Mark (indoor plumbing) stopped by to say that "Pipefitter" Greg may be back tomorrow to finish the installation of the toilet and laundry sink in the basement. I need to go down to the hardware store and get longer water hoses and vent ducting for the relocated washer and dryer. I need to mention to Mike that we need to have Rob (electrical) relocate the 240V power outlet from the south to the west wall to support the dryer.
Bob (landscaping) arrived a little after 9:00 am to go over the revised landscaping plan. T joined us from Houston via Facetime. We had a good discussion. We both like the design, as does everyone with whom we have shared it. I love the second pond, the flagstones, the pergola and the stone retaining walls. T loves her 16' x 16' chess board. Unfortunately, the price tag is just a bit too steep. Since our previous revenue raising attempt, selling engraved pavers, did not generate enough money (in fact it raised no money), we are scaling back our landscaping plans. The pergola is history, the second pond will be deferred, the flagstones will be curtailed and the retaining walls will be reduced. BUT, we will keep the chess board. Bob will revise the revised plan this week and reissue for approval. We also toured the backyard. Bob said there is more dirt to work with from the excavation than he expected and he may be able to reduce the amount he had budgeted to build the 5' berm. I also introduced him to Morgan (east neighbor) and talked about the plan to replace the fence along our east property line, drainage and how to eradicate the day lilies that have, over the years, encroached from our yard into their flower bed. I also got to introduce Bob to Kent, the neighbor behind us.
A little after noon, the framing guys disappeared. I thought it was just lunch time, but Mike told me later that they ran out of forms, which he found incredible since they were out previously to scope out the job. Anyway, that is it for the day. The framers will be back in the morning to finish. The inspector will be here around 11:00 am tomorrow to approve the forms prior to pouring.
The soils engineer came by this afternoon and poked several holes in the ground. Neither he nor Mike said anything to me prior to leaving, so I assume we passed the test. I heard Mike tell the engineer that in the area where they excavated for the new sewer line (the earth is soft there) they will install additional rebar in the footings.
It is starting to take shape. While the yard will not look any worse than it does right now, you can see the outline of the hot tub bay. Considering how wide they trenched for these footings, we were wise to take out the two maples just south of the sunroom. The trenching would have doomed them.
I need to warn Bob (landscaping) that a significant amount of the excavated dirt will be going back in the hole. Or, I may just surprise him!
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