Solid Ground

Finally – our lot now has something other than dirt and a porta-potty: the concrete footings around the house have been poured!

It took some steps to get there. After the clay had been removed, that big hole had to be filled with good dirt, compacting it along the way. And some of the trenches had to be dug again.

Road base was added in the trenches, then compacted, to give a solid base for the footings. However, they could not get the compaction to the required level, so they decided to flood the trenches temporarily to increase the moisture to help with compaction. Canals were decidedly unexpected.

Next steps (as I understand them):

• Install the perimeter forms for pouring the stem wall.
• Dig the trenches for the footings underneath the load-bearing walls.
• Install the rough plumbing and electrical.
• Pour the concrete for the stem wall and interior footings.
• Add the insulation that goes underneath the slab.
• Pour the slab.

After that, we can start thinking about putting up walls. Speaking of walls: the EcoCocon wall panels have arrived safely (after the truck transporting the container from Los Angeles to Kanab broke down outside of Las Vegas) and are currently stored under roof.