Picking colors

We have been spending many hours looking at cabinets, flooring, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures and wood samples to ensure that the house comes together in something that looks like it was designed to work together.  It's good to know that our porta-john and dumpster box also match.  Not sure if the theme for them is rustic, lodge, farmhouse or contemporary, but at least we got the colors right.

Basement Floors

On Monday, September 22, the concrete trucks returned again to pour the basement floors.

The contractors pulled off the basement wall forms and the plumber arrived to rough in the plumbing for the basement bathroom and the sewer lift pump.  It is a good thing that Gary knows construction, because the day before the pour, he noticed the plumber had not put in the drain for the basement shower.  This would have been a huge problem if the floor was poured, without the shower drain.

Glad to see that we are finally above ground. 

Basement Walls

While I was traveling over the past ten days, there has been considerable progress on the house.  I may need to leave town more often, if that's what it takes to get things moving.  The basement walls were poured on September 19.  We will be sorry to see Davis and Sons leave the job site.  They have done a great job and they always let us know when they are coming and stick to their schedule.

Sunrise from Mountainbrook

SNOW ON SEPTEMBER 11

 SNOW.  How could it snow on September 11, and not just a dusting, but 5 inches?  How could Mother Nature know that on the day it snowed, was the day that the basement walls were going to be poured?  The concrete folks couldn't risk driving from Billings, so our schedule for pouring the basement walls and pouring the basement floor is delayed over a week.  It was pretty while it lasted, but way too early.  Even for Red Lodge.

Foundations complete, Basement Walls next

 After the footings have cured, the contractor started the process of forming the basement walls.  We have to wait in line for concrete, which comes from Billings, over 70 miles away.  It takes about a week to get on the list for concrete delivery.  At this point, the house is looking bigger than expected.  Yikes, what were we thinking.  When it was just stakes in the ground, it looked smaller than expected.  I hope that means when it is finished,  it will feel just the right size.

Foundations

The next step is digging the footings and pouring the foundations and basement walls.  Last year, there was very little new construction in Red Lodge and Carbon County.  This year, construction equipment is everywhere and all of the contractors and subcontractors are busy trying to get projects in the ground and under roof before the snow flies.  This has meant that we have to wait in line, for the grading contractor, for the concrete contractor, for the cement truck.  But we now have a schedule in place to have the foundations and the slabs poured by mid September.


When the porta john arrived, we knew the construction was truly underway.

The concrete truck also comes with a pumping truck that resembles a giant insect with arms or legs similar to a daddy long legs.