the guest bedrooms will be.

The picture below is taken from the side of the house. See where the white plastic chair is? That's pretty much where the middle of our bedroom will be. The opening at the left of the picture. That is where the trucks will back in the loads of gravel or sand or whatever they use as the base. That is also the site of the future utility room. Just beyond that you can make out George and Vicki's house.

This is my favorite picture. This will be the view that everyone will be able to enjoy because it is taken from the front porch, about the very spot where the rocking chairs will go! Lets all hope for more news tomorrow!

No news is no news

Well, nothing new to report yet. Every day this week after work and/or the gym I have driven into our driveway, almost peeking between fingers covering my eyes, hoping to glimpse something different. Alas, not yet. So, I called our builder to surreptitioussly find out status, without nagging. He said that the concrete guys were supposed to come out today, but that we have been foiled by Tropical Storm Erin. So, they work on Saturday, but the weather forecasters are predicting at least 50% chances through Saturday. More realistically we are looking at Monday. So, check back next week!

Building a House

So, in April 2005 (Easter Sunday to be exact) Rich and I decided we were going to build a new house. We own 5 acres of land in Leander and live in a somewhat decrepit (although habitable) pieced together house. I am trying to be nice in my description of the thing since we did, at one time, decide to buy it. Anyway, we decided that it would be more cost effective to tear down the old structure and build new. You see, the old home was originally a singlewide manufactured home that was added onto in two different spots. The additions however, were not entirely engineered, nor professionally done. The floorplan is also not very functional. One of the things I most don't like is the lack of windows in the living room that face the front of the house. Not only is it dark (which I don't particularly mind), it just feels like I don't know what's going on in the world when I can't sit on my perch and gaze out the window.

So, it has been a long and trying process getting easements vacated, surveys done, redone, appraisals done and redone. But, on August 3rd, we closed on the loan and the next Monday we were funded. ***On a somewhat amusing side note (and commentary on the condition of some of our state governmental offices - your tax dollars at work, right Rich?) my driver's license had expired two days before we closed. The rep from the title company informed me that they wouldn't be able to fund the loan without a current ID from me. It was 3:30 on a Friday afternoon after we signed our loan documents that Rich and our loan officer went to have a celebratory beer while I had to go wait in line at the DPS to renew my license. I experienced a 20 minute wait just to get my number. They were on 232 and my number was 276. I decided that I didn't want to wait what was obviously going to be an eternity as I still had some work to finish at my office. I went back to the office, did my work, and headed back to the DPS (all in all about a 90 minute ordeal). Lo and behold, they were only on #272. So, I was able to get my license renewed after all. End of story.***

This morning the surveyors came out to "pin" the corners of where our slab is going to be. Now that that is done, we are really ready to get moving. This is a picture of the floorplan we are building.
We are also leaving one of the additions that will be Rich's geek out room (computer nerd) and our pool table room. I really want to put in some big garage doors (like the kind at Little Woodrow's) so that when we have friends and family over we can throw that garage door open and people playing pool can interact with the people on the patio. Yes, when we tear down one of the additions, we are leaving an approximately 12' x 40' slab. That is where we want to build an outdoor kitchen, fireplace, comfy lounging outdoor furniture, etc. Hopefully we won't be too ancient to have friends and family over by the time all of these plans are realized.

I intend to post pictures of notable progress, so stay tuned.