Phoenix Rising ... Again

Howdy Y'all!

After a record-setting three engineering surveys, and three movements of the foundation plan, we have finally settled on the perfect location for the house. We are back in business! As they say, measure once, measure twice, measure a third time, then cut. Yup, that's us!

Yesterday started with the final (final!) survey and some foundation work after the rain on Wednesday, but today things really got rolling with nine (9) big  dump trucks backing up with foundation fill dirt. (Reminds me of my Tonka Toy dump truck days!) We'll have upwards of 30-35 loads brought in before the foundation is ready for rebar and cement.

Tonka Toys!

The foundation framing work started in ernest today, and we were amazed with how much gets done in a day's work. By day's end, almost 30% of the framing was completed, with the same amount of fill spread. The fill dirt is brought in and layered, and each layer is water-sprayed, mechanically compacted, and left to dry. It's a fairly laborious process, but absolutely necessary to eliminate any serious cracks in a long foundation.

Workin' on the chain gang, ... (hum along)

The last of the sacrificial Live Oaks to go for the good of the foundation framing work :-(

However, by moving the house  50 feet as part of our final solution, we were able to eliminate any incursion into the other major tree stands, and removed the need to trim any of the large Live Oaks. The arborist we consulted estimated one of the trees to be close to 400 years old. 

First layer for the Master Bath and Closets at the end of the first day!

Since we don't yet have water of our own on the property (yes, more on that later), the Builder brought in a temporary 1000 gallon tank for the foundation fill layering process. It will fit into the frame to the left.

And, last but not least, My Flower of the Day! (Jan thinks we can't see her.)

Wait, there's more!

For those of you that know us well, you'll remember that Jan and I have another great passion for communing with the great Porsche cars (okay, maybe it's only my passion!). This past Saturday we joined 40 other cars from the Porsche Club here in Austin for the Annual Bluebonnet Tour/Rally through about 120 miles of some very scenic Hill Country roads in search of the Great State Flower of Texas. We managed to see a bunch of them, but it was kinda hard to take pictures and drive at triple digits through the landscape. We did manage to find a complete yard full along the way and stopped for this picture. Happy Bluebonnets, everyone! (Okay, so the Porsche picture is larger, so what!)

 

 Happy Porsches and Bluebonnets!

More to come later!
- John and Jan -