Broke Ground
Pre-made French drains: Wrapping perforated culvert with specialized geo-textile fabric |
French Drains and Solar Collector
Installing AGS conduit after the French drains were backfilled |
Footings, Concrete Walls and Shallow Frost-Proof Foundation
The concrete work was begun in late summer of '15 and barely completed before freezing
Concrete walls in place; shallow frost-protected foundation poured inside of insulated concrete forms; waste plumbing roughed-in |
Plumbing and Electrical Rough-Ins; Slab Floor; Partial Backfilling
By mid-October, I had the plumbing and electrical rough-ins ready for slinging the gravel sub-base and pouring the slab floor. The contractor poured the floor but only for the house
Supply plumbing and electrical rough-ins done; gravel sub-base and plastic sheeting in place; house slab in process |
Retaining Wall
The first project for the early Spring of 2016, was building a retaining wall running west from the west concrete wall. However, as part of the umbrella for the AGS system*, I had to insulate the outside of the wall first using a DIY method described in detail in a recent post, as well as insulate the ground on which it would be resting. With the help of many volunteers, a formidable wall went up in about two hours time using foundation stones salvaged from a 19th century barn. Then, while waiting for the Spring rains to subside, I shop-built the exterior wall sections that will house the windows and stored them on the house slab under cover.
Screened Porch Slab; Garage Slab; Retrofitted Concrete Wall
A lot of June and July was spent on the screened porch and the garage. I formed up and
Footing, foundation and slab completed for the screened porch |
Pouring the garage floor; addition to the east wall of garage already poured |
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In a nutshell, it has taken me two years to be reach the carpentry phase of construction partly because the dirt and concrete phase has been so weather-dependent. I would guess that it will take another two years to have the house ready for occupancy -- maybe 6 mos to get it under cover and 18 mos to finish it -- but the weather will be inconsequential by comparison since the work will be done on the slab floor and soon under cover.
There will be more dirt work to do before winter of this year, principally, completing the umbrella for the AGS system* in front of the house, and more to do in back of the house next year but all of the concrete work and most of the dirt work are history.
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* For information on the Annualized GeoSolar system, click on the "Featured Post" in the left column above which is the first of three posts on AGS.