Monday, March 31, 2014

Ready to pour the slab!

Today we got ready to pour the slab. First they had to spray the 2080 square feet to prevent termites from getting into the house. That's a Florida building code law for every building in the state. That took about an hour.
Then they covered the sprayed area with visqueen as a vapor barrier, making sure to tape the edges together, especially around the plumbing.
Then wire mesh was added with plastic "chairs" to hold the mesh off the visqueen so the concrete can get all around the wire.
Then the edges of the porch were prepared and the rebar sticking out of the stemwall was bent over to connect the slab to the stemwall.
Here's a look at the finished product ready for the concrete to be poured. Can you see where the footers are for the load bearing walls and the pillars to hold up the roof in the great room? If you look carefully you can also see where the sills are for the entry doors from the porches.
And here is grandpa doing one last inspection to make sure everything is all right.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Ready for termite proofing?

They just dug the footings for the load bearing walls to get ready for the termite proofing.
Then we fix everything up to pour the concrete slab. Keep watching the blog for the excitement.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Electrical conduit ready for slab!

The electrical conduit that goes under the slab is now in. In the first picture you can see where electricity, telephone, and cable TV will enter the house (the bundle of blue tubes), as well as the ground wire. The second picture shows where all the first floor wires will meet at the electrical panel in the mud room. The electrical conduit sticking out of the ground is blue, the plumbing white.
By the end of the week, they should be ready to pour the slab!!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Plumbing first rough done!

On Monday we had 2 1/2 inches of rain so we had to put off construction until things dried out. (Note how much is in the wheel barrow!)
Today the workers came and completed the first rough in about six hours.
Here is where the air conditioning chase and the water line enter the building on one side and where the sewer comes out on the other side to the septic tank.
Can you see the future toilet and sinks in the master bath?
Or the shower and the tub and the line to the upstairs bathroom?
Here's the tankless water heater under the stairs, with the half bath behind it and the laundry room behind that.
Here is the kitchen sink and the line of plumbing from the kitchen on one side of the house through to the master bathroom on the other side. The electrical conduit goes in tomorrow and if all passes inspection on Saturday (and if it doesn't pour rain again), they will get ready to pour the slab next week.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Getting ready for pumbing

Are we done and standing on our new front porch?
No, we're standing in front of a model of our new log home. This week we worked on filling in the stemwall so we can put in the first rough of the plumbing. Here we are making an entry for the dump trucks with the fill dirt, spreading the fill dirt around and tamping it down until we have the final level in and compacted.
It passed the compaction test with flying colors. The inspector said it was one of the best jobs he had seen. We would have had the first rough of the plumbing in but our plumber was delayed on another job. If the weather holds out, that and the beginning of the electrical work will happen this coming week. Then the concrete slab will be poured.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Stemwall done!

They have finished the stemwall for the foundation...
and have poured cement into reinforced cells. The next step is to add the fill dirt for the slab.