The last 2 months have been busy on Meadow Drive with another new custom home we are building for clients ~ changing the peaceful quiet to the sound of large trucks, and buzzing of saws & of nails being hit, letting you know something new is going on. There are not many empty lots on Meadow Drive any longer, just two to be exact ~ so this street is almost done with the activity, noise and excitement of new construction. So many people really enjoy watching the fellas work and like to keep an eye on the progress ~ stopping in occasionally for a good look around.

We began the excavation in the later part of July ~ there were only a few trees to remove and it was a straight forward dig with no ground problems arising.

The first task was to position the house, which was needing to be very precise as there was only 2 inches to spare on the side yards and the height was at it’s maximum allowable due to the slope of the property from side to side. Once the location and depth was fully determined the footings were ready to be started,

and then poured with concrete,

The next stage was delayed for a week or so, waiting for the foundation company to catch up on their projects but once they arrived, the walls were installed, poured and stripped within three or four days. It is heavy, dirty work and I am always amazed at the precise and rapid completion of such a large component of the house!

Rick remembers the days that these foundations were poured with wheelbarrows on ramps, the time and physical endurance that it took to pour foundations is now cut in half by the use of pump trucks. I never tire of watching these incredible trucks with their extended booms pumping all of the concrete through to the men who direct it into the walls ~ where it still takes a lot of strength to hang on and guide the hose.

From this point on things start to look a little bit tidier ~ the inside of the foundations is filled with clean screening material that compacts well, then a layer of poly is laid down before the skim coat of concrete is placed.

Then the exterior of the concrete walls is sprayed with a black asphalt sealant that protects the concrete from any water penetration and then the two layers of pipework is installed ~ the bottom one is the perimeter drains for picking up ground water and the top one is for taking roof water ~ both of which are then guided to the storm sewers. The upright pipes coming from the bottom row are clean outs spaced aprox. 30′ apart ~ they look like they could be for the roof drains so I thought I should explain.

Everyone is happy when this point is reached so that the backfilling can take place ~ making the job site much safer and easier to navigate. This is also when the pony walls begin in the crawls space…

We missed taking a photo of the floor joists, which are the TJI type ~ or silent floor as they are also known. When the plywood goes down, there is a bit of a triumphant feeling, to now be fully out of the ground and onto the building starting to take shape.

For most homeowners, it is having the plywood floor down and the framing started that really has them excited and feeling like their dream home is truly becoming a reality. Now the rooms they have come to know so well on paper are finally becoming three dimensional!

The arrival of the first trusses is highly anticipated, with their installation the shape and ultimate size of the house begins to be revealed.

The trusses that are standing are shaping the bonus room that is above the garage ~ more trusses with be arriving in the coming days, adding to the volume that has begun to make this house have a solid presence on Meadow Drive!

The last three photos were taken today ~ as you can see by the blue skies, we are having a wonderful Indian Summer and the long range forecast is still looking amazing!