prairieman

Not much to report from the build site, other than having a dumptruck load (20 tons) of stone delivered. The soft and wet ground resulted in the tri-axle dump truck getting mildly stuck before he was able to unload the stone. With the truck’s gross weight at 68,000 pounds, a tow strap and my 2 wheel drive pickup didn’t have a prayer, although it would have made an interesting photograph. I’m happy and relieved to report, the driver and I were able to get the truck unstuck fairly quickly by dumping a small amount of stone, then shoveling it around the tires.

We need a week of dry sunny weather, which will allow us to bring in several more loads of crushed stone to support a concrete truck when we pour the footers. Batter boards are up, showing us precisely where the building corners need to be; so we are ready to trench when it’s not so muddy. Obviously, I can’t control the weather so I’m being patient. This delay was not unexpected and there is PLENTY to do on this project from the comfort of home. I’m talking to contractors, working on detailed plans for the kitchen and other rooms, systems to include (but not limited to) HVAC, fresh air ventilation, plumbing and electrical rough-in drawings, insulation, siding and roofing material selection, creating excel files for a critical path plan, another file to track actual costs vs our budget, payments for materials and services and a plethora of other things to consider for this build.

Stay tuned, I hope to have something more substantial to post in a couple weeks.

Merry Christmas & Happy New year !

When Kenny was scraping the topsoil from the building footprint a few weeks ago, he found our water meter. No damage done, but Kenny didn’t see it until he felt his excavator bucket strike the meter box lid, because it was hidden under a thin layer of topsoil & sod. The water meter location ? Smack dab in the middle of where I plan to construct a 40′ by 60′ shop ! Not good… not good at all. The discovery effectively put a halt to our plans of digging footer trenches.

I have always thought our water meter was on our property, near the south property line and the state highway, but in August – I learned it is actually the water meter for our neighbor to the south. I had arrived at our property and noticed someone had dug up the meter box and replaced the water meter. I called and asked them why they were digging up my meter base and they said – nope, not your water meter, it belongs to your neighbor. Over the next couple months, I walked our property several times and never found it.

So… after Kenny’s discovery, I called the rural water utility to explain that I found my water meter, but it’s location was problematic. The guy they dispatched was very familiar with the area and offered this thanks. He told me they have been looking for our meter (as part of an audit) without success.

Problem is – we can’t start digging trenches for footers until the meter is relocated outside the building footprint, and figuring out if any other utility water mains are under the building site.

That activity was completed today. Meter relocated, with no additional piping under the construction site.

December 1st and we have a building permit. The permit is valid for a year (they can be extended if necessary) Hoping to see dry weather over the next few weeks so trenches can be dug, footers poured with concrete, and a concrete block stem wall can be completed before the brunt of winter arrives. Stay tuned for developments…

Rural electric turned the power back on last week. A couple days later, Joe wired up 110V receptacles in a weatherproof box, providing us electric service. The pole and meter box were on the property when we puchased the place, serving the decrepit mobile home. When construction is nearing completion, we will remove the pole and bury the service entrance wire from the transformer to the house.

Kermit met me at the property on the the day before Thanksgiving to establish accurate building corner stakes and batter boards. We had a little rain over a week ago, and with no grass or topsoil or warm temperatures and long sunny days; locating and driving the wood stakes, was a muddy, slip sliding affair. There was a 90% chance of rain on Thanksgiving, so knew it would be near impossible to accomplish this task for at least a week (or more). The long range weather forecast has us dry through the middle of December. Hoping the ground dries sufficently, allowing us to dig trenches for the concrete footers. With Wednesday’s effort – we are set up and ready to dig.

We are underway, and sooner than anticipated. In a planning discussion with Kermit last week – he expressed frustration that the places he has rented a backhoe in the recent past; did not have any machines available, putting us on hold. I offered to ask Kenny, the excavater we used in April (to remove trees and start the driveway) and Ron (the septic system installer) if they could squeeze us into their busy schedules between larger jobs. The very first task is removing all of the top soil from the building site: a quick & straightforward job for an experienced excavator. I called Kenny on Wednesday evening, and he liked the idea. Although he was busy, thought he might have an opportunity in a week or two. Imagine my surprise when Kenny called on Friday morning – saying he could meet me at the property in an hour to get started ! He arrived around noon ready to work. I showed him the wood stakes, defining the area to be excavated, and where to place the eventual mountain of topsoil he would be creating. Just after sunset, and six hours of work – job completed. Next up: digging narrow trenches to pour the concrete footers.

I have spent more time than I want to admit; placing the home and shop building on the property. We had to meet county setback requirements, avoid the septic tank & leach field, a desire to preserve large mature trees, asthetics/appearance, passive solar, etc. I finally had to admit; the very best location for home and shop buildings, meant having to remove a huge Black Oak and a very large Hickory tree. Both trees were within 5 feet of where the west wall of the shop would be. If we had tried to simply cut the tree roots in the way to enable trenching the footer and building the stem wall, there was a good chance the trees would have died in a few years. Hired a local tree service to remove about a dozen trees in all. There were also dead trees near the building site and out along highway 45.

We have decided to try and complete foundation work (digging & pouring footers, and a concrete block wall stem wall) before the ground freezes. If we are really lucky, and early winter weather is mild, maybe – just maybe; we also get the concrete slabs poured by the end of the year. I’ll be satisfied if typical winter weather means ceasing our efforts after completing the stem wall. We are waiting on our AutoCad guy to complete detailed plans/drawings, so we can apply for a building permit. I’m out talking to contractors and material suppliers, getting bids and quotes.

Milestone reached with a fully functional septic system. The county will not issue a building permit, until we have a county septic installation permit – see previous post. A number of factors were in play, delaying our ability to get the permit. Thankfully, dry weather allowed Ron to get started a week later, and he completed the task on Monday.

While we wait for the building industry to recover, there are plenty of things to do until we commence actual home construction. We hired a septic system contractor in early July (with an 8 week lead time) and patiently waited to reach the top of his to-do list. Got a permit from the Brown County health dept. on August 27th. Weather permitting, Ron plans to begin installing our septic system on Tuesday Sept. 7th.

A picture of the rough driveway from St Rt 45. The COVID pandemic gave me the opportunity to retire earlier than planned which was certainly good news. No. wait… early retirement was (and still is) FABULOUS news. The bad news: Spring & Summer of 2021 found us staring at the reality of unprecedented residential building demand. Contractors so busy they won’t answer the phone, and worse: building material costs that were… ummmm – crazy, impressive, ridiculous, insane ? For us – it meant stepping back and wait to see if or when we might see prices and demand return to earth.