Frame?

Two quick updates for this afternoon - 1) we have post tension cable pulls and 2) we have lumber so we can start the frame!

Foundation in place - forms GONE

Foundation is set enough that you can walk on it.  Everything went well with the pour and we now have a pretty back porch!  I'm surprised how high up the foundation is in back but the builders are going to put in 'fill dirt' to bring the ground up some.

Forms have been removed - as you can see no cables stick out the front - only the back and sides.

On the right side, cables stick out so they can be 'pulled' - but only on the right, not on the left.

View from our back porch - still covered with nails from the forms

This is the 'right side' where no cables stick out but they do have little 'posts' that stick out the top and shorter cables coming out.

I find the creation of the foundation very interesting!  I hope to be able to get pictures of the machine that 'pulls' the cables.  Now I'm curious how the cables aren't completely pulled out.  I am assuming the side with no long cables sticking out must be anchored in some way.

Next steps - pulling the cables and beginning the frame!

And we have FOUNDATION!!!!

I can't say why getting our foundation poured has felt like such a mile stone but it's something my husband and I have been looking forward to from the beginning.  No other mile stone until we move in am I looking forward to in quite the same way.  We watched them pour for several hours - very cool to watch.  Of course it had to start raining in the middle of it all.  NO matter - at this point rain won't hurt anything much anymore.  In fact - once we get our frame up, we'll have a close date.  So in two weeks or so we'll know our 'approximate close date'.  Pretty cool!

What was really nice is we were told by our construction manager that it would happen today, we got a call from our sales rep that they were pouring in the middle of they day so we wouldn't miss it and then the other PM was in the middle of emailing us to come watch when we showed up.  It's great how so far they're all doing their best to keep us involved.

Here comes the rain again - Falling on my head like a memory!

Tropical storm Bill is on the way - and the foundation is going to be wet again.  It may be okay this time though, we shall see.  We have forms, plumbing, packed trenches, plastics and ... Cables!

Interesting thing - water doesn't hurt concrete - it's porous and water actually helps it set.  They would just have to change the amount of water they add to account for the water that exists.

Foundation has passed inspection, just need weather to allow the pour!

The problem with rain is that it gets everything wet so the trucks can't get into the lot to do things, but all of those things are done now.  We'll see how it goes with the tropical storm but at this rate we should be inspected tomorrow.  Rain comes today and tomorrow.  They said they could pour Thursday or Friday.  Fingers Crossed!

Hurry up and wait - Foundation is coming inch by inch!

We got our poly plastics put on our lot on Monday and have been in wait mode for most of this week. The plastics look cool though and it's neat to see where the foundation will go.  It holds the supporting walls for the house.

Our water line inspection failed on Tuesday because the line had dirt over it so the inspector couldn't see the full length of the pipe.  It passed the next day and the sewer line is now covered again.

Too much dirt!  Can't see the pipe!

They have to leave it 'open' in the front while the trucks are still going onto the lot to dig everything.  That is done now so today they are finishing the forms and verifying the outline.

The next step for us is cables.  Then once that is finished the foundation is ready to pour and they have multiple inspections to validate the foundation construction. When they pour the foundation down into the trenches we'll have 'concrete beams'.  Very cool!

Our foundation should be poured by the end of next week.  The rain delayed everyone so many people are getting their foundations built right now.  Only lucky house got their slab poured yesterday but another 6 are in the same stage as we are.  4 of them have gotten their cables put in, We're next in line.

Foundation Grids in place!

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-post-tension-slab.htm
http://www.jlconline.com/architectural-mesh/post-tensioned-slabs.aspx

Today the 'grid' for our foundation was being built.  More dirt was brought in to cover plumbing and begin making grids. We are going full speed ahead towards concrete being poured!  Next step is to wrap the blocked sections in Poly Vapor barrier.  The clock is ticking - 4 days of rain is in the forecast next week!  Hoping concrete can be poured by Friday!

Poo Poo shoot in business!

Lots of progress the last two days!   Plumbing has been laid.  Mainly we have the sewer pipes but we also have the main line to the house!  It's been great to see the different lines because we can 'see' where the different rooms will be.  It puts 'meaning' behind the plan so to speak. The plumbing was placed yesterday, the mainline for water placed today and the inspection for sewer was today - we passed!  Foundation time!

Build Timeline - Click to Open!

Drying out and biding time

After the wettest May on record for Texas the rain has given over to some sunshine this last week.  Finally!  Many people are now all waiting to get the same things done so we're having to wait our turn due to the back log.  The next step for us will be our plumbing. We got more dirt yesterday so the plumbing can happen.
We also got some strange painting in our lot. The strange symbols are painted all the way across the front.  I am wondering if this is where the cables ARE or where they are going to be.

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