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One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me in the past year transpired over this week. All of the hard work, planning, money and set backs that we have endured over the past year came to fruition this week when we got to see the beginning phases of our house going up. They poured the foundation, water proofed it, put the brick ledge up and plumbed for the utilities. It is so awesome to see this construction go up and actually see fruits of our labor (and other people’s labor).

Arguably one of the most important parts of home construction is the foundation. Without a firm foundation, your investment could be nothing within a matter of years or even months. That statement can be applied in so many way, but for its application here, we will stick to home construction. The first step of the foundation is setting the footers. The footers are really slabs of concrete that are only about 8 inches tall and maybe 12 inches wide. These are what the foundation walls will sit on top of. They are the base of the foundation. I don’t really have a separate picture of just the footers, but they were poured and set about 2 days before the  actual foundation walls were poured. In the later pictures of the foundation, you’ll see the footers pretty clear in some of the pictures.

After the footers are poured and have time to set, the foundation forms are set and the concrete is poured into the forms to make the walls. We were able to get some pretty good pictures of them doing this.

After the foundation sat for a couple days, the forms were removed to reveal the foundation walls. Like I said earlier, to actually see this done was such a wonderful feeling. You can actually start to make out what the house is going to be like and the size as well.

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Well, there it is…the foundation and the beginnings of our house. We still have a lot more to do but it really feels good to get this done and be able to see the skeleton. Now the rush is on the get the walls up, framed and a roof on this baby before it starts getting really cold and raining or possibly even snowing. Stay tuned!       

I’m not sure why I decided to post this, but I thought it was hilarious. This picture was taken after the S.T.A.R.S. Banquet last year for church. We went to Six Flags after the dinner that night and it was a lot of fun. We were waiting in line for a roller coaster when this was taken. Please enjoy a laugh at my friends’ expense.

Well, we started to make some progress this week. The excavation started and we finally have something tangible to satisfy us! We can actually say we are starting to build a house now. There isn’t much to say about this other than we made sure it at least looked like our house.

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Well, that is about it. I know, it isn’t very exciting yet to you all. It sure is exciting to us though. Hopefully the weather will cooperate next week and we will be able to get the foundation in. If so, the next post you’ll see is of the foundation.

So here we are, the week of excavation. I figure I would make this post some beginning pictures of the empty lot and perhaps a scan of the house plans. Yesterday they pinned and staked the plot for the excavators. Our goal is to have the house roofed and out of the elements before it gets too cold. Lets hope for a nice fall and a mild winter and see if we can make that goal. Here is a scan of the plans.

Here are some pictures of the lot while there is nothing on it. I said they pinned and staked it so you should see some stakes and cords around there marking things off. Hopefully here in a few days, you’ll see a big whole in the middle of it!

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