What's Happening Now: Late October
Cistern
The initial excavation for the house and its basement resulted in an estimated 500 cubic yards of dirt that we didn't need.
We put ads in Kitsap County's "2 good 2 toss" website and on Craig's List. While these led to some inquiries, nothing worked out. Notices that we put on our community bulletin boards brought several of our neighbors, including the owner of nearby organic Persephone Farm, to take pickup loads.
These barely made a dent in our 500 cubic yards.
So one day, three big dumptrucks operated in rotation, transporting the dirt to a nearby pit that let us dump it there.
The huge pile of dirt was removed in that one day!
With the dirt out of the way, our 1,500-gallon cistern was brought in. We'll use this to collect some of the rainwater from the roof and use it to water plants during dry periods.
The excavator dug a hole for the cistern, and carefully lowered it in.
The excavator then dug a 54-foot-long infiltration trench on the hillside below the house. The county required this to protect our slope from having channelized water running down it and to protect the wetland below from in-rushing water.
The infiltration trench was filled with rock and covered over.
A network of ditches was dug, with pipes to carry overflow from the cistern, along with water from other downspouts, to the infiltration trench.
Exterior Trim and Siding
Builder's assistants Shawn and Eddie installed the exterior cedar trim around windows and doors and on the corners of the house.
Their attention to detail really shows in the trim work.
They also put metal flashing around the base of the house, over the concrete foundation.
Painting
We'll be having fun with colors on the walls throughout the house, but we sure didn't want to paint the high ceilings and walls of the great room.
Moran's Painting did most of the priming in one day. A worker came back the next day -- a Saturday! -- to complete the job.
The following week, their crew returned and painted ceilings throughout the house, as well as the tall walls of the great room.
Getting Ready |
Well |
Milling Wood |
Excavation |
Concrete
Framing |
More Framing |
Plumbing |
Electrical |
Floors |
Roofing
What's Happening Now:
Late Oct |
Early Nov |
Mid-Nov |
Late Nov |
Early Dec |
Late Dec
Early Jan |
Late Jan |
Early Feb |
Late Feb |
Early March |
Mid-April - Done!