I have spent the better part of the last 6 weeks or so taking dirt OUT of the foundation trench. Finally we can start putting things IN! It's now time to start building our foundation. Last week we got 7 loads of gravel delivered - most of which has to go IN the trench.

Here are the 7 loads of gravel.

Devil in the details

This is a pretty exciting step! And one I'm eager to get on with!!! But there are lots of things that need to be considered and remembered. I woke up one morning at 4 am thinking about water lines. I know a line has to come into the garage at a 30" depth - we have that trench dug - but do I need to have a line go OUT? Will there be a pressurized hydrant on the north side of the house? Will there be one on the south side? Questions that have to be answered before we begin. After some discussion, it was decided that there needs to be a water line going out on the north side and one on the south side as well. Back to the trench to cut notches out to accommodate these lines.

Next came the gravel discussion. (Rick and I have decided that the Universe must think we need practice in communicating ) Do we put a little gravel in the trench before placing the rigid foam or put the foam in and then start adding the gravel. And how much gravel are we going to put under the French drain? We went back and forth with this discussion for a couple of days but finally decided that a bit of gravel would be put in first, then the foam. We would then get the gravel level and add the pipe. Whew! Glad we got that settled!!!

Rick is currently in San Diego attending his 50th High School reunion (!) so I'm here working on the house. I have spent the last two mornings moving gravel from a big pile to the trench. (NOTE: when working on any project, check your tools first to make sure they are in working order. One of the tires on the wheel barrow would not hold air so I had to drive the 45 miles into Espanola to get it fixed yesterday afternoon - good grief! That was after spending the morning moving gravel with a gimpy wheel barrow! No fun!!!) But I kept at it.

The first layer is down! YEA!!! Maybe Sunday I'll start installing foam. This is fun!

Here's a picture of the first load of gravel installed!

Done

And done.