For the last 2 weeks we’ve been working on all the stuff in a house that gets buried. Although most of this will never be seen, it’s all pretty important. Remember that “the wise man built his house upon a rock.”
We had subs help with the excavation & pouring the foundation. Once our cement had “cured” for a few days, we sealed it. This was a project that was UNBELIEVABLY sticky!!! To do this, you thin a bucket of tar with paint thinner and then paint it on the foundation. Doing this seals out all the moisture that could creep in thru your foundation.
While working on this, I learned if you give a 10 year old a paint brush and ask him to cover the spots you miss, there is NO WAY said 10 year old will not end up covered in tar. Surprisingly, an 8 year old will fair FAR better.
While I was sealing the foundation, Shane was laying the conduit and pipe that would need to be buried in the cement of the crawl space and garage floor. Let me just take a moment here to stand in awe of Shane’s capacity for detail. He has an amazing attention span and can achieve a level of precision that most of us don’t know is possible. Shane is the one and only reason I believe I can build a home.
Yesterday we installed an outdoor faucet and built our vent wells. Yes, we could have bought wells instead building them. Building the wells did take all day but we save $600 and they’re pretty, so I think it was worth it.
You’ll notice in the picture, my first well was a little off center. I had to take that one apart, but we got it right in the end…the level is my friend…
So that’s it for our work below grade. Next week our exterior walls will start going up.
We had subs help with the excavation & pouring the foundation. Once our cement had “cured” for a few days, we sealed it. This was a project that was UNBELIEVABLY sticky!!! To do this, you thin a bucket of tar with paint thinner and then paint it on the foundation. Doing this seals out all the moisture that could creep in thru your foundation.
While working on this, I learned if you give a 10 year old a paint brush and ask him to cover the spots you miss, there is NO WAY said 10 year old will not end up covered in tar. Surprisingly, an 8 year old will fair FAR better.
While I was sealing the foundation, Shane was laying the conduit and pipe that would need to be buried in the cement of the crawl space and garage floor. Let me just take a moment here to stand in awe of Shane’s capacity for detail. He has an amazing attention span and can achieve a level of precision that most of us don’t know is possible. Shane is the one and only reason I believe I can build a home.
Yesterday we installed an outdoor faucet and built our vent wells. Yes, we could have bought wells instead building them. Building the wells did take all day but we save $600 and they’re pretty, so I think it was worth it.
You’ll notice in the picture, my first well was a little off center. I had to take that one apart, but we got it right in the end…the level is my friend…
So that’s it for our work below grade. Next week our exterior walls will start going up.
4 comments:
Wow! I didn't know you were building this home yourself! Lot's of work, but you can do it- will get just what you want and will cherish it forever! Kudos to you!
Love,
Kimberly
Awesome Jam! I am looking forward to watching it take shape.
You guys are great! Good luck from us! We're praying for you that everything will go wonderfully.
Love you,
Tara
Good luck with everything!!! I hope you enjoy the whole process, even when it's stressful. It will be well worth it.
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