Seems that the morning shots are better. Going to use our old Canon and see what they look like.
April 24 - Not what we wanted to wake up to.
I usually love a good thunderstorm. Not today. Now we have a swimming pool.
April 23 - The hole is here.
I cleared the rest of the straw away last night, took an hour and a half with the skidsteer. Check out the pile in the photos. It starts to get lost as the dirt piles get bigger from the excavation of the hole. Yes, there is water but they expected that. What they didn't expect was how much sand was done there. They will put more peet rock in to compensate. The bummer is that we are expecting storms/showers over the next 2 days. Probably will pump some out on Wednesday and might work on the site on Saturday. I get to play in the mud. It was so hard to concentrate at work today knowing what was going on. Even worse when Esse sent me some pictures. I want to put a web cam out there just to watch but that would be impractical, right?
April 17 - The hole is on the way
Word is that the digging will begin next Wednesday. We've been limited by the slow melt which has helped dry off the site much, much sooner than expected. The slow down really has been the roads where they have extended the weight restrictions due to the late frost. It still is a little wet behind where the house will be but much of that is due to the willow in that ditch which I need to clear out then clean the ditch up. I actually have seen what I want to do for proper ditching along the property in the field that will help keep our place dry. Everything still seems to be on schedule for an early August completion and I like the idea of being the contractor, keeping everyone on schedule. We've decided to do more of the work on our own to help with the finances and working with some friends in exchange for other things I can help with. Next week we're teaching Kade how to hit a nail straight in but I have to learn that first.
April 2 - Finances are squared away
Finally the last deed on the land is finished and the bank says we're ready to go. Starting to get nervous now that this is all happening but very excited. Bray will be checking the site this weekend and next week but from what I've seen underneath the straw, we should be digging a hole next week. Watch the pictures!
March 29 - Almost done with the waiting
We're almost there. Everything is in place and now we're just waiting for the snow to melt to start digging our hole. Latest projections for starting time is 2 weeks and for ending at the beginning of August. Not totally finished at that time but enough for us to move in and move our elbows around a bit. Each day I'm going to try to take a picture for the same spot and just have that as a slideshow in the upper right hand corner so everyone can see the progress.
Sept 22 - More Waiting
So we are stuck in a holding pattern. We have been on our mortgage company constantly about the progress of process and if we need to be sending them any more documentation. 2 weeks ago we should have had the paperwork to sign and start digging. I called them and they were surprised that we had not heard from the bank. Called the bank and they say they have not received all the paperwork. Dad had a couple of liens on the property. Fine, he had the paperwork for most of them except for one from Wells Fargo. Long story short, WF has messed up a loan of my parents and it may take 3-4 weeks to get it fixed to clear the lien they have on there. Gray hairs multiplying. It's getting later, not too late to dig but getting close. The stakes are in the ground for the layout of the house and where the light pole will be.
August 25 - More fill - Less Trees
A weekend alone? A day at the site. It's been dry for a while and we have about 25 new loads of fill just in this week following 18 last week that we for the front yard and drive way. The loads this week were from housing construction in town that need to get rid of the excavation. I had talked to the developer about 2 months ago letting him know that we would take anything they can give. Well, they gave. This gave me motivation for clearing out what I did today. There is a low spot that is just to the northwest corner of where the house will be that is/was filled with willows. Basi was a big help as you can see. Among the willows was a good oak tree which I'm not taking out. Should be a great shade tree, but to the north?
We should be breaking ground in 2-3 weeks with everything getting approved, signed and dotted. Hoping to get a pdf soon of the house plan. Esse is already stressing out about the paint but very happy that she is getting her flooring. That makes me happy too.
May 20 - What's going on here?
So here's what's going on so far. We've had 6 semi loads of fill (and one small trailer of scrap sod) brought out to the site. 5 of the loads were placed behind were the house will be and I have leveled out that so that there is a sloped grade from where the house will be. Sometime over the next two weeks we are expecting about 8 more semi loads from the church and we plan to use every last bit of it!
As far as the plans are going it feels like it is dragging on even though our contractor says it is fine and we are making excellent progress with refining the plans as time goes by. We've had lots of help from my aunt Grace, Esse's brother Erik, and many others. We'll probably have a copy of the finalized plan once it is finished. Next week we should be seeing estimates for this and that, let the bargaining begin!
April 28 - Clear out!
I spent about 8 hours over 2 days clearing out the poplar and willows until the pile was enough and everything where we are going to build is gone. The poplar was not too bad in that the roots run horizontal. The willow were another story. They grow in clumps and too much to take out at once. I had to break up the groups, separate and dominate plan. Still more to clear out but not until after this pile is burned down.
