TRAFFIC JAMS AT THE LOT

The well drillers, foundation contractor and the guy who brought the Port-O-Potty were all at the lot at the same time this morning jostling for position.

The well drillers were the last to leave but the good news is we got a decent well. At about 60' or so they set the casing and checked production but it was pretty paltry. So, they pulled the casing and drilled some more. In the end, we were at 162' which is relatively deep for the area but we got about 18 gpm production which should be adequate to support the geothermal heating and cooling. Water level is at about 55'.

 WELL DRILLERS AT WORK

The foundation crew set the forms for the footers and got them poured. If weather cooperates, they should be pouring the walls on Tuesday.

I have seen stone slinger trucks on the highway and had a general idea as to how they work but this is the first time I've seen one in action. It's a afar cry from my days working for Urb Drees when gravel was moved in place in the basement hole with wheelbarrows and brute strength. In the picture below, you can see the operator with a console around his neck controlling the functions of the slinger. What really surprised me is that he actually moves the truck itself from these controls. BTW, the location where he is placing the stone is what will later serve as our storm shelter.

DRIVER PLACING STONE WITH SLINGER TRUCK

With all these guys on site from the Burkettsville and Minster area, it was amusing to learn that the guy driving the gravel truck was a brother to one of the guys on the foundation crew and their brother-in-law was one of the well drillers. It was like a big family reunion out there.

Got a pleasant surprise when I ordered the windows yesterday. I asked the salesman if I could put them on my credit card so that I could get rewards points. I can use the points to buy gift cards for Home Depot and use that for building material purchases later . He said that would be fine. Then, I asked him if there was any other way to get a discount, such as paying all up front. He said "let me pull your file and see". He came back after checking some figures and gave me about $1,000 off. Ask and you shall receive! Now, you might be thinking that he had a lot of room in his pricing which enabled him to do that. However, I know that is not the case for two reasons. One, I had a quote on these same windows from another supplier and they were higher. Secondly, I had a home builder quote the house before I decided to act as my own builder. He got a price for the windows and it was about the same as I had gotten. In other words, the window supplier was giving me "contractor" pricing even before he gave me the additional $1,000 off. So, I felt pretty good about how they treated me on the windows and the salesman was a joy to deal with. It probably didn't hurt that I sent an email to his boss after our first meeting and told him how professional his sales guy was!

Now that I know I can go with open loop geothermal (as a result of the good well) I need to decide on the HVAC contractor.



FORMS ALL SET FOR FOOTERS



Basement Hole Done

The excavating contractor finished the hole today and the foundation crew will be in tomorrow to form and pour the footer. That means we're ahead of schedule for the time being.
I hate to wish for dry weather but it is a bit frustrating that we are looking at 4+ inches of rain over the next few days. Hopefully it will not cause any cave-ins around the hole. At a minimum, it's likely to make the site a bit messy. Oh, well....thank you Isaac!!
I am expecting the well driller either tomorrow or Friday.
Also, I need to get a port-o-potty on the job site. I suggested that we strategically place a roll of TP next to a tree but Barb thinks we should have something a bit nicer.
This morning our plans changed suddenly to include a tornado proof room in the basement. The foundation for the front stoop was originally intended to be just knee walls but since it is such a small area, it became necessary to pour the stoop foundation as 9' walls. So, we will have an area about 6' x 9' that will have a concrete ceiling (i.e. the deck of the front porch) and 9" concrete walls on 4 sides. It's actually perfect for a shelter so I guess that's what it will be. Of course, will need to add a steel door to finish it off. The alternative would be to make it a wine cellar but I couldn't afford to equip it for that purpose. Maybe we'll put just a couple of bottles there for when a storm chases us into our shelter!

They started digging the basement yesterday morning and got it about half done. As you can imagine, the dirt is like talcum powder due to lack of moisture. Despite that, the excavating has not been difficult and I was surprised that he didn't encounter more tree roots.
Will be ordering the trusses this week and probably windows too. Barb's uncle Melvin Rindler owns a truss company in St. Henry and they will be manufacturing them. Almost every home builder in Miami County uses their trusses and I have talked with more than one framing carpenter who said their product is heads above all others. As for windows, will be using Marvin Integrity which is has a wood interior and fiberglass exterior. Since they offer exterior color choices we will be forced to decide on  color.
I have submitted the application to DP&L for temporary electric service but they won't/can't give me any idea how long that will take. First they have to turn my application over to an engineer who will evaluate and presumably visit the job site to see what is involved. Must be nice to have a monopoly and not have to worry about customer service! The alternative is to rely on a portable generator in the short run. I discovered that the framing contractor does not have a portable generator so will have to rent one or just buy a used one and then decide whether to keep it when no longer needed or maybe just keep for emergencies long term.



Barb Inspecting Tim's Work



Spent two hours at the lot yesterday with Doug Berning of Woehrmyer Concrete. We set the stakes so the excavator knows where and how deep to dig.

Got a call from Tim Holzen, the excavator. He is going to start digging in the morning. I consider this to be the official "groundbreaking". Believe it or not, even though we have over 4 acres, it will be a challenge to find a place for the dirt. Since we are in the Miami Conservancy District, there are some very strict guidelines we have to comply with. For example, there can be no "net reduction" in the capacity of the Taylorsville basin. What this means is that we can move dirt around below the 819' elevation but we can't take dirt from above 819' and move it below 819' because THAT would reduce the storage capacity of the reservoir. Conversely, we CAN move dirt from below 819' and move it above 819' as THAT will add to the reservoir capacity. Also, the basement floor can be no lower than 813'. We're OK there as we will be at about 816'.

Got a call from Time Warner and they gave me the bad news about internet service. Even though the next door neighbor has service, Time Warner's equipment is maxed out on our road. In order to increase capacity, it would cost ME a minimum of $7,000. You're probably thinking, just go DSL through the phone company. Frontier does not have DSL service down our road either. So, I will have to resort to wireless broadband and hope that works OK. We are one of about 700 households in Miami County without access to high speed internet. The reason this is a big issue is because I had plans to move my office into the house and I must have high speed internet to operate.

Met with Mr & Mrs Quinter at the lot Friday evening. They will be drilling the well and I wanted to make sure they can get their rig in where I want the hole. Hoping for a good well so that we can use open loop geothermal. If not, will see if we can make a vertical closed loop system work. The problem is getting the required separation between the well, the leech lines, the property lines, the septic tank and the house.
Off to the county offices in the morning to submit application for well permit and also Bethel Township for building permit. Then, back to county offices for a building permit there as well. Of course, a check (as in $) is required at each stop along the way. It's amazing how much has to be paid out for permits and inspections. And, there's not a thing you can do about it if you want to build a house.

We have the foundation contractor (Woehrmyyer out of Minster)  lined up for the week of Labor Day so will have to get the excavation for the basement dug around the 30th. I quickly learned from talking with others that Woehrmyer pours most of the basements in Miami County. This convinced me that I need to be using them.

Yesterday, I stopped at a job site and spoke with one of Christine's classmates (Molly Watson) who is a painter. She does nice work so may use her for that aspect of the job.

First Post

Hoping to break ground mid-September