Framing has started

The first part of the framing crew showed up this morning and set to work putting down string lines.  We went over framing details and made a few minor changes based on locations of plumbing and electrical rough in.  We had move the wall behind the fridge back 6" to make room for our larger fridge/freezer and the ice maker suf was slightly out of position - moved that .5" further back. 

We also increased one wall thickness from 2x4 to 2x6 in the pantry to accommodate the main power line and breaker panel.

Everything else is fine and framing is underway.  The full crew of 16 plus will be on hand tomorrow morning!

Lumber Delivery

We had to run an errand this morning so we stopped by our lot and were really surprised to see that the first load of lumber had been delivered.  Moving along nicely.

Ready for framing

I checked on progress Friday morning and the contractor was pulling forms and cleaning up around the slabs.  He said he was in a hurry because he thought that we would start to see rain around 3.  He was right!

Forms are off and the slabs are ready for framers to start.

We had only a small amount of rain over the weekend with generally dry conditions forecast for this week into next.  Out next door neighbor is having a large beehive (upwards of half a million bees) removed from a dead oak today) and framers are scheduled to start work tomorrow.


we will also be meeting with the concrete stain company and countertop installer this week.

Foundation pour begins

I left our rental house at 6:30 this morning and when I got to our home site the concrete pumper was in place and the crew of 10 was already hard at work.

The ReadyMix trucks were ready and waiting and the pour began with boom lights on.  The pour started with concrete directed to the floor beam areas and once these were filled they moved back to begin filling the floor slab area.

I was amazed at how quickly concrete could be pumped into place and also how quickly the concrete crew could deal with it! 

At one point there were 5 concrete trucks on site, two pumping, once waiting along side and 2 on the street waiting to get in.

In no time at all the home foundation forms were full of concrete and the crew was hard at work leveling and smoothing.  That was a sight to see as well.  I drove into town to pick up some food for the crew (a mixed variety of burritos, 21 total, from Marys Tacos).  I also picked up a case of drinks and when I got back to the job site at about 1015 the guys were ready for a feeding frenzy.

House slab

I left for awhile to talk with the HVAC contractor and when I got back at 1200 the pumper was gone, concrete was done and the guys were doing some cleanup ahead of rain showers that were moving into the area.  

Garage slab

Before I knew what had happened the guys pulled out and then a very nice gentle rain started falling.  Nice timing to keep the slab moist and cool it down some as the concrete cures.

It's 5:00 now and a light rain is still falling and the outside temp has dropped to 82 degrees.

Power is in and ready to go

The power company finished working on our electric service today while I was home watching the eclipse.  Now have 200 amp service and I installed 2 20amp breakers for temporary power during construction.

Hello Mr Moon

I took a break from building our home today (I've really been working hard...) so that I could watch the Solar Eclipse.  I had a shipping box left over from a recent Superbrightleds order so I made a viewer and set it up in the back of the truck.

 Definitely hi tech!  Watched as the eclipse just started

 till it was a maximum here, at 1:09PM CDT

I also managed to get a short video as clouds partially obscured the image.  Will try to move to YouTube and post the link here at some point.

More Power To You

Bandera Electric COOP started wiring in power this morning as projected.  New transformer is mounted, poles are in and wiring has begun.  Will go out later today (after the Eclipse) and see if the meter loop and breaker panel are in.

So much steel!

The foundation crew is nearly finished laying in steel rebar for the support beams and slab.  All 1/2" rebar wire tied at every crossing or joint.  An Amazing thing to see!

Concrete pour is now scheduled for Wednesday morning, early!

Foundation

Foundation Construction

After excavating our lot so that the pad was level the concrete contractor came in and lined up the home and garage foundations.  Forms were placed and then a small backhoe came in and form trenches were dug along the outer portions of the foundation (Exterior beam/footing), along areas where load bearing walls would be placed and also along evenly spaced areas forming what looked liked a grid of support beams Interior beams).

Exterior Beam

Interior Beam

After the trenching was done the construction crew literally bagged limestone and caliche material to provide an inner support wall for the foundation perimeter and support beam areas. 

The bagging was done by laying out a sheet of black plastic, filling an area along the edge with about 6" of fill then pulling the plastic back, laying in more fill and then looping the plastic out and repeating.  The edges look like plastic sand bags have been stacked up.

In areas where a stoop is planned actual sand bags are used.

Next comes the rough in plumbing which will be placed in and around the fill and then the concrete crew will come back in and do the steel reinforcing work.

Forms

With the site prep work completed the concrete contractor and his crew showed up first thing Wednesday morning.  They went right to work and before I knew it our new home was starting to take shape.

They worked till late Saturday bagging the foundation and moving in crushed limestone to level out the area under where the slab will be.  More pictures next week as they continue working on the foundation and rough plumbing work starts.

Site Prep

Our concrete contractor came out and staked out location for the house and garage and we have about a 6ft slope to deal with.  Called in the excavator that we used last year for lot clearing and he started clearing the lot on 1 Aug.

The dozer started cutting off the top soil while the Bobcat began moving rock away from our test cut around the home site.

 With all of the equipment cutting, moving and hauling I was surprised that there were no collisions.

After a full day of excavation we finished up rolling and back filling a few low spots.  Should be finished by this afternoon and the concrete contractor should start forming up the foundation tomorrow.

We are hoping to move in to our new home by the end of Jan so we are off to a good start.  Hoping we can keep up the momentum!