Adam met the the Plans Reviewer for Duval County for a couple of hours yesterday. We had to make the changes he noted last week and get a new set together to submit - and we GOT OUR PERMIT! I'm a little excited, in case you can't tell. There are still a couple of things we need to change, but it wasn't big enough to reject us. He was also able to submit our Notice of Commencement - which we officially need to do to begin construction. He also got the Plumbing permit. They didn't even need to see the drawings for that - so, that process was a lot easier. Now we don't have the county holding us back - ONWARD!
Adam and his dad spent most of Saturday working on the footings. They still need to be cleaned up a little and compacted, but they're coming along. We also spent a good amount of time searching for the sewer conection. There is an "s" marked in the curb, and we dug all around that "s" to try and find the connection - but, it wasn't there. So, Adam's been in touch with everyone you can think of to try and get that information. We used the excavator to help dig some, but we turned it back in on Monday. Now, we just have shovels and a wheelbarrow.
After we finish the footings, we'll do the form boards and underground plumbing. However, Adam and I will be out of town this weekend and then we leave on a 4-night cruise on Sunday . . . so, it'll be a week before we do any more work on the house. We're going to enjoy our break and relax on the beach. Then, we'll get back to it next Thursday. That's all for now. Sorry I don't have pictures - I left the camera at home. I hope you had a nice Easter.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
More Site Work
We have certainly been working hard this week! Adam spent most of the day on Monday putting our new load of dirt in the right places. Then, I compacted it. The equipment renters gave us a break a let us keep the Track Skid an extra day, so they picked it up early Tuesday morning.
We tested the elevations of our slab using this laser level. It spins around and puts out an invisible laser in every direction. Then, you put a sensor on a large ruler and it beeps when the laser hits at the correct elevation. It's pretty handy!
Like I said earlier, it was my job to compact the ground. This is what I used - it vibrates and makes the ground pretty dense. By code, we have to have 95% compaction.
Adam was out their with his dad, Brian, and Clint on Tuesday. They made quite the team and dug over half of the footers. We got out their again on Thursday and dug the rest of them. In our house, almost every wall is structural - so now the foundation looks like a maze with all the trenches running through it. A couple of them need to shift over slightly, but other than that, they're in the right place. I realize this isn't the best picture, but it's the only one I had of the footers.
Clint was enjoying his seat in the excavator again . . . but this time, Adam got up there with him and showed him which buttons/levers to push so he could pick up dirt! Clint had a blast.
We are back to it this weekend. We need to finish the footers, compact the dirt again, then we're starting on the form boards. These are the peices of wood that outline the house to keep the concrete in. Then, it's time to do the underground plumbing.
We finally heard back from the county today . . . they gave us a list of comments that they want us to fix on our drawings. We are making the changes and should meet with them on Monday to give them everything they requested and get our permit. Then, we have to immeadiately submit for a plumbing permit and Notice of Commencement. Then, we can legally do the plumbing work and continue on our house. Fun and exciting stuff!
I hope you have a wonderful Easter, Praise Jesus for all he has given us!
We tested the elevations of our slab using this laser level. It spins around and puts out an invisible laser in every direction. Then, you put a sensor on a large ruler and it beeps when the laser hits at the correct elevation. It's pretty handy!
Like I said earlier, it was my job to compact the ground. This is what I used - it vibrates and makes the ground pretty dense. By code, we have to have 95% compaction.
Adam was out their with his dad, Brian, and Clint on Tuesday. They made quite the team and dug over half of the footers. We got out their again on Thursday and dug the rest of them. In our house, almost every wall is structural - so now the foundation looks like a maze with all the trenches running through it. A couple of them need to shift over slightly, but other than that, they're in the right place. I realize this isn't the best picture, but it's the only one I had of the footers.
Clint was enjoying his seat in the excavator again . . . but this time, Adam got up there with him and showed him which buttons/levers to push so he could pick up dirt! Clint had a blast.
We are back to it this weekend. We need to finish the footers, compact the dirt again, then we're starting on the form boards. These are the peices of wood that outline the house to keep the concrete in. Then, it's time to do the underground plumbing.
We finally heard back from the county today . . . they gave us a list of comments that they want us to fix on our drawings. We are making the changes and should meet with them on Monday to give them everything they requested and get our permit. Then, we have to immeadiately submit for a plumbing permit and Notice of Commencement. Then, we can legally do the plumbing work and continue on our house. Fun and exciting stuff!
I hope you have a wonderful Easter, Praise Jesus for all he has given us!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Site Work
We spent the entire weekend doing site work for our house. Friday afternoon, Adam had two pieces of equipment delivered to our lot - a mini excavator and track skid. He scraped off the grass and topsoil from the house foot print with track skid, so we wouldn't be building on organics.
Then, he had four loads of dirt delivered. One of these loads was rather wet, which caused some issues later on.
Adam then began to spread out the dirt from the piles to raise up and even out the elevation.
Clint (Adam's brother) picked his seat - the mini excavator. He sat up in there for just about the entire weekend. He'd come down when we asked him to do something, but he would always return back to his seat.
We worked until just after dark - around 8:00 pm. Adam and I work up early Saturday morning, made a quick trip to Lowe's and started back to work by 8:30 am. Adam continued to move the dirt evenly across the house footprint.
We had a couple visitors - The Weinstein's stopped by to see the progress. Here, Daryl and Logan take a spin on the track skid.
We spent Saturday leveling the dirt, borrowing dirt, measuring the elevation with the laser level, and compacting the dirt. Our neighbors two doors down had some dirt in their side yard that they wanted us to take - we did so, gladly. This, however, was a messy process. We had to drive across the road to get the dirt and left a nice trail of dirt about two inches deep for one hundred feet. So, we spent awhile Sunday sweeping up our mess.
Actually, this wasn't quite enough dirt and we plan on getting another truck load today. We also started digging some footings and will use that dirt as well. Here is Adam digging with the mini excavator and then dumping the dirt in the track skid.
We spend just about every bit of daylight working. We are tired, sore, and sunburned. But, we made a lot of progress. The elevation is just about complete. We have compacted most of the soil down and have begun digging the footings. We will continue to work quickly - as we are paying by the day for our rented equipment. We hope to start putting in the underground plumbing soon as well. We have not heard about our permit yet, hopefully it will be soon.
Then, he had four loads of dirt delivered. One of these loads was rather wet, which caused some issues later on.
Adam then began to spread out the dirt from the piles to raise up and even out the elevation.
Clint (Adam's brother) picked his seat - the mini excavator. He sat up in there for just about the entire weekend. He'd come down when we asked him to do something, but he would always return back to his seat.
We worked until just after dark - around 8:00 pm. Adam and I work up early Saturday morning, made a quick trip to Lowe's and started back to work by 8:30 am. Adam continued to move the dirt evenly across the house footprint.
We had a couple visitors - The Weinstein's stopped by to see the progress. Here, Daryl and Logan take a spin on the track skid.
We spent Saturday leveling the dirt, borrowing dirt, measuring the elevation with the laser level, and compacting the dirt. Our neighbors two doors down had some dirt in their side yard that they wanted us to take - we did so, gladly. This, however, was a messy process. We had to drive across the road to get the dirt and left a nice trail of dirt about two inches deep for one hundred feet. So, we spent awhile Sunday sweeping up our mess.
Actually, this wasn't quite enough dirt and we plan on getting another truck load today. We also started digging some footings and will use that dirt as well. Here is Adam digging with the mini excavator and then dumping the dirt in the track skid.
We spend just about every bit of daylight working. We are tired, sore, and sunburned. But, we made a lot of progress. The elevation is just about complete. We have compacted most of the soil down and have begun digging the footings. We will continue to work quickly - as we are paying by the day for our rented equipment. We hope to start putting in the underground plumbing soon as well. We have not heard about our permit yet, hopefully it will be soon.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Starting "Real Work"
Well, we still haven't heard from good ole Duval county about our permit, but we are going to move on with our work anyway and do some site work this weekend. Adam has ordered two different pieces of equipment and four loads of dirt to arrive at our land today (it should already be there). He plans to scab off the top soil from the house footprint (you do not want organics under your foundation) and then add dirt to get it to the right elevation. He's gonna compact it, grade it, and dig trenches for the footings and underground plumbing. Then comes putting in the form work for the foundation.
I consider this the "real work" because you will now begin to see actual progress. We'll be sure to take pictures and I'll post them early next week. It will probably be a few weeks to complete this process, but we'll update you along the way.
Adam has decided to do his own plumbing. As the owner, he does not need to take a test to pull a permit or put in the plumbing for his own house. I will be ordering the plumbing materials (with my company discount) next week and we will put them in place when the ground is prepped. Exciting stuff!
I consider this the "real work" because you will now begin to see actual progress. We'll be sure to take pictures and I'll post them early next week. It will probably be a few weeks to complete this process, but we'll update you along the way.
Adam has decided to do his own plumbing. As the owner, he does not need to take a test to pull a permit or put in the plumbing for his own house. I will be ordering the plumbing materials (with my company discount) next week and we will put them in place when the ground is prepped. Exciting stuff!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis
I know this has nothing to do with building a house . . . but, I got volunteered at work to lead a group for the Great Strides walk to help fight Cystic Fibrosis. This is a disease without a cure and affects tens of thousands of children and young adults. The Great Strides walk will be held in downtown Jacksonville on Thursday, May 15th. If you would like to walk on my team, make a donation to help find a cure, or learn more, please check out my website. It really is a good organization for a great cause.We're still waiting on the permit for the house . . . I'll let you know when we do anything new.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Waiting on Permit & Condo for Sale
Today, we officially submitted our set to Duval County for approval. Our set met the preliminary requirements to be reviewed, now they will sit through about a week's worth of reviewing at the county. If all goes well, we'll get a permit next week. YAY!
I don't know if we'll get any other work done on the land in the mean time, but this is a pretty big step forward . . . so, I'm excited.
In other news, we decided to sell our condo ourselves instead of going through a realtor. It has been on the market since the beginning of October with only 2 or 3 people even looking at it. Selling it ourselves will save us a fair chunk of change, but means more work for me. So, if you would like a lovely 1,118 sq ft, 2 bed / 2 bath condo in the Jacksonville area - or know anyone else that would - please let me know and I'd be happy to show it or send pictures.
I don't know if we'll get any other work done on the land in the mean time, but this is a pretty big step forward . . . so, I'm excited.
In other news, we decided to sell our condo ourselves instead of going through a realtor. It has been on the market since the beginning of October with only 2 or 3 people even looking at it. Selling it ourselves will save us a fair chunk of change, but means more work for me. So, if you would like a lovely 1,118 sq ft, 2 bed / 2 bath condo in the Jacksonville area - or know anyone else that would - please let me know and I'd be happy to show it or send pictures.
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