Foundation Complete

The main parts of the foundation of our house are finally complete. The walls were poured on Wednesday so they had a chance to cure over the Thanksgiving holiday (very clever timing!). On Friday, the forms were stripped.

The bare concrete walls look cleaner and more structured than the forms did. The pillars supporting the garage are also visible in the upper portion.



The camera was much more stable this week, despite the winds and stormy weather we had before Thanksgiving. I think it helped that someone used some of the black tarp to secure the rebar post against a wooden stake.



While the main work of constructing the foundations is complete, they are not yet done. Next on the schedule are hooking up utilities and running them through the foundation, and putting in drains tied to the storm sewer around the footings.

Foundation Forms Progress

This last week saw a lot of work on the forms for the foundation walls. The rebar looks to all be in-place. Most of the walls have forms on both sides now, with just a few left to be added. I don't know exactly when they'll be able to pour the concrete, but it looks like it should be ready very soon.

The photos really show how much is being built up on top of the footings, and the narrow channels that will be the foundation walls. In one of the close-ups, you can also see some metal between the two sides of each form. I'm not positive what they are actually for, but my guess would be to ensure perfect spacing. You can also see some of the vents and pipes that will cross the foundation being put in place.


(I've decided the Flash widget is a bit much. I'm now going to stick the first new photo in, and clicking it will take you to the gallery with all the photos.)

The video this week is cut after Wednesday. You can see the camera start to shift around due to weather. Thursday morning it was leaning sideways looking at the dirt pile, and Friday it was even worse. This time, I found a piece of rebar, and screwed it deeper into the pile of dirt. Hopefully with a heavier post that is more deeply anchored, the camera will be more stable this time.

Footings Complete

As promised, the footings were poured and the forms stripped last week. The actual concrete pour happened quite quickly; based on our automated photos, it looks like it only took about an hour and a half for that. They started stripping the forms off about 24 hours later, and finished that up Wednesday morning. Then it was on to the forms and rebar for the foundation walls.

You can see the progress at the end of the week in this gallery. Not a bad start on the wall forms, and in some places like under the stair tower, you can see the cross-wise rebar going in. I think these pictures really start to show how complex our foundation is. The footings have quite a few levels to them, and then some fairly high walls on top of that. I drove by another construction site recently that was on flat ground. I saw the top of a simple rectangular foundation poking up, and it looked trivial compared to what we've got.



Yuval took a great panoramic shot of the foundation forms just before the concrete was poured:



And then a couple (one shown here) of the footings once the forms were stripped:



Finally, the video for the week. Notice how brief the time is during which the concrete pour happens; only a few frames Monday afternoon (Nov. 7th):



Next week should be more work on the foundation wall forms.

Footing Forms Complete

This week saw the completion of the forms for the footings. The wood forms were fully laid out and rebar was added, both within the footings, and sticking up to tie the footings to foundation walls. These are capped with orange plastic squares to prevent anyone from injuring themselves on the pointy ends.



Our camera got blown around a bit one evening, so the end of the week is a bit off-kilter. However, most of the work was done before then. The forms were completed by Friday so they could be measured for the amount of concrete needed. The pouring will all happen on Monday, and then the foundation walls will be started shortly after that.

Footing Forms

This week was working on the forms for the foundation footings. The footings are the wider, shorter parts of the foundation that sit directly on the ground. Once they are poured and set, the foundation walls will be started.

The forms are looking pretty good. I don't know if they are quite complete yet, but they look like they are getting close. You can also see some of the rebar being set to make the foundation stronger. They'll need another survey/inspection to verify everything is right on cue, and then the concrete can be poured.



The beginning of the timelapse video doesn't show a lot, since it wasn't able to capture much within the excavation. Part-way through the week it was moved to the top of the pile of dirt beyond the bottom of the house, and the visibility improves quite a bit. It will stay there until the dirt is needed for backfill.



Since it is the end of October, I've compiled a sped-up timelapse of the entire month:

Why Design Is Not Done

Now that construction has started, we've been asked: "Oh, now you just get to sit back and watch, right?" The answer is "No, not at all."

We work with the principle: "design only what we need". Some major design elements are needed from the beginning. The floor plan and building structure determine everything else. Details such as windows were required for permitting. The kitchen needs to be ordered early. Since the colors in the kitchen are closely related to the colors of the floor and counter, we've chosen those too. These major decisions are the ones that we have finished.

But there are many more decisions that are still to be made. We have delayed some decisions simply because they are not needed earlier. For example, we've just started talking to a craftsman about the front door.  This class of decisions follow the construction schedule. A few of the many other items in this category are hardscaping (driveway, outside walkways, etc.), landscaping, deck material and railings, stair railings, interior doors and hardware, kitchen backsplash, shelving, and light fixtures.

We intentionally delay other decisions until we have more information and context. For example, many of the colors will be finalized once we can test them on the building. We have a general color scheme chosen, but once the siding is up we can apply some paint swatches and choose the exact colors. We haven't even begun to think about carpet and interior wall colors. Another example is wiring. Once the frame is up, we can walk through the structure and decide on exact positions for light switches, electrical outlets, and any additional wiring such as Ethernet cabling and speaker wiring.

We delay other decisions because we do not know they are needed. Some decisions have unintended consequences that we have to take into account later. We discovered one example recently. Our island is 11' long, but CaesarStone comes in slabs up to 10' in length. We can live with it and have a seam in the counter where two pieces of stone join together. We can attempt to shorten the island to 10'. We can tweak the counter design to avoid or integrate the seam. We could even change the counter to another material. Luckily, we learned about this issue early enough that we have time to address it (though shortening the counter would affect the imminent cabinet order). Not everything will be so accommodating.

The early stages of construction are interesting to watch but don't require a lot of input from us. We don't really have anything useful to say about the size of the foundation hole or the concrete being poured. As construction progresses more elements will need our input, and we will be more involved in the construction process. Some of these decisions will be minor, but some will be required to allow construction to move forward. We will be kept busy designing throughout the entire construction period. In fact, this may be our slow period!

Excavation & Foundation

Last week excavation was finished and the foundation was started.

Yuval took a great composite picture of the completed excavation:


Then surveyors were brought back for a very precise placement of the foundation. The precision is to within a small fraction of an inch; apparently the city can hassle you if the foundation is off by even one inch.

Then the forms for the footings were started. All these forms will be put in, then precisely aligned, and then the footings will be poured. Much of that will take place over the next week.

I captured a few pictures of the lower parts of the form.


And the timelapse:


The position isn't so great for capturing the foundation work, so there's not a lot to see later in the week. However, since the dirt-moving is finished for now, Yuval will move the camera to a better position. It will be at the top or bottom of the site, so it can get a nice view of the foundation as it goes in.