Forming our Family's Foundation

Every day, after my workout, I hop in my car and head straight to the job site. I get so friggin' excited pulling onto the street! 

Even the littlest amount of progress is still progress to me. I'm trying to take it all in, day by day, and not miss a moment of this very special project. My family and I are truly blessed to have this opportunity to build our forever home. Pouring the foundation for this house takes on an extra-special meaning for us. At the same time we are laying the foundation for the rest of our lives, as corny as that sounds. My son, who is five years old, will grow up in this house, while my husband and I will grow older (and I'm okay with that). We are building a foundation for our present and future selves and you best believe that not one day will go by that we aren't extremely grateful for the opportunity. Truly blessed on so many levels.

These early days of construction, you can't really see anything from the street because of the HUGE dirt piles blocking the view of the hole. But change is happening!

Today, they placed the forms into which they will pour the cement foundation. 

My husband and Cooper a/k/a The Coop

Forms are in...

Some Iris growing next to the job site...

Let's pour!

Be careful! 

My Little Man overseeing the progress...

Wait. Is that a truck in my basement?! :)

The Big Dig

Gosh, it's been awhile since my last post. I need to catch up to where our project stands today! So, post-haste, I bring you…the Big Dig.

It's April 2013 and the big machines are ready to roll! 

Dirt…and more dirt...

There goes my driveway!

The hole is enormous! Obviously, a hole is dug much wider than the footprint of the house in order to place the footings. Our friend the Excavator in the red shirt should give you some scale of the size of the hole. It's 12 feet deep!

The form footings are being placed. This, essentially, is the outline of the house, and will be used to direct the concrete pour. 

Oh no! We've got a cave-in. This is no fun for the workers. Unfortunately, this was WAY more dirt than what a few guys could shovel out, and would require a small excavator to remove the dirt. Therefore, the re-building of the forms on this side of the house were last to get done. 

The men secured the form footings with cement...

And then packed the base with stone. This allowed them to get the excavator in there to clean up the dirt. 

Cleaned and ready for the cement forms!

"Your house is in a dumpster!"

One minute it's intact, and the next minute it's gone. 

Within a few hours, our home was, indeed, in a dumpster. 

My husband and I, as well as a few friends and neighbors, 

stayed to watch the demolition.

Section by section, they skillfully tore down the house.

I thought I had taken everything out of the house, but do you see what I forgot?

There it is, the forgotten window valance. Oops.

My son's bathroom is on the left - what's left of it, anyway.

Just like that, the house is gone.

Goodbye, garage.

Watching this bulldozer operator maneuver this machine 

across the rubble was fascinating! Such skill! 

Piles of debris...

And it's gone. 

Let the digging for the foundation commence! 

We are so very excited for what's to come!

The Shell I Once Lived In

Doors Gone…

A few windows, too...

And the bulldozer standing by.

Recognize this area? You can see what it once looked like here.

Pre-demo, I dug out a few Peony and Hydrangea plants and replanted them in pots, and they will be replanted once return to our new home next summer.

I am so friggin' excited for what's to come; I can't stand it! 

Dismantling Your Life...

New house plans are finally final. Master set has been filed with the town. Fingers are crossed that all demo and building permits will be issued in a timely manner and without issue. It's the end of February 2013 and we are packed and ready for our dual move: one trip to our rental home, and the other to our storage unit with the overage.

 This was a bittersweet day, seeing the moving van outside my bedroom window. During the packing phase, my husband and I had lost our emotional attachment to the house, which is a good thing. I mean, no one wants to be emotionally connected to something that will no longer exist in a short time, right? We were READY. Excited, a bit sad, but ready. I said my goodbyes to our home, room by room. It felt like paying respects to an old friend - as it should be!

We were fortunate to have items from each room salvaged and renewed in other homes. That was important to us. Here are some photos of the initial demo:

Wall ovens gone. Built-in cabinets gone.

Goodbye sink; goodbye countertops

A corner cabinet from the original house, prior to renovations

Family Room

Dining Room, from this...

 To this...

 To this.  And so it begins….

One Last Look before Demo…

I love Spring. I especially love the way a garden looks in the Spring: fresh, bright green, not yet overgrown, and freshly mulched. The contrast between the black mulch (my favorite) and the bright green new growth is lovely! I'll miss these gardens, but I am looking forward to a new landscape.

A few additional photos from my garden...

And lastly, decorated for Fall...