Week 4

Monday morning bright and early, Ellis Construction is back on the job - starting the forming

 This took most of the week, lots and lots of forms and reinforcing 

Yes, like I said - there are a LOT of forms and rebar! 

Thursday, the concrete was poured, 44 yards of concrete!  That's almost 1/2 a football field of concrete, and we're not done yet. Friday the forms come off and Ellis Construction packed up and drove away to their next job -

The MASSIVE maze of concrete foundations completed - job well done, thank you Brad and Ellis Constrution.  This project is starting to take some real shape now.

These are some tall foundation walls!  Curt and I spent a good portion of our Saturday snapping ties, cleaning the footings and making sure the walls were clean and ready for waterproofing on Monday morning.  Aren't they pretty -- well, you know, as far as concrete walls go?

Here is the view NOW, standing from where the top of our driveway used to be looking North down the driveway - now you see a big concrete wall!

Here is the picture I'm referring to - taken on July 31st

Excited to see what happens this week!

Week 3

This week proved to be a much quieter week, in terms of heavy equipment noise, but none the less still productive.  Ellis Construction showed up to start forming the maze of new footings required for the garage/stairs/retaining walls.  Turns out that Ellis Construction actually poured our original home foundation.  Now, years later Brad Ellis is back to complete the cement work on the new addition --

Looking out my front door at the footings for our new steps.

New garage footings

 Friday - the pouring is complete, forms are stripped and the curing begins -

Front steps 

 Street view looking up to the front porch 

 The camera really doesn't do this justice, those are 6' footings we needed for the retaining wall to hold back all the dirt that will eventually be there -- soon

 This is now the view from what used to be the top of our driveway, looking north

 This is a view I have waited 30 years to see, actually gives me goosebumps!  I'm looking out my garage - down my nearly FLAT driveway.  Ah, the simple pleasures of life!

Although we will still have a slight slope to our driveway, this is the view from the street looking into our future garage, I believe I can LIVE with it! 



Excited for the next week -

Week 2

We start on our first full week of work and we are excited!

Monday - we start on the new garage - digging, digging and digging

Well, here is the foundation wall, exposed!

This is a view from where the top of the driveway used to be, looking down what used to be our driveway.

I can see the neighbor's home across the street from inside the new garage, not quite to ground level, but close 

Tuesday, basement is almost dug out.  To show perspective, this is my brother-in-law Barry who is 6' tall, standing on ground level of our new garage -

 A view of the front of the house -

One last look

Wednesday - today, the original footings are cut off, a hole for the new duct work for the family room and the basement fireplace structure.  We never built the fireplace when we were finishing the basement, we just framed in the hole and sheetrocked over it --- in case we wanted to go back and build it later.  Well, it's a blessing we never did because years later --- that fireplace made a perfect entrance into our basement from the new garage!!!

Thursday, we were not quite prepared for the changes that took place at our home today.  The stairs are gone - making the only entrance into our home through the back door, cutting through the neighbor's yard to do it.  THANKS Steven and Wendy!  Here's Curt waving hello.  Not only did we loose the stairs, can you see we lost all the brick on the front of our home too.  Ewe, I feel totally exposed!

Friday, ok - so if I thought we felt exposed yesterday --- today I'm really feeling exposed as we lost all the siding from the rest of the home, and our soffit and facia to boot.  Our home is just a s.h.e.l.l.

If I thought the view from our kitchen door was interesting, here is the view from my front door!

Here is the dirt pile across the street we have created - THAT is a whole lot of dirt!

I know I already mentioned this, but I want to say again how very pleased we are with our builder - Island Construction.  They have been so good to work with - from the very first phone call.  Although this has caused a huge disruption to our neighborhood, they have worked so hard (the temperatures every day have been in the upper 90's to low 100's).  They are clean - I can't believe how clean they are.  I left my Christmas lights up before we started the renovation and when I came home Thursday, there they were, all coiled and placed neatly on the back lawn. 

 They also power AND hand broom the street each and every day before they leave.  All tools and equipment are cleaned up and trash piles are removed from the premises each day.  Working in the construction industry myself....we could definately learn a thing or two from them!  THANK YOU!
I would quickly recommend Island Construction to ANYONE needing any work completed - BUT not for about 4 more months, please!

Stay tuned, concrete next week!

The Jr's were in town last week and we had Ez at the house one night.  After walking around the yard/house he turned and said to me "Grandma, why did you want to ruin your house?"  Just wait little man, just wait!