1st Pour Day!

It finally arrived! After years of waiting and a few delays in the process, we finally poured some concrete! Actually, a LOT of concrete! 54 cubic yards, to be exact! I had a great crew with me, including Kyle and Evan, Mark the Pumper, and, thanks to the recommendation of my neighbor Ernie, 4 great concrete finishers!

The crew arrived at about 7:30 am to prepare for the first concrete truck at 8:00. He was a little late, so the boys played ball with Mark for a while and we all rested in anticipation. Once he first truck arrived and we started pumping, there was very little down time!


The first 4 truckloads (36 cubic yards) basically did the footings around the edges, it wasn't until the final 2 truckloads that the top of the slab started getting filled.


From then on the finishers did their magic, first "screeding" the slab flat, then using a variety of tools, they finished it to a nice smooth surface!




It is really great to have a clean level surface on the lot, having spent 7 years climbing around on the dirt and rock!

Here's a little video of the day:

STEEL!

Finally, after all these weeks of playing in the dirt, it was time to start laying the rebar in! The garage footing is massive, and has taking longer than I thought, but I finally hit bottom when I reached a point 4'-6" below the Garage slab, that's a 2'-6" deep footing and slab, plus a 2' deep "key" underneath! The "key" is used on the retaining walls to lock in the footing so it can't slide. Believe me, this hunk of concrete is NOT going ANYWHERE!

Here is a picture showing the side of the garage footing before steel:


Here is Evan with the first 2 day's worth of steel rebar installed!

Lots more to come!

2 Milestones!

Today was the last major dirt hauling day! I know I had said that to myself many times, but this time I was going to make sure! Trevor kindly volunteered to help, so I rented 2 dump trucks and we took turns loading and hauling. A few strokes of luck today, after our first loads to Scholl Canyon Dump, a man followed us home and offered to take a bunch of loads for a project he was doing in Eagle Rock! That saved me a lot of driving! By the end of the day, I had taken all I could off of Buckingham, and loaded an additional truck full to drop off at Scholl in the morning!



The other milestone was that the Electric Crew from Glendale Water and Power came to hook up the temp meter! When we got there in the morning, there were already 5 trucks waiting, and about 8 men! 2 of these must have been supervisors, because they didn't stay long, but the other 3 trucks and 6 guys were there most of the day, and by the time they left, I had POWER!

Change of Plans

Wednesday was to be my final big dirt hauling day. I rented the truck and drove it up to Buckingham, only to find the street blocked! The Glendale Water crew had arrived before 7:00 am and were already set up and ready to dig! After greeting them and showing them the meter location, I went to take back the dump truck. With a very efficient crew of just 3 guys, they dug a trench about 10 feet long and 4' deep, "tapped" into the 6" cast iron water main under the street, and ran a new 1 1/2" copper pipe to my new meter. Then they set a box around it, back filled the trench and put some temporary asphalt on top. All of this was accomplished in about 6 hours!

Finally, a 2 car garage!

Today, with the help of 2 laborers and Dad to monitor them, we broke through the pile of dirt that has blocked the garage opening since the beginning! I spent most of the day loading and driving the dump-truck (not my favorite job!) while the guys jackhammered constantly under dad's good direction, and by the end of the day I could park 2 vehicles in the garage!


Tomorrow we will continue leveling the garage pad and hopefully start making detailed measurements and cutting the side footings for the garage!

Good Neighbors

I am so anxious to finish the house! I know, I'm just getting started, but I'm really looking forward to living on Buckingham! Every day I am greeted by many friendly neighbors out going for a walk, or driving by on their way to and from work. Many of them stop by daily to check on my progress, and always have something nice to say. One of our neighbors is also throwing a party for our little street later this month and has invited us!

Yesterday I had another nice neighborly experience. Dad was driving the laborers back and was then going to come back and pick me up. I decided to start walking down Chevy Chase to meet him.
So there I was, covered in dirt, walking down the side of the road and carrying my notebook, my roll of plans, and a gas can. During my short walk, 2 of my future neighbors pulled over and asked my if they could give me a ride!

What a great group of people!

First Inspection!

My first inspection happened as scheduled on Tuesday for the Electrical Service pull box and temporary meter.

I called in the morning to verify I was on the Inspectors schedule, then met him at the lot. Everything went well, and he approved it, but told me that I needed to pull a separate permit for the temporary meter! It's funny that they have a combination permit that covers the whole building, all of the plumbing and electrical, yet it doesn't cover the temporary meter that every construction site has! Oh well!
As I was parking at City Hall to get the permit, I got a call from the Glendale Water and Power Inspector who was going to the lot to check out the pull box. I immediately turned around and went back to the lot to meet him. The GWP inspector also approved the installation and said he would set up the crews that would do the hook up. Soon I will have my own power, and can stop relying on the generator!

So there it is, 2 approvals for the same thing in the same day!