Day 13: Waterproofing and More

Our waterproofing was installed today.  As I expected, they failed the inspection.  Part of the discrepancies had to do with the pipe that I found but there were a few other items.  Most notably, "The work not being complete." 

Nothing that sounded too hard to fix.  It's still rework and cost both me and RH time and money. There is a re-inspect fee and it will cost us another day.  If I were the sub-contractor and had failed at least the last 4 inspections in this county (from a quick search of other homes recently built)... I think I would find a way to improve my process or ask the inspector what they are looking for (i.e. Read the Code Book).  That also might start by...showing up.  If you knew you had an inspection scheduled tomorrow, then why wait until tomorrow to start the work (which possibly speaks to the failed inspections)?  To make matters worse, today is Production Meeting day, so the PM would not have been able to be there to ensure the work was done correctly and on time anyway.  As I was writing this, I decided to check the last failed inspection in our community and it fell on a Tuesday...interesting!

A look ahead:
- Waterproofing Re-inspection: Tomorrow (Wednesday, 1 May 2013) as predicted a few days ago.
- Plumbing Re-Inspection: Tomorrow (Wednesday, 1 May 2013).
- Slab Preparation: Wednesday/Thursday (1/2 May 2013)
- Pour Slabs: Thursday (2 May 2013)
- Wood Package Shows up: Friday (3 May 2013)
- Start Framing: Either Saturday (4 May 2013) or Monday (6 May 2013), depending on weather and availability of the crew
- Complete Rough Framing: Between Thursday (9 May 2013) and Saturday (11 May 2013)

Here are some pictures of the waterproofing.

The plumbers started on the rough and have their inspection tomorrow.  Funny thing...yesterday the foreman that was dropping off material said they were going to have these guys out here early in the morning.  He also said they were going to get a couple young guys to dig the trenches and get it to knocked it out fast.  Some old guy and his son showed up when I stopped by after work and hadn't even started yet.  These pictures are of later in the day when I came back to see the steel company set the steel.

Digging and Plumbing Sump Pump

Our steel beams were set.  Now we just need slabs and we can begin framing (oh and the wood package needs show up too).

Finally, they started filling in our garage with more gravel and dirt.  I'm assuming this is to start getting ready to pour slabs this week... Yeah!!!

Day 11, 12: Rocks?

Day 11: it was Sunday, there wasn't anything happening on our lot.

Day 12: We got rocks.

They shot rocks into our basement.

Rocks!!!

The plumbers came by and dropped off supplies for the job.  They also installed a pump to get all the water out of the hole (Didn't get a picture because it was in the back and it was really muddy from the rains we have had).  They said they would be there in the morning to knock out the rough plumbing.

The Area Production Supervisor came by and confirmed our schedule and that our wood package is supposed to be here Friday.  He said depending on weather, they could begin as early as Saturday. We still have a lot that has to happen this week before that can happen, so I'm not going to get to excited about that.

The water proofers didn't begin work but our inspection is scheduled for tomorrow.  The Production Sup seemed to think they will have it done in time for the inspection.  The last inspection in our development failed their inspection.  I'm counting on this with a re-inspect on Wednesday.  This still gives us time to pour the slabs and begin framing as early as Saturday.

There are a couple things I saw that I'm worried about.

Drainage Pipe to Sump Pump

This pipe was knocked loose by the foundation company while they were putting up the forms.  It hasn't been reconnected.  This one is kind of important seeing how it feeds the sump pump.  Hopefully it will be caught by the water proofing crew.

Cracked Foundation

This broken piece of the foundation is in the front of the house.  It is fresh damage and appears to be caused by the truck that was shooting rocks into the basement.  Right on the other side of this wall is what ever was left in the truck.  The structural part and the anchor bolt seem to be fine but the brick ledge didn't fair too well.  My larger concern is that it is visible from the street.  I don't think it will be a problem but would like it at least patched...if nothing else but to help keep water out.

Day 10: Foundation Complete

Not much happening today.  All the forms were taken out of our basement and moved over to our neighbors.  They have already begun setting up the forms on the neighbors Courtland.  Their foundation isn't complete because they are waiting on an engineer but they shouldn't be too far behind us.  I'm actually thinking they will pass us and close before we do.

The foundation crew finished cleaning up the walls and removed all their tools and equipment from the site.  They had to break off all these little metal tabs that held the forms together and clean off the top of the foundation walls for the sill plates.

The water levels have gone down but there is still quite a bit of water around the footings.  We have a mote for our castle.

Now we are ready for the basement/external plumbing rough-ins, water proofing and slab preparation.

A few of the pictures below are of angles I couldn't get because there were trucks and equipment in the way.

Complete Foundation...No Forms or Racks and a bit more cured

Garage from Driveway...Looks Smaller than I imagined.
Looks like just enough for a car, not storage in the back.

Frontage to Garage

The garage sticks out 16' further than the front of the house.  I still can't get the angle from the porch to the street because of the huge mounds of dirt.  Just like I can't see how big our back yard is going to be. 

The picture above sort of tells the story for how much frontage we have.  Our property line splits the utilities (shown on the left side of the picture), so the driveway and parking pad at the top of the driveway are right up against the property line and you can sort of see what our frontage may look like (looking at the street and the front of the garage).  The front porch lands about half way through the 2 car garage (shown 2 pictures up).

I think the gravel goes up further than our driveway will.  I have a feeling the driveway will end at the last garage entrance (the 1 car part).  I would really like to extend the pad back further.  Maybe about 10' or so.

It would also be nice to do a walkway from the front door to the front side walk for guests.  I would like to provide an alternate means of getting to the front door other than up the driveway and down the little path they pour.  It's also an opportunity to do something fun and decorative.  Like retaining walls with planters, bench seats, etc.

I expect nothing will be going on Sunday, so we will see what Monday brings.  I haven't seen any applications for permits yet, so Tuesday may not be the target date for Water Proofing and Plumbing Inspections.

Day 09: Foundation Forms Removed

Is it Bear or Bare???

They took off the metal forms and we now have a bear (or is it bare?) foundation.  Now you can really see the outline of the basement.  It's tough to see how the house sits on the lot due to the large mounds of dirt...these were very helpful in getting pictures inside the basement though. I'm sure this dirt will disappear soon.

Part of the problem with getting pics inside the basement is that the walls are so high.  These pictures do not really tell the story until you see the workers next to the walls.  You just don't fully appreciate 9ft ceilings until you see them.  That was a big selling point for us with this floor plan.  The 9ft ceilings on all 3 floors was standard.  This goes a long way to ensure the basement is a true living space you will want to use.

They just poured my neighbors footers, so they will probably be craning out these forms and just taking them over to their lot.  Not sure when they will do this but I assume pretty soon.

What's Next:
I don't expect anything will be going on over the weekend.  Water proofing, and rough external plumbing is next.  This should start on Monday for a Tuesday inspection.  They may have to cut a trench to the street. 

Slabs next week (Inspection and Weather Permitting):
They will have to fill the trenches inside the garage area before pouring the slabs.  See pictures below.

Front of House

Looking through Formal Living Room to Family Room

Where the Mysterious thing that showed up on our lot went...
(Ref: Starting to Look Like a Construction Site)

Looking from Front of House to Garage (Airplane Hangar)

Family Room

Side of Family Room, just outside Study

Egress Window & Mote

One of our Basement Windows. They Flank the Fireplace.

This worker is standing on the footings. Look how much head room there is.

From back of house looking toward Side Entry Garage & Driveway

On edge of Driveway Looking into Garage. This sort of tells me what the
Grade is going to look like. The Crown will have to be after the 1 Car Garage.

Left Side of Garage. What they are going to need to back fill before slabs.

Right Side of Garage. More backfill.

Day 08: Foundation Poured

No...Not that kind of Foundation!!!

They finished up the basement wall forms (foundation) and installed rebar.  My PM was telling me that they had stopped using rebar for a long time and then brought it back to comply with the International Residential Code (IRC).  Takes a little extra time to install but it makes for a much stronger foundation.

A look ahead:

26 April (Friday) - Strip Forms off of Foundation
29 April (Monday) - Rough Plumbing in basement
29 April (Monday) - Water Proofing on exterior of Basement Walls
30 April (Tuesday) - Plumbing Inspection
30 April (Tuesday) - Water Proofing Inspection
30 April (Tuesday) - Set Steel Beams and Columns
1 May (Wednesday) - Place holder for re-inspection (i.e. Water Proofing)
2 May (Thursday) - Prep and Pour Basement Slabs and Garage
3 May (Friday) - Finish Basement and Garage Slabs
3 May (Friday) - Estimated to Receive Wood Package (will find out on Tuesday from Production Meeting)
6 May (Monday) - Slab Inspection
6 May (Monday) - Could begin Framing. Estimated time to frame this house is 5-6 days

Here are some pictures of them finishing up the rebar and forms.

Looking into Garage

Looking through Garage to Front Steps

Front Steps from the Other Side of House

Front Steps Again

Back of Family Room

Near Back of Lot

Here are some pictures of them pouring the concrete for the foundation.

From Across the Street

From Across the Street

3 Car Garage and Driveway

Formal Living Room

Looking Through Study into Dinette and Kitchen

It rained all day yesterday...ughhh

Front Porch

Looking through Study into Family Room