Main Basement Walls

This has been a busy few weeks and very exciting to see the overall house shape come to life!  The main basement walls went up, the windows were framed and tomorrow they pour the cement.  To prepare for the walls, Uncle Martin helped us vacuum out the dirt in the walls from the backfill of the lower-basement.  Stone removed the protective plates that covered the ICF.  Jeff (jokingly) gave him the drill and assigned him the job.  Little did we know he'd do so well at it.  Stone was quite proud I might add...and completed the job!

The next two photos show the egress (escape route) from the Sport Court.  It's a 3'x3' door; just large enough to allow us to escape in an emergency. The Gilbert Fire Department has already come by to check out our new house.  At first, I thought they were in the area because of an emergency.  Nope...they heard about our house and wanted to see it for themselves.  We now see them every few weeks for the updated tour.  We're glad they stop by.  In case we ever do need them, they'll know exactly where all the escape routes are!  And, they're planning the first racquetball tournament.

Now for the walls....  Just as they said, putting the block together is as easy as building with Legos...or is it?  It's a little tricky making sure everything stays square.  Jeff and I laid the first course of blocks over the weekend in order to ensure everything was square and to the right dimensions.  The masons adjusted it a bit, but after placing that first round of block, building it up went pretty quick!

Most of the time is actually spent bracing the walls and building the catwalk around it.  Check out the massive scaffolding?  The boys love to climb and run around it.  It's a great jungle gym.  At what point does a mother's nerves subside?  They haven't yet, but I sure hope they do soon!  My words of the day, "Slow down!, Be careful!, Wait for your father to help you" (only because I have Aspen in my arms and can't help them myself!)  The boy's reply, "Stop worrying!"  Sigh!

In this photo, you can see the basement windows braced and ready for the concrete pour.  These three windows are located in the main basement living area.  They will provide great natural light in this room!  Jeff helped frame the "Vbuck" around the windows and placed the two columns between the windows.  It was fun working with the crew to solve problems and get everything squared up.

On the weekends, the whole family spends many hours down at the lot, cleaning up after the subcontractors.  There's always something for us to do or prepare for the upcoming week.  Even Chase's friend Thomas helps us out.  After a long day, they take a break and help out with Aspen...in the crib that is!  They're happy for the down time and all the Cheese-It's they can eat! 

Main Basement Footings

Things are progressing.  The Main Basement Footings were poured this week.  In this photo, you can see the window wells jetting out from the side of the house. 

Everyone said that ICF is easy to build, it's like putting Lego's together...even a kid could do it.  We put our kids to the test and sure enough, they each were able to help out!  This really is a "family" experience!

To keep Aspen safe, she hangs out in "her" window well.  She actually likes it and does well.  The boys jump in and play with her and we're certain to bring lots of snacks and toys to keep her entertained!

I think Stone's favorite part of "our new home" is climbing up and down the ladders. 

This photo shows the south view of the lot.  Dad and the kids all busy at work. Mom is taking pictures!

Main Basement Dig

Digging the main basement took three days and many more loads of dirt were hauled away.  They used the big excavator like before.  You can see Chase standing in the yellow shirt (Stone is in black).  The hole looks huge next to them!  A ramp was dug for easy access in/out of the basement.  Thanks to Martin for helping me move all of the ICF block that will be used for the main basement from the "front yard" area to the "back yard" area as seen below.  It feels like my main role here is constantly moving stuff around!

In the picture below, the boys were excited to stand where their bedrooms will eventually be.

All of the rest of the property is covered with dirt piles that will be used for backfill.  There's hardly room to move around.  You can see the piles of dirt hiding our "construction" trailer and there are large piles where the garage will eventually be (...this is why we had to move the block).  This presents a challenge that I haven't yet solved...where to put lumber and floor truss deliveries that have to come in before backfill???  Even still, my eye (and others have agreed), that they didn't leave enough dirt behind.  We'll see.  Luckily, it's their responsibility if they have to go retrieve some...

Lower Basement Backfill

The lower basement is now backfilled. It took much longer than expected.  They put soil in a foot deep at a time.  Then they compact it.  It is tested every foot for proper compaction.  It took three days to fully backfill and compact the 10 feet or so.