Still cutting down trees (although all this was thoroughly socked in with small trees and multiflora roses).
We are looking approximately southeast now.
The house will be right in the center of the picture.
The roof in the background is the old Cassio farmhouse.
We are looking where the driveway will be. (The tall marker in the foreground is the right side of the driveway.
The firewood is pretty much hauled away now.
We are facing roughly west here.
Excavating equipment arrives at about 7:00am.
The leaning trunk and the large stump will be removed by the earth mover.
The wood stakes are the approximate corners of the house.
We are looking southwest here.
Now we have our mudhole!
One pile of topsoil is in the back right of the picture.
We are looking east-southeast, same as in the previous picture.
The contractors prepare the footer.
The piece sticking out on the south side will be our dining room.
What a mess! The clay (and it's all clay) really sticks to your boots.
The footer is now poured with the rebar for the basement walls in place.
The form of the house is taking shape now—it will be 48' long and 22' wide.
The concrete pads in the center of the basement are for the posts to hold the main beam (although, as it turns out, our draftsman did not get the walls lined up right upstairs, so Dad and I will later have to pour some additional pads—that's a whole other ball of wax).
The extra footer here in the NE corner inside the house is for the root cellar, which will have a dirt floor and concrete walls.
The contractors are here to pour the basement walls. Poured walls are much tighter than block walls, and can go up in a day or two. They are also stronger. There is a faux-brick pattern in the molds.
Looking from the south side.
Wayne & Linda used this same company to pour the walls of their basement, 18 years ago. They were just starting out, and had to carry the forms from their pickups. Now they have a large truck with a crane. Probably a little easier with the additional equipment.
The forms are up and full of basement wall. The south wall will be a stud wall, with brick against it.
We are looking at the northeast corner, with the root cellar here in this corner. The main entry porch will be directly above the root cellar, with the door opening to the east.
The basement floor will be roughly 1' below the top of the low wall here on the south side.
Margaret and Ozma check out the basement.
Looking from the southeast corner.
The forms are off and the styrofoam insulation is up on the outside of the wall.
Note the hole for the door in the root cellar.
Another pile of topsoil is in the center rear of the picture.
Ozma, Margaret and Wayne (front to back, in case you didn't know).
We had delays with the lumber because of problems with the blueprint of the house. So the framers were delayed then too because of other jobs.
The south basement wall is finally up—it will be all brick on the south side of the basement. The room under the dining room will probably be Margaret's office.
Looking from the southeast corner.
Margaret and Ozma take a break in the basement.
Looking out the west window in the room below the dining room.
We use plywood on the corners for stability and styrofoam paneling elsewhere.
We can pour the concrete for the front porch in the northeast corner when we want now.
