What's up block?!

Our foundation for the basement, that is what is up! Hooray, indeed. Of course we still have more block to lay for the rest of the house footprint, but this is a major accomplishment. The block layers (one who live across the street from us) came in early Saturday and today and finished late afternoon. They had to sit and wait for the rain to pass this morning for about 45 minutes, but other than that, they were really moving on that block. Yesterday they had four guys on site, and today it was nine since they were working on the upper block levels. It was somewhat mesmerizing to sit and watch them. Definitely a trade skill, no doubt about that. The kids loved watching it too, especially the Bobcat with the forklift that was moving the pallets of block back and forth.

For those of you that have not seen our house plans, there is a sketch in the slideshow. The block that was laid this weekend for the basement will go under the main part of the house (from where the screened-in porch starts, to the area in the great room that meets the foyer. The remaining portion of the house will be on a crawlspace.

Last weekend Keith was able to take a little time out so we could take the kids canoing. It was the first time Andrew had been in a canoe, but he definitely enjoyed it. We went to an area where Western Marine and Salvage Company purposely "shipwrecked" some ships after WWI. You can read more about the area here
Included in this weeks pictures, are a couple from our canoing adventure where the kids were trying to find treasures on the beach.

Mission accomplished!

Today Keith and Bob finished the work for the footers for the foundation under the house. They will need to be inspected by the county on Tuesday, and then the concrete will be poured for them on Wednesday. Next weekend the block layer will be coming in with his crew and putting in the foundation walls. Very exciting, indeed. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures in the next week. I also included a picture of Molly laying in the sun and the sand at the new property. Molly is turning 9 years old this week, so she earned a special place in this week's blog. Happy Birthday, Pup Pup!

The rain is great, just not when you are trying to prep for a foundation

Well this weekend was very productive, despite the many challenges Keith and Bob faced with building the forms and digging the footers. Saturday was a great weather day and they got out there early prepared to put a long day in. Unfortunately, two key pieces of equipment (the laser level and the generator) were not working. This caused a massive slowdown on Saturday as they were only able to use the smaller saw to cut the wood for the forms and they had to repair the level. I was still impressed with the work that they had accomplished by noon on Saturday when I brought the kids out for a visit and some Rita'a Italian Ice (pictures below). But I know it was a long frustrating day for them.

More frustration on Sunday when it rained all day long. Although they were still able to complete three sides of the footers, they didn't get everything finished on Sunday as we originally hoped could happen, so it will have to be finished next weekend instead. Keith will also need to do something special with the walkout basement side where the "sugar sand" as our blocklayer calls it, has been collapsing every time Keith goes to dig.

Thanks again, Bob for all your help this weekend. I know Keith greatly appreciated the help out there!

And we are off...and digging

Now that we have made it through all the permits and the grading prep work, construction has officially begun (meaning now there is a big hole in the ground). Keith had one busy Labor Day weekend playing with a very large loader and lots of sandy dirt. He was able to excavate the basement that will go under a portion of the house. The next steps will be to pour the footers and then have the block laid for the foundation walls. Hopefully that will happen September 17th-19th. In the meantime, Keith has more prep work to do for the footers, and they will need to be inspected before the concrete is poured. All in all, a very productive weekend with great weather (no rain, or humidity, or 90+ degree days!) Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying the tractor, and running around their new basement.