Filling In

jackson enjoying all the activity

In two weeks we had gone from a plain backyard to a giant hole to a sturdy foundation.  It feels like it has been a two months, not two weeks.  I actually can't believe how much they have done so quickly.  Early this week they applied a waterproofing sealer to the outside along with an eco-friendly exterior insulation.  We liked that our architect was concerned with environmentally building practices and materials.  You can see they also started the back fill.  I was finally able to touch the concrete.  How exciting!

finished foundation

The window in the photo above is smaller and will be where the basement rough-in will go. The window below is nice and big.  Personally I am not a big fan of the corrugated metal look and had selected these window wells that had a stone look and let in more light.  When the retaining wall issue came up we had to start cutting in other areas and sadly my fancy window wells were the first on the list.  So corrugated metal it is.  

big basement window, east side

Now that the foundation was finished, they started working on the retaining wall.  Below is the form and all the braces holding it up.  They poured the cement yesterday.  When finished it will be 18" of solid concrete.  Anything to keep the house from falling down is fine with me.

forms and braces for the retaining wall

Today the guys are here.  They were going to finish the back fill and haul away the rest of the dirt.  As I was starting the post, they hydraulics on one of the trucks broke and fluid was spraying everywhere.  I didn't have my camera ready, sadly.  We are waiting for a repair guy to come and fix it.  Provided that happens soon, they will finish removing the dirt, remove the forms from the retaining wall, and start on the plumbing rough-in in the basement.  Perhaps tomorrow they will pour the cement floor?  It is always fun to see what they are working on next.