April 2 – May 15, 2024: It’s a relief to see the foundation finally tucked into the ground and the uncertainty of excavation and the no-going-back finality of a concrete pour behind me. It was also: exciting, picturesque, and fun!

Our second Weekend Warrior Work Day found us (Glenn, JC, Laura, and me) knocking off form ties, grouting the holes left behind with hydraulic cement, then grinding our handiwork smooth. Later, I spent many a miserable hour grinding the top of the wall smooth of bumps and dips (it had rained shortly after the pour).

Plumbers Lance and Luke arrived from Collins & Hying to install the laterals, with the help of Shawn Slaney the excavator. Laterals are the pipes that connect the Village water and sewer lines to my house via the green PVC tube placed before the footings were poured. They had to work under and around many electrical and communications wires.

The water and sewer lines run to a grinder pump—an unfortunate expense that all homeowners in my subdivision must bear. The plumbers returned after the foundation was filled in and stubbed drains and vents, followed by “the waters”.

Finally, Slaney Excavating and Landscaping returned with a conveyor belt to “gently” place a 6″ thick layer of “clear stone” (1″ gravel with no fines) over and around the pipes.

The 6″ layer of clear stone does double duty as a capillary break between the ground and the slab and as a future radon bed (should radon gas be detected after the house is occupied). Note the “T” shaped PVC pipe with integral screen to allow air to be drawn up from the interstices of the gravel into the vertical pipe.

I couldn’t be more proud of how tucked in and tidy the foundational work looks. As a bonus, the topsoil pile and strawbale erosion control “fence” is holding firm and the rye grass is thriving!

Sunset on a project well-executed! A big thank you to my crew!