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