First Day Cottage Walpole

We have a well!  It was drilled in one day by Cushing and Sons.  The depth is 200 feet with a 40 foot casing done with a fluid rotary drill.  20 gallons per minute which is very good!  So thankful for water on our lovely site.  In other news, some actual building material was delivered and Mike (our contractor) will be starting the decking soon.  This is great news because we will be able to then get up and see our actual view from the first floor. A couple of weeks ago a big wind came and damaged the radiant heat tubes that had been laid.  Erik came right out and repaired it but the sooner the concrete gets poured the better!

This week the trench has been dug and conduit laid in preparation for electricity.  We need to get on Liberty Utilities' schedule (no small feat). This is the "slurry pit" for the well which is supposed to be dug this week also.  Big happenings!

There was a lot of earth moving out at our building site this week.  The foundation is mostly backfilled.  The driveway was filled and the giant hole was filled in.  Here you see the rocks that were screened from all that fill out of the hole laid for the slab under the garage. The courtyard is pretty much filled in.  This will eventually be washed gravel and flat stones for the walkway. Our piles of screened fill...not sure where these are going. Now let's hope for some temperate weather so they can finish pouring concrete.  It has been unseasonably cold the last week.  I know it's a lot to hope for in November!

We were out at the site this morning and we were excited to see lots happening.  Erik the plumber is laying the tubing for the radiant heat in the basement (with the help of his son on school vacation day).  It looks like it will be nice and warm down there! It was exciting to finally be able to walk inside the house now that it is partially backfilled.  I can't wait to get the decking on so we can see what our view will be from the first floor. Snow predicted tonight so let's hope it is not too bad and they can get the concrete poured soon.

Well it's been a while but some progress is being made on the house site.  We were waiting for a screener to arrive for Porter and Son's to begin screening fill which will be used inside the foundation and also to back fill.  There is now an enormous hole in the ground and the back hoe and screener are working overtime.  Chris Porter said "we are getting good stuff out of there" so I take that as a good sign.  I think the plumber will be in soon to lay the tubing for the radiant heat under the basement slab. The Hole Here you can see where the drain has been installed along the foundation.

We stopped at the building site to show our daughter the foundation and were there to receive delivery of the foam insulation that will go around the foundation.  It was exciting to get the stuff delivered but not as exciting to receive the bill.  It was not included in the original estimate but apparently it is code to maintain energy efficiency.  Once this gets attached the site will be backfilled which will be great because then we can get closer to the building.  Right now there is a deep ditch all around and a plank to get across.  Not willing to break a leg to get inside! On the plus side, I am finding lots of good rocks for landscaping! Thomas and David Howard (our architect) consulting on the backfilling and grading that will happen.  The man from Perkins said he used to fish in the pond next door.  Everyone who comes out to the site remarks about what a nice location it is.

The foundation walls are poured and up!  We are moving along nicely.  Next steps are laying the radiant heat before they pour the slab and putting on decking to stabilize the foundation before they backfill.  Also we are waiting for town approval to get the new utility pole set.  After the approval it will take minimum of a month to get the pole installed and who knows how long to get the utility company out there to run wires.  This step has been the most cumbersome.  Many many calls by my husband to various utility companies. Photos courtesy of Chris Porter