Big creepy holes!

Connections
Water and sewer were reconnected today. I imagined a simple connection a few feet below the surface.  Na uh. We drove up and the entire street was closed off with a gigantic pile of dirt. On closer inspection, there were multiple holes - the kind that cause buried alive nightmares.  The extremely rectangular hole takes up about half the width of the street.  Hopefully, the replacement pavement won't bottom out cars as they pass on the street.

One unfortunate fate
We had hoped to save a small, but perky crabapple tree. It survived the demolition, the excavation, and the backfill of the foundation. The utility reconnection was it's undoing...

And one happy outcome
And so closes the saga of the cave-in. With the window well and the backfill finally in place, all is right with the neighbor's sidewalk.  It actually is probably a good thing in the end.  They had a 1 to 2 foot drop off of their walk before, level ground seems much safer.  Now the worst that could happen is tripping, stumbling 5 feet and falling head first into our window well.

All I want for Christmas...

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday
With the decision to build, that took care of presents and shopping.  We decided to "get" each other things that either got chopped from the budget or other goodies that the other person really wanted.  I received heated floors in the master bath for my birthday.  For Christmas, I got a window or two in the garage - I think it will look better as such a prominent part of the back yard.  Andy got some upgraded lights on the garage and an antenna in the attic.

Progress
The fill and grading around the foundation is in.  Still a little work left to install the window wells, but it looks great.  It's finally possible to see the scale of the house on the lot.  The driveway is very easy to imagine now, thankfully it doesn't feel too narrow.

The family walking down the future driveway.

Rear view, this is the side of the cave-in.  Thankfully it really is decent buffer now that it's filled in.

A little discovery is this stone wall that runs along the drive way.  We knew it was there, but it was really hard to see with all of the overgrowth.  I think it is very, very cool.  It runs a little kitty-wampus so it is partly on our property, then drifts off.  Still cool!

Merry Christmas around the WORLD!

Today seems like a good day to give send Christmas blessings out to friends (old and new) around the world who Blogspot tells me is reading.

• Outside of the US, the #1 country reading is Russia by a long shot - С Рождством Христовым!  
• Germany - Froehliche Weihnachten!
• the UK - Merry Christmas!
• Malaysia - if you are who I think you are Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan!
• Mexico - Feliz Navidad!
• Colombia - Feliz Navidad, también!
• Thailand - Sawadee Pee Mai!

Well wishes

Well, oh well
Today started out with a mini-crisis requiring some speedy decision making, not always our forte.  Our contractor recommended that we act as quickly as possible to fill in the neighbor's side due to the cave-in. That means we had only 1 option - steel window wells on that side.

I hate steel window wells.  Nothing like staring out of your basement and into the sides of a giant, shiny tin can.  Bleh.  Thankfully the 2 window wells in question are not focal points.  The one by the cave-in would be on the stairs to the basement.  The one in the back would be in a kids/guest room whenever we decide to finish the basement.  Of the 2, the one on the stairs seemed like more of a priority to play down the tin can action.

I had briefly seen a product at the lumber yard that would be a compromise, so we all sprang into action to see if it would be a possibility.  The product has a printed veneer that looks like a stone retaining wall.  After calls to the lumber yard, and St. Paul Corrugating (the manufacturer), they agreed to make one for us today so it can be installed tomorrow.  Great customer service!

StoneWall by St. Paul Corrugating

As expected, the cement forms were removed yesterday.  Got a good look at it in the daylight today.  Looks great!  You can see the window holes - the plan is really coming to life.

Next up

With the window wells installing tomorrow, the plan is for the fill to be replaced around the foundation on Friday.  Hopefully, utilities get connected on Friday, too.  Framing is scheduled to be deliver on Tuesday with the carpenters getting started Tuesday or Wednesday.  According to our contractor, framing will take about 3 weeks.   

Foundation fixation

Pretty impressive.  On the way home from an appointment, I stopped by the site at around 2:00 today.  There was a giant boom overhead and a line of cement trucks.  The little boy was back and this time his eyes were HUGE!  Not only were the wall forms up, but they were being filled with concrete.  

After talking with the foreman, it sounds like the forms will come off tomorrow.  It will be at least a week until it is cured enough for the fill to be replaced around the entire basement.  Things look pretty stable along the neighbors - as long as everything just hangs in balance without any major disruption, we should be able to save the walkway.  Pray for no major snow events!!!

We've got a lot of decisions to make now.  With some time off between Christmas and New Years, Andy and I will have some time (with Lucy in school) for us to check a some items off of the to-do list. There are a few areas of the floor plan that could take a final review.  The mud room could use some more thought, and we would like to consider squeezing a desk into the kitchen.  Not much time to remain undecided, decisions will start to get made for us!

Cave-ins, footings, and alien communication

Cave-in... ugh.

I don't know if I jinxed it, but sure enough, we have a cave-in with the neighbors.  It happened when the excavator was scooping for a window well.  The fill under the existing retaining wall and a section under their walkway collapsed.  On the bright side, the retaining wall would have become obsolete since the city was requiring us to raise our grading to the same level as theirs.  Fingers crossed that the walkway can hang on for a few weeks until the dirt can be replaced around the foundation.

Making an executive decision, our contractor decided that any window wells along that side would need to be added after later, and not poured along with the foundation.  Hard to argue with that.

Footings or alien language?

I guess I really didn't know what footings looked like, but they look like a giant outline of the house... and a little like crop circles. There also seem to be footings under the stairs and the wall in the dining room.  It's pretty surreal seeing the first hint of the house actually in place.

Front view, front square will be the front porch.  You can also see the "L" shape which is the stairway. 

Back view, the square in the foreground is the back porch.

Note the cement forms for the basement walls standing in the middle of the house?  We stopped by today as they were being delivered.  Sounds like cement is coming on Monday!

Holy hole!

With demolition complete on Tuesday, the last of the house was hauled away by the end of Wednesday.  I stopped by the site on my way to work this morning since it seemed to be the only opportunity to see things in the daylight.  Trivia: only 1 more week until days start getting longer.  

What a tiny hole!  The old house had a small foundation and a shallow basement, so I guess it's to be expected.  Wayne, the demo/excavator, was also there and was able to give me an update.  He was meeting the surveyor at 8:00 am, then the city inspector later in the morning.  He was pretty convinced that we would have a basement dug by the end of the day.  

Seems reasonable.  Shuffle a little dirt...  haul away a tree stump...  no prob, right?  After dinner, a family outing to the health club, we drove by the site.  As we drove up the street, the first thing we saw was the giant pile of dirt at the front of the property.

We climbed up the pile to take a peek.  Then we saw the giant, meteor crater that will be our basement. It is a big freakin' hole.  

Is that a volcanic cone forming in the background?

Anyone else worried that the neighbor might slide in, sink-hole style?

Next step is foundation.  Not sure of the timeline, but I think with the weather being so cooperative, the goal would be ASAP.

So long, farewell!

And now I shall put my nerdiness on full display - it's demo time!  

When I arrived, the garage slab had already been removed and the back room had been taken down. 

Here is a quick video of how easily the exterior walls come down:

This is too much fun!!!

The upstairs door gave us a little show as it came down.

I don't know what it is about boys, but this little guy heard the trucks from inside his house.  He and his Mom hung around and watched with me.  So excited!

Here is the big finale, please don't pay attention to the crazy lady in the background...  I have no idea who she is.

While not completely finished, there wasn't much left to see.  This was all that stood when I left around 11:30 today.

Crunch time, baby!

We are confirmed for demolition tomorrow morning around 9:00 am. Video promised as soon as I can load it! Anyone want to join me?

Please Pass the Cheese-martini...

Blame it on a mouse

Tomorrow, there will be no demolition.  We didn't pass the rat inspection, but not because there were actually signs of rats.  A mouse tripped one of the traps - hard to believe since there is no longer a front door on the house (salvage), but rather a nailed-on louvered closet door.  The place is probably a prime vacation spot for every neighborhood critter, I picture mice sipping cheese-infused martinis.  Fingers crossed we pass Monday's re-inspection for demolition on Tuesday.

Finally a little daylight

This weekend allowed us to take a closer look at the garageless lot in the daylight.  Looking good!  We can finally get a sense of the view from the back of the house.  The lack of daylight during the winter might make our ability to track progress a little challenging.  Curse you, Northern Climate!

Craigslist is taking a snooze

With no lack of effort on our part, our Craigslist bounty has taken a bit of a pause.  Possibly the parameters of our remaining items are narrowing, regardless it's been a real dry spell.  Our big wants are a front entry door, dining room and kitchen lighting, possibly a mantle, and a kid's bath tub.  We must not tire!

Rats! Another delay!

Demo Delay
Alas, another delay.  Now we are scheduled for a Monday demolition.  This time the reason is 'rats.'  No, not because we have them, but to allow for an inspection to verify that we don't.  Seriously?

Dramatization of rat.

First Floor Plan
Because this is incredibly anti-climatic, we can spend some time looking at the inside of the house.  The first floor is approximately 1300 square feet.  Favorite features:  view to the back yard, mud room, kitchen island for kids/entertaining, pantry, and powder room.  It's going to be such a shock since we now in live about 1100 square feet total.

Ready to Roll - ish

Let's Roll!
As planned, the garage is sitting at the end of the drive way waiting for go time around 4:00 AM.  The garage is a tight squeeze against the house, but it cleared it by a few inches.  I get the sense that the house movers have navigated more complex situations.

As part of their process, they posted 'No Parking' signs along the entire street to ensure a successful escape.  Thankfully, everyone seems to be following the rules and none of our new neighbors will need to be towed.  That would be a terrible way to introduce ourselves.

Demo Delay
With a heavy heart, I have to report that demolition will not be tomorrow.  We are rescheduled until Wednesday.  A few things contributed to the delay.  First, the gas and water was disconnected a few hours later than expected, too late for the demo permit to be obtained.  Second, there is one outstanding item with plan that still needs to be approved by the city.  Our hope is to have both the demo permit and the approval of the plan tomorrow.

I really want to break the house into bits...

De "Freegan" Masters get a storage unit

G-2 Days

2 days until the garage rolls away under the cover of darkness.  That means we needed to get our buns in gear and clear out any materials stored in it.  Time for a storage unit!  After 2 loads of plumbing supplies, we are officially moved in... to the storage unit.  With each new item loaded in, all I could think of was how much the unit would sell for on Storage Wars.  Addicting, right?

Almost as impressive as the Kohler Design Center.

Lucy "helping" with the loading

How far would you go for a free toilet?

Our answer is, "Ramsey."  Today's adventure was an hour round trip to pick up a clean, rarely used, year old toilet for free.  It is the same model we had specified for the kid's bath.  We tried to force some cash on the nice man, but he wouldn't have it.  (You can see it in the picture above, farthest to the right.)

Ding! Ding! Ding!  SALVAGE BONUS!!!

Out of curiosity, we called up Bauer Brothers Salvage to see if they would have any interest in the remaining materials in the house before it gets demolished.  We met Kevin at the house this morning and ran through together.  He made a list of appliances (mostly harvest gold), cabinets (circa 1970), doors, furnace, etc.  All items that were destined for the landfill are now going to be picked up tomorrow by Bauer Brothers - and we get $300.  Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Tree clearing and garage steering

Trees - Cleared!
Today the trees were removed from the building site exposing the house in all of its moldy glory.  The site seems so much larger without the overgrown bushes.  All of the work up until now has been sort of invisible.  This is such a dramatic and visible step!

Before 

After

God wants our garage
With a twist of events, our garage will have a new new home.  St. Agnes church and school in St. Paul  has been in need of a 1.5 car garage.  Andy's boss just happens to be the brother of the Parish priest - and the dots were connected!  With a quick visit from a house mover and a phone call to the gentleman who had previously agreed to buy the garage, everyone agrees that when God asks for your garage, you give it to Him.  We'll still see the savings, and the church will get a garage :)

Here's the plan.  Monday morning, the garage will be loaded onto a trailer and moved to the end of the driveway.  Then, at 4:00 AM, the movers will drive the garage 5 miles to the church parking lot.  I am sure it will be very happy at its new home!