Taking Shape!

Now that they foundation has been poured and the wood removed, you can really get a feel for what the place is going to look like! This square area is where the powder room below the stairs will be: Here is the new living room: And their telling me that most of the wood that I already have will be put up by Monday! That's tomorrow, so we'll see what it looks like when I get home tomorrow! HD/L/S/WC: 65

Finally, Concrete!

The concrete trucks finally rolled up to our house about 2:30pm Wednesday afternoon! and what a sight for sore eyes.

But in typical Shimizu fashion it did not go without a few hiccups! The cement pump broke down while in the middle of pumping, then when we got it working again, we needed more concrete so we had to wait about 45 minutes for another truck, but all said and done, the concrete is poured and we are on to the next step, building!

Here I am in the hole!

Filling the hole:

This house, made with these hands....

OK so that was the First time we set the hand prints. All in all the third time was a charm, now we're inked here forever! HD/L/S/WC: 65

We Passed!

FINALLY! We finally passed our first inspection yesterday and now we're ready to roll! Tomorrow afternoon the cement trucks roll up and off we go. We should start to see some building by the end of the week! I can't believe I'm actually writing that. Stay tuned this week there will be lots of pictures and lots of progress! HD/S/L/WC: 62

Rain Rain, GO AWAY!!

Well, we survived Sunday night just fine, but Monday, the tarp started to give way in a few spots. When I came home there were about 4 leaks throughout the house! I called Jack and he came right home. At least it was still light out, we had that going for us. But we could not figure out how we were going to make it work. We've managed to cluge it together, but it is supposed to rain all day today, Tuesday. I'm not sure what I'll find when I come home! Here's a little of the damage control...... Not one but 2 cans to catch the leaks!

HD/L/S/WC: 57

We're Back!!

I'm sorry I've been out of touch lately, but there hasn't been a lot to say! Our forward progress seems like it has pretty much stopped! Not really stopped, but we have had to re-do the same thing, three times now!!!! That is taking almost 3 weeks, so I say we have pretty much stopped! In that time, the gas company came out to move our gas meter and the gas line, didn't leave a note and turned the gas off! The "good news" for me is that I was out of town when that happened and I said "as long as it's fixed by Sunday (when I got home) it would be ok!" The real good news is it was fixed later that night and we were back! On our next inspection, we again did not pass! This time even though the plans say our forms for the foundation are to be 8" from the ground to their start, the inspector says that the "rules" are to be 12" from the ground to their start. Evidently, it really doesn't matter what the plans say, it's what the inspector says when he gets here! We had to pull out all of the forms, take a board off and reinstall them, plus put the rebar back in. We are very close to another inspection and if we don't pass, and I don't start seeing some wood heading towards the sky real soon, I'm gonna start freakin' out! Here is what it looks like today... After the last time it rained, I've made it a habit of monitoring the weather on weather.com! It was supposed to rain today, Sunday and it did, only this time we were prepared! I had asked the workers to put the tarp up last thing before they left on Friday. Jack and I had to make a few adjustment to it yesterday, but it payed off as the rain came down today, as promised! We made good use of the time by rearranging the kitchen area because it was a bloody mess and not organized at all. Now it is set up more cohesively and still the sink stands alone!

The blue haze is from the tarp!

HD/L/S/WC: 52

2 wrong brackets, 3 wrong posts and 2 failed inspections later....

Sorry it's been a while since updating, but things have been crazy! So far we have failed two inspections, boo hoo! I have ordered a customer make bracket which was manufacturered incorrectly, twice and I've had to get 3 different pieces of wood to hold the incorrect brackets! Good times , good times! In one inspection, we are now told we have to move the gas line! Great, I called the gas company, it will be 2 or 3 days for somone to call me back! You gotta be kidding me but we are at their mercy! AArg! I was lucky that the guy called me the next day and came out the next day to "take a look at what needs to be done". Then I have to drive to Santa Monica, sign a contract, drive to the complete opposite end of Santa Monica to pay the fee (861.50) in CASH ONLY. So there's a bank trip in there as well! So exhausting and not even a guarantee of a date for the work to be done, "sometime next week". Could be Monday, could be Friday. I wish I could be that wishy washy in my job and get away with it! But we are on our way to hopefully passing inspection on Friday and then we will be able to pour the concrete for our foundation! From that point, things should start to move more quickly, but this piece of the puzzle takes some time. Here's what the guys have been doing for almost a week now. It's one of the reasons I haven't updated, because they have been doing this for a week and it doesn't really look like much is going on.

And check me out having another lovely meal in my "dining room"

HD/L/S/WC: 47