May 8 to 10, 2008 - Digging the Footings

Once Jeff had marked the site, the grader began digging the footings. We had our fingers crossed there wouldn't be too many boulders to contend with.

Amazing how they can maneuver these huge pieces of machinery. After only 3 hours, the trenches were dug. There were two boulders that the grader suggested Jeff rent a jackhammer and bust out over the weekend.

We'd started to wonder whether pinning into the boulders was a better idea. No, Jeff wasn't looking forward to jackhammering, especially when there was no guarantee it would successfully remove the boulders. How do we know which was the better option? Good question... Eventually by Saturday morning Jeff decided to trust the grader's judgement, and give it a try. He rented a jackhammer and compressor for about $180 for the day.

I was a little concerned, when he called me to say he was exhausted after just carrying the huge tool up the hill, which is no small feat in itself.

He rested up though and once he got started, he said the hardest part had been carrying it up the hill.

Fortunately, he had talked our good friend Mike McCarthy into coming up to help jackhammer. I don't know how he convinced him, I guess that's just how good a friend Mike is ... So, once the reserves arrived and they traded off hammering, progress was made. There were some second thoughts along the way, as Jeff wondered if this had been a dumb idea. By mid-day, they seemed to have reached a standstill and were getting frustrated. But, changing bits on the hammer gave it a second life and had made all the difference.

I brought lunch and took pictures and the guys were back to work. It took most of the day, but finally they were successful. The boulder was gone and the trench was cleared to the proper measurements. Whew!

Coming next - Footing inspection by the soils engineer, building the footings, and traveling to Redding, CA to pick out logs.

April 24th to May 6th 2008 - Grading

We broke ground on the property on April 24th. It was a long time coming and we were very excited. The first day was only a half day of work and the graders accomplished more than expected. They dug up several old tree stumps, moved quite a few rocks and pushed dirt around to smooth a nice path for moving materials. Within such a short time, the property started to look and feel so different. The path and parking pad made a much more inviting and easy way to access to the house site.

By the end of the second day, the house site was starting to take form. We enjoyed a little picnic there. Day 3 of grading, they dug the pad a few feet deeper, which went well. Didn't hit any huge boulders or have any other problems, which meant that we could have quite a bit of useable space in the basement. We'd left that plan a bit undecided, depending on how the grading went. So now though it was good news, it meant we had to have the plan altered by the engineer. It only meant minor changes, but we know that doesn't necesarily mean it will be done quick.

Supposedly, the engineer is working on it and it will be done soon. We can go ahead and continue grading on Monday, May 5. Should only take a few more days to finish the footings and dig the trenches for utilities. Brooke played in the dirt and checked out the tractor. She loved it, Daddy was so proud

To be continued...

April 17th to 24th, 2008 - Grading Prep

As soon as Jeff had the permit and had the go ahead from Indymac, he called the grader. After preparing to build the garage and doing some experimental digging on the property the year before, we'd been able to talk to enough graders and decide which company was the best for the job. Jeff was able to meet with them at the property that same day. The meeting went really well. The grader was confident and excited about the project estimating it would take 3-4 days. He was going to be able to push dirt from the house site to the side and smooth out a path for moving matierials, which would be very helpful. We just had to cut down one tree which was too close to the parking pad area and clear away the pine needles and bark from the path area so that when the dirt was pushed on top it would provide a nice solid surface. Also, they preferred to have access to water to pat down the dirt during the grading process.

Well, first for the tree removal. We had to get premission from the city, hopefully that would not be a problem. I went down to the city and told them the situation. Although the tree was marked to stay on the approved plans, they said since we had enough other trees on the property, they saw no problem. Great, that was easy. So, Jeff called the local tree guy, who took a look at it and said it would be about $200. We also happen to have a friend here that used to be a tree guy, now he carves bears out of them. He said he'd do it for free and maybe would use some of the wood for carvings. So, he and Jeff went over and cut it down. I was nervous about it and Jeff felt really bad for having to cut such a big tree, but it had to be done. Our friend wasn't able to use it, wrong kind of wood for his carvings, so it would stay at the property. There was a chance we could use it for a ridge pole.

Then for the water issue. It turns out that the water department won't let you hook up to water till you are finished with grading and are done or almost done with your footings. Even then they don't like you using water for construction. I guess there was a problem with too much water being used for dust control. So, if the graders were going to have water, it was either hire a water truck or ask one of the neighbors. We didn't even want to know how much it would cost to hire a water truck for several days and didn't really want to ask a neighbor we didn't know too well, but decided it was worth a try. There is a house next door which is a vacation house for a couple from Orange County. We had met him a few times and he had given us his card, which Jeff had fortunately held on to. So, I called and asked as nicely as I could, if he would let us use some water and we would of course pay for. He said sure, no problem. He would let us know if the bill was much more than usual and wished us luck. Nice, so we made a mental note to bring them something nice.

Then for the clearing of the organic material. This stuff was like 6 inches thick after building up for so many years. It turned out to be quite a bit of work. I did as much as I could with the limited patience of a 10 month old, which wasn't much. Jeff did the rest. Wow, we were ready for grading, how exciting!

April 17th 2008 - We have a building permit!

I had assumed that approved plans and getting a permit were one in the same, but there were a few more things to do. We basically had to mark property lines, house site, and address on the property and get it inspected by the city. Seemed like no big deal, but of course it couldn't be done without a few hassles. Jeff marked everything for them to inspect, which they did, giving us a failing grade for having slopes of more than 30% near the building site. This was all part of the plans though, which included a detailed topo of the property, so after some clarification, it was all clear. So, it took over two weeks, but after paying for the permit and the associated fees around town, we finally, had a building permit in hand. Now, we could finally give Indymac the go ahead on the loan and start grading.