Pour It On...PR #27

May 27, 2009...Poured walls framed-up and poured today. In this first photo, taken approximately 8:00 A.M., racks of wall sections had been unloaded and assembly is well underway. Prior to hubby's arrival, workers had drilled holes into the concrete footers and inserted long sections of rebar that will extend up through the first floor walls, tying the walls and footers together.

A team of 5 men worked quickly and competently assembling the 9' high wall sections:

The back wall framed up and ready for the pour...no windows here...excavators will backfill to within 18" of the top of this wall:

A worker in the ditch where the frost footers and non-frost footers meet:

9' wall sections almost complete:

Work continuing...these guys were really hustling because the concrete was scheduled for delivery at noon.

They still have to finish assembling the forms in the ditch in the foreground...this front part of the home is the garage.

We chose to use the poured walls over block wall for a few reasons:

First, poured walls give us more strength and eliminate the need for retaining walls to "hold back" the mountain;
Second, poured walls are faster...not a huge factor, but anxious to get moving, we are;
Thirdly, COST...poured walls are comparably priced, and factoring in the extra cost of retaining walls needed with block walls, it was a wash.

Forms are scheduled for removal tomorrow.

FRAMING to begin next week, Lord willing. We are gathering the needed supplies for the first floor radiant heating...(Ebay has been a wonderful resource for us!!!)...and plan to begin work on that the second week of June.

Our carpenter is getting started on the kitchen cabinets. I am quite excited to see the finished product! As the process progresses, we're looking ahead to what needs to be done next...getting supplies ordered...scheduling inspections...scheduling ourselves to do what we need to do.

As we're getting closer to having a home, we find the waiting is harder. Not sure why...other than we're realizing that it IS going to happen, and we're wanting it to happen NOW. And we're not looking forward to moving all our stuff...AGAIN. The unpacking, re-organizing, sorting...ugh. I'm setting a goal of June 2010 to have all boxes unpacked and life in good order. This upcoming school year is an important one for J-Bird...he's entering 9th grade, and he'll be working on his diploma requirements, so his academic needs will be a priority, as well. Finding a balance in it all will be key. And prayer...lots of prayer.

Stay tuned,
Kris