Good Planning and Breaking Ground

We thought we heard the Hallelujah Chorus as we pulled up to our property and saw the HUGE excavating equipment already at work, carving the dirt like icing on a cake.Who knew dirt could be so exciting! Monday was GROUNDBREAKING!

Goals for this week: dig the water line, expose the curb-stop for the water meter install, build a 225 foot road, install a 15' culvert and dig the foundation for the house.

There were times throughout the process that my husband thought my planning was excessive. He wondered why I was spending so much time on a project that wouldn't happen for months and months. But those months dwindled into weeks and the weeks into days...Finally Monday, Ground Breaking Day, arrived.

All that planning paid off: Kirt was even kind enough to give me a few kudos about the seamless execution:

The utility locates were done

The portable toilet dropped-off

The excavators were already at it when we arrived, their heavy equipment had already been delivered

Weather checked and double checked

Building permit paid for and put on property in a special mail box just for that purpose

First inspection (set-backs) called for

Concrete workers put on call for day after foundation dig

Framer scheduled

Floor pack at will-call (Floor pack is the building material used for first phase of framing)

Monday morning arrived and things started happening like the ticking seconds of a clock. Unlike many other days, we felt things going our way all day long. The excavator began building the culvert and road to the house just after 8am. We took the kids to see the apartment we'll be living in while we build (They loved it and so did Kirt!), closed on the construction loan, chatted with some neighbors, had a meeting about the house elevations and were home in time for dinner and relaxation.

I know every week can't possibly go this smoothly, but I do hope the extra time I've put into planning will pay off as we head deeper into the building process. 

Next week: Concrete