The excavator buried the last of the tall wheat grass on the lot today as they covered the underground runoff basin and graded the soil. The first shipment of lumber has arrived on site and the framers should be getting underway tomorrow.
Hay turned into wheat
Several dump loads of rock and soil were brought in to help level the lot. The two foot slope across the half of the lot that we are using has become mostly level ground. The garage space has been backfilled and is ready for the concreate pour. Eventually, the other half of the lot will probably be brought up to the same level, with a small shoulder at the edges of the yard.
The engineer called for an underground drainage pit about six feet deep, 15 feet wide, and 20 feet long. It is lined on all sides with a special cloth, filled with rocks, and covered with more cloth and topsoil. This is where all of the runoff from our gutters will drain. We are fortunate to have extremely sandy soil that exfiltrates quickly. If it weren’t for that, this drainage system would have been a surface feature, taking up a huge chunk of the back yard. As it stands, we will have a cleanout port behind the house that we’ll have to shop-vac out every year or so. The system will otherwise be completely hidden.
In other news, we’ve finalized our window selection and Murphy put in the order. Our kitchen cabinets are cinched up and my wife has picked the colors she’d like to paint the bedrooms. We’ll be meeting with the flooring and countertop specialists after the 4th, and then there are only a few bits and bobs left to pick out. From there on out, it should be just quality control and minor details such as outlet placement and smurf tube routes.
Building 1120 