Foundation Walls Completed

We now have concrete walls in about half the basement perimeter. The remaining walls will be wood frame construction. This picture was taken from the back of the lot. What you can't see is how much mud there is. We had some more badly needed rain this past week.

Next on the agenda is "placing" (not pouring) the concrete floor in the basement, due the end of this week--but with all the mud, we'll see. When I walked around, I was "pleased" to see that I had grown taller, but my joy was short-lived when I cleaned my shoes. Before the concrete is placed, all the under-floor basement plumbing has to go down, then 4" of crushed rock has to go down, sheets of plastic (vapor barrier) and finally, welded wire reinforcement over that.

Wall Builders

This picture was taken on Monday and the walls were "placed" (poured) on Wednesday in the midst of much-needed rain. "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" was apparently adopted by our subcontractor, but probably not by the fellows sloshing in the trenches. Note also that concrete is no longer poured, but "placed" by fellows bearing certain credentials and having the title of "Castable Aggregate Placement Specialists" which probably explains why just 2 of 4 walls cost $30,000. I'm fairly sure these are down-sized UAW workers.

Anyway, the only concrete walls in the basement are along the front and the side including the garage while the remaining walls will be constructed of wood. I just know I can hear singing and dancing in the tunnels of our local termites. Notwithstanding the march of overweight termites, our move-in date stands at May 1, 2008.