Jam Packed...

I'm finally back from my extended moving break. The move ended up being possibly the worst EVER...rivaled the one where the moving van wrecked. It rained, sleeted or snowed EVERY day, and we kept finding random STUFF in the backs of closets that had to be taken SOMEWHERE. It ended up taking every bit of a week to get out of the house! Now we are squeezed into our 600 square feet here in town, and quite comfy, actually. I realized that I have way TOO much food, so we've been eating a lot of beans and things with tomato sauce in order to get everything to fit in the cupboards.

These are the moving men. They were AWESOME...thanks so much!

Today is the first I've been up to the building site since taking the last load to the garage around the 19th. I haven't missed anything.

The garage is finished except for windows, but they are boarded up, so we are able to store our MOUNTAINS of stuff there. (Hope nothing important freezes!)

They finally got the power lines up our hill...you can barely see them if you look closely at this picture.

The Garage is Growing!

After voting today, we made a trip up to the building site. The trusses are up on the garage. We are hoping it is finished by the end of the week, because we plan to start filling it up next week!

The parts of the first floor of the house that will be below grade have been wrapped with some sort of waterproof adhesive to help protect it.

Here is a shot of some of the forms used for the poured concrete wall. You can see the spacers from this angle, and also the braces (for lack of a better word) that the siding and drywall can be attached to.

These Walls Ain't Goin Nowhere!

Pardon the vernacular, but we were pretty impressed by the poured concrete walls for the 1st floor of the house. They are SOLID! The foam forms will remain on to provide 2 1/2" of insulation inside and out. The siding and drywall can be attached right to the foam. I will try to get a picture at some point, of the anchors they will secure to.

We took a tape measure along to prove to ourselves today that the house and garage are indeed as big as we had planned (I know, I know, we really do trust our contractor, it just doesn't LOOK big enough!). Guess what? Everything is fine!

The extra block has been moved out of the garage in order to pour the floor soon. We will be needing to use it in about 2 weeks to store our stuff that won't fit in an apartment, so hopefully it will be ready!

We have a temporary power pole and transformer now, if only the Power Company would bring lines up the hill. The construction crew is having to use a generator, since it is now 5 months and counting since Allegheny Power has been paid for the job!

I'm adding this picture just because it's cute. L has been fascinated by all the "diggers", and took the opportunity to play on our neighbor's tractor that is at the building site right now.

Here Comes the Sun!

It is a gorgeous day out today, cool and clear with the bluest of blue skies. We did venture out to the building site in between sleet showers on Monday but without a camera. People were working diligently and I almost (almost) wished I could tell them to go home and get warm. I do want to be able to move in this house by Spring, so I refrained!

The first floor forms are pretty much done. I believe they are planning to pour concrete yet this week. We walked around inside, and it still looks small. I hope it grows on me...literally!

The block is finished in the garage. It actually does look big enough now. We plan to start filling it with things that are not essentials for the winter so that our move to town for the winter can be as small as possible. (Try explaining to a 5 year old and a 2 year old what is and is not essential for 6 months!)

It is super muddy out here after all of the precipitation lately. At least we remembered to bring mud boots this time! The trusses have arrived for the garage. Hopefully we should see the roof going on very soon.

This is a view from the garage to the house. There will be a small breezeway between this door and the door to the mudroom/laundry room/T craft room.

That's all for this week!