Another Passing Inspection!

Today we had our second inspection and got another PASS!!!!  

Once the inspector left, John and the masons got right to work.    They used a tool to smooth the cement that dried on the blocks, which took about an hour.   Next they cleaned up the rocks and debris on the basement floor.  Then they put the wooden box in place for the final footing to be poured into.  This is the footing that was added last minute, which is next to the existing house. 

After it was laid, they began dumping gravel/stones over the entire floor in preparation for the concrete to be poured (hopefully tomorrow).

The last and final step of the day (which took a few hours)...was to get the excavator back to do the backfill.  He took that large pile of dirt that has been taking over my yard...and using the truck he filled around the back of the basement wall with the dirt and smoothed it around.  

So we had a very productive day, and hoping tomorrow is another good day!  John is meeting with my Dad first thing in the morning to discuss the steel column we are using and then I have no idea what happens next.  I am hoping the concrete truck shows up and fills the basement floor and the footing, so they can keep moving next week (before John goes on vacation)!


~Gianna~

Back from vacation with a week in review!

My family spent the past week at the beach (Long Beach Island).  We had a great time, and while we were enjoying our vacation, John was on a a church retreat, and the mason was on vacation.  But work at our house resumed......with more basement/foundation stuff!

More building blocks and waterproofing the basement walls.    Basically from what I can gather the waterproofing they did while we were gone, consisted of some black tar spread over the outside of the walls.  
Here is what it looks like...

And since Monday....they have gotten the rest of the blocks done, the cement spread over the entire outside wall and the waterproofing!  All for an inspection (#2) tomorrow!  Keep those fingers crossed!!!!  John also worked on constructing the footing for the the existing house.

Once inspection happens, they will do the backfill (pouring dirt behind the walls), and fill the final footing which will go next to the existing house (remember back to those bad surprises) and prepare for the steel beam to be laid by my Dad's company ISE and done by my brother! 

~Gianna~

Day 10 & 11 -- Building the basement!

I am combining the last 2 days because it's been pretty much the same thing.........building with concrete blocks!    Basically the 2 masons slap some cement onto a 12x8 concrete block and carefully line it up...tapping ever so carefully to fit it into place.  They use levels, ropes and wood planks.  It's a very tedious and long job (I think we counted about 500 that need to be laid), but with music playing and sun shining the workers don't seem to mind.  And they are doing a very nice job..not only on the building, but also keeping my girls entertained!   It rained a lot today so they only got 3 hours in....hoping they get more done tomorrow and the rain stays away! 

Also, Joe and I have been discussing siding colors!  This is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make!  What color house do we want?    We are pretty sure we want green or grey.  Leaning more toward green than grey.   And we are like 90% sure we are going with Hardie Siding.  So our color choices would be Mountain Sage, Heathered Moss, Monterey Taupe or Timber Bark..........with white trim!   You can see all the choices here:  http://www.jameshardie.com/developer/colorplus-palette.shtml

Soo that's where we are right now!  Hoping to have the rest of the blocks laid by the end of the week, and the steel ordered for the existing footings that need to be repaired!  We go away on vacation on Sunday..and so does John.  I'm not sure if anything will be happening while we are away, but we should know more by the end of the week. 

~Gianna~

Sunday Funday!

The 1st floor bathroom!   We've always had a full bathroom on the first floor, but with the addition we will be removing it completely (to create a hallway) and starting over in a new place.  Only differences.... it will be a bit bigger and there will not be a tub, just a shower. 

I did have a picture that inspired the color choices for this room....but of course I can't find it!  I can't remember if I saw it online or in one of my 100 magazines.   So you are going to have to use your imagination and see my vision!  ;o)

I want to do a chocolate brown/white/green combo.    I just want to show the colors together and a shower curtain was all I could find with them.....picture with white instead of cream.

I wanted to go with a darker floor to go off the hardwood that will be in the hallway.  I also wanted to take into consideration that this bathroom will be used a lot.  When the kids come in from outside, when we have guests and whenever we are downstairs (which is most of the day), so I wanted to go with a darker floor that doesn't show a ton of dirt....and I found the perfect tile at Wayne Tile.  It's made by LaFaenza and it's porcelain with a semi-matte finish.  The size is 13x13.    And will have a "coffee" colored grout. 

***photo taken from LaFaenza website***

In the shower and from the floor to halfway up the wall will be white 8 x 12 porcelain tiles.  There will be a boarder of glass mosaic tiles around the entire shower 3 rows wide.  I can't find a picture of the actual white tile, but the water glass mosaics are by SICIS.   I originally I liked the Nickle color which was more a grey/green, but I think I have since changed my mind and will be using "Spring".  This is still subject to change!  Ha Ha!

The toilet, shower and sink will all be white.....

The vanity itself, I am leaning toward a dark brown wood.  Something small and simple (haven't picked one out yet, but this is for idea's sake!) to keep some extra towels, soap, toilet paper in..and nothing too pricey for that bathroom.    The top will be white and I would do a large mirror (like below) and maybe some sconces on either side for light...as well as a regular light in the ceiling.

And painted with a very light green color like Benjamin Moore's "Crisp Green".

So that's what we have so far for the 1st floor bathroom......and end to Sunday Funday!   Hope everyone had a great weekend! 
  Goodnight!



~Gianna~

Day 9 -- $$$$

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window (like I do every day)....I saw a bright orangey red   $  and thought 1 of 2 things.....either we owed John a check today or he hid a lot of money in that spot and didn't think we'd see it.............welllllll.......We saw it!!!!    ;o)

THEN it dawned on me....This was John's way of subliminally stressing Joe out (even more than he already is)about the money aspect of the addition!   Genius!  I Love it!  But now guess who has to deal with a stressed out Joe?!!?!  ME!    If I didn't have to live with him, I'd be laughing right with you, John!

Honestly, I have no idea what the sign means.......

So after he left his mark (and his money), John was done and again made room for the mason! 

We got 2 more block deliveries, a sand delivery and they removed the wood from around the concrete that was poured yesterday!   Oh and a new machine showed up today too......I have no idea what it's for, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow! 

It was a rainy day and I wasn't outside much...so this is a bad picture from today!  But those were the blocks that came and you can kinda see where the wood was removed!  

Tomorrow's another day!
~Gianna~