Block

This part of construction moves fast. It always amazes me, even on commercial projects, how amazingly fast the shell of a building comes together. We now have block walls.

They will have all of the block up and parged by the end of the day on Friday. I decided at the last minute to lower the front porch by one block. Had I known that we were going to put the house in this spot, I would have designed the front porch differently. It's going to sit very high (as you are looking at it from Kane Hill). With the one block removed, we will need less fill and stairs to reach it. It will, however, force us to add an extra stair going into the house. That porch is really just for looks now. No one is going to use it.

Dave

Shannon Fights Back

Apparently, our old home (from here out, identified as Shannon) is fighting the inevitable. It must know that we will soon be dropping it for a hot, younger piece. Shannon decided that we didn't need water last weekend.

On top of the ceiling damage (that I caused); We had the well pump, foot valve and pitless adapter fail on Friday. The pitless adapter caused a water leak, which drew down the well, causing the pump to continuously run. This isn't good for cheap pumps with friction bushings. The bushing had enough and shattered to bits. Those bits traveled back down the well and decided to lodge themselves in the area of the foot valve. Long story short, an $800 weekend. Not to mention the half day of work that I lost on Monday.

I don't know how the Survivor contestants do it. I could not even stand to be around myself after 24 hours. Human beings smell terrible in their natural state. Thanks our ancestors for inventing persona hygiene.

Shannon has been pacified, at least for now. Kane is going smoothly, for once. We officially have the outline of the house. Footings are being poured today (photos to come). The block layers are scheduled for Thursday. I'm still hoping to talk the builder into 14 courses, instead of the 13 he wants. I understand his logic (13 courses makes interior framing simpler), but my garage headroom is really tight. I'll let you know who wins.

Dave

Code Reviews and Pricing

This last week has been mostly paperwork and footwork. On the good side, we went to the supply house to choose siding, roofing, and windows (all under budget....).

On the bad side, I received the response from the township that we needed to provide more information to the plan reviewer before they would issue our building permit. I spent one entire weekend day revising the drawings, for re-submission on Monday. I spent the other weekend day clearing debris from the hillside leading to the ravine. Someone lied to the Erie County Conservation District and told them that we were throwing trees into the ravine. LOL. The ECCD asked if I would pull the limbs and debris back from the edge.

Back to the good side. It appears that my changes to the drawings (and a suck up phone call), worked and we should begin digging the footings Tuesday or Wednesday.

Bad side again. We will be spending a bit more on framing than was expected. The builder has agreed to eat some of the cost and we'll be eating some. Not much, but every extra is just another reminder that we'll have to save somewhere else.

Ending on the good side. Happy Birthday to my little brother, little sister, and my wonderful mother. This Sunday just may be a day off from construction. We'll see.

Dave

Catch Up

Because this blog was started late, this first post is a "catch up".

We purchased this property on Kane Hill Road in August 2008. I loved the area and the deal was too good to pass up. With an existing leach field and wells onsite, it seemed all set to build on (after we cleared the trees, that is). Boy were we in for some surprises.

We spent the rest of the summer and fall clearing the land. We sold as much timber as we could. It wasn't the right market for lumber. We could have sold for twice what we actually received if we had waited, but anyone who knows me knows that would never happen.

We then spent the winter designing the "Dream Home" we wanted to put on our wooded lot. Jen and I spent weeks going through plan sites and books. Even with my design experience, choosing a home design isn't easy.

After many revisions and plan changes (which are actually still ongoing), we finally developed the plan and look that we wanted.

Once spring broke, we hoped to break ground. The housing and banking market were definitely not on our side. Our first bank, Erie Bank, seemed like a terrific option. Great loan rates, great options, low fees. The only problem, Erie Bank sucks. Worst customer service, ever. That is all I will say about that.

Delays upon delays with Erie Bank pushed us into the summer. Finally, we switched banks, (Marquette Savings Bank), and builders (Erie Custom Homes). We finally had the right bank, the right builder and the right plans.

The only condition that Marquette set, was to have the existing wells tested for flow and purity. That seemed a simple request. When the well was tested, however, it failed the flow test. There is very little water and no recovery. Now, public water was supposed to be brought down Kane Hill Road in 2009. That is being delayed by a bridge project on the road. Long story short, we needed to find on site water.

I called in a "dowser" to help look for water.

His suggested site, when dug, was bone dry. Strike one. There was an older well, further up the hill, that looked abandoned but we needed to try anyway. Strike two. I finally walked the property and looked for wet areas. I found one small spot that appeared to have water leaving the hill. Luckily, we found water there. Not much, but enough for our temporary needs, and enough to satisfy the bank.

Digging for the driveway and home had been going on during the water search. While attempting to put a temporary drive in, the excavator dug into the on site leach field. Yay...

Luckily, we were permitted to fix and cover the existing system. I stole my brother and nephew to help with the digging. It's now ready to be buried again.

That brings us up to last week. The upcoming posts will hopefully be weekly or better. Check back often for updates, or friend me on facebook (www.facebook.com/partsguy74) or follow me on Twitter (partsguy74). I'll post to both when this site is updated.

Dave