Jumping the gun?

By hook or crook we planned to be in our new log home by April. So here we are:

Here's grandpa sitting on the back porch watching the sunset. How do you like the vaulted ceiling of our great room?

Maybe if he goes to bed, everything will magically appear.

Well, the next morning the rooms downstairs are filled. Some one is sleeping on the Murphy bed in the sun room and there is someone asleep in the dining room.

People are stirring to feed the horses. I think I can see someone asleep on the front porch.

The whole gang is here to help break in the new log home--though we seem to be jumping the gun a bit. But it was fun anyway.

Even a skunk came by to see what the commotion was.

We'll just have to be a bit more patient to see the logs go up.

The slab is done !!

The project that was supposed to take two weeks in February but was delayed by inches of rain every week is finally done two months later. Here are some pictures of the pour from beginning to end.

Here's the finished product from the front porch to the back.

After it cures a week or two, they'll start putting up the logs.

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.

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.

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!!

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.