January 31, 2008

•  House update #1: Wow..what a pain in the neck getting a construction loan is these days.  Had we been trying to get one a year or so ago it would have been a slam dunk but due to the current market conditions we kept hitting red tape after red tape.  Unfortunately the bank wouldn’t allow anything to be done on the lot prior to funding so I have been patiently waiting and waiting and waiting for the green light to get started.  So finally….two weeks ago the loan finally closed, the money dropped, and we’re off and running.

  First on the list was a meeting with a soils engineer to get what’s called a “pad certification”.  He came out and my backhoe operater potholed a couple spots so he could get a good look at what was going on with the dirt under our foundation.  This soil engineer weilds a lot of power as depending on what he tells you is measured in several thousand dollar bills.  As it was, he gave us mixed news as we didn’t have to overexcavate three feet…but did have to do it for 18 inches.  Overexcavation is when you take the dirt from the entire layout of your house down to the amount the engineer says and then bring the dirt back on to the pad in six inch lifts.  Each lift must be given the proper level of water and compaction otherwise you have to do it all over again.  Sound like a pain?  It was a big one.  It took us two days of expensive backhoe work, an expensive trench compactor, lots of water, and lots of mud.

  This Monday, the soils engineer met me at 9:00 and did a compaction test.  I was praying for a pass as the thought of going through the expense and trouble of redoing the overexcavation made me want to cry.   Joyfully, the dirt gods shown down upon us as we ended up with a 97% compaction (95% passed) and an “optimum” moisture content. 

  Tuesday we had set up for a surveyor come out and double check the property lines, set some elevation, and set some pins so we could lay out the house.  Unfortunately he didn’t come till late so Tuesday was pretty much a lost day.  Wednesday Dwaine and I met out on the lot to start laying out the house and setting “batter boards” (boards set to the correct elevation of the finish floor and in a perfect rectangle to lay out the house).  To our surprise, and after triple and quadruple checking our layout, we found out the surveyors were off more than two feet.  We were surprised only because the surveyor is the part of one of the bigger surveying firms here in Vegas and is quite fond of his surverying abilities.  Either way…he wasn’t so hot on our house.  Wednesday he came out to fix it but didn’t get it done till late in the day which threw us in to today.

  Today some real progress was made as we were able to succesfully lay out the foundation of the home and dig the exterior footings.  Here’s some evidence;

  

  First photo is the side of the garage while the 2nd is looking from our garage sideways towards the entrance to the home.  Trust me…not too impressive now but to me it’s like seeing the Great Wall of China.  I was also able to meet with our truss manufacturer today and agree on a final truss layout.  It’s great to start seeing this thing come to fruition.

  Upcoming schedule;

  Tomorrow (Friday) – Set concrete form boards

  Saturday – Layout of plumbing lines, excavation of plumbing trenches and location of sewer at street, install back yard drainage lines

  Monday – Plumber begins running underground pipe

  Tuesday – Plumber finishes underground installation

  Wednesday – Pass of underground plumbing inspection, backfilling of plumbing trenches

  Thursday – Final grading of concrete pad, installation of rebar

  Friday – Pass of footing, preslab, and underground electrical inspections, prep for Saturday pour

  Saturday – Pour concrete!

   

  • 10:50 pm
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