Despite the Texas summer heat our framing crew worked diligently to get this structure going! I cannot begin to describe the joy and marvel of watching the first floor come in to focus followed not long after by the second floor above.
The framing crew wasted no time in starting to get the structure up! We brought our dog, Finley, along with us to inspect the progress of his future home. I'm feeling pretty confident that he approves!
Like two children on Christmas morning, it was with much anticipation that we rushed over to the job site to inspect the now dried foundation. The neatest part was seeing the future wine/beer cellar taking shape, in the form of a recessed area of the foundation. Finally, we could begin to wrap our minds around the size and shape of the space, especially in relation to the house as a whole. To see the 2-D blueprints come to fruition in all three dimensions really helped put it all into perspective.
We showed up bright and early and the team from Austin Ready Mix was already hard at work, foundation pouring underway. I couldn't help but be impressed by the coordinated efforts of such a large team. Each person knew their role, and it enabled the entire process to go quickly and efficiently. The equipment involved was quite massive. When one truck emptied, there was the next, ready to roll up and take its place. In the end, it took XX loads of concrete to get the job done.
Here we are – April 30th – exactly thirty days after this whole thing kicked off. This is also probably one of the few photos we'll have of the two of us together throughout this whole process.
The surveyor has come and gone. But what does that mean? This little orange flag lets me know that I am now kneeling upon the site of our future guest room! Come stay with us a year from now and this is where you'll be sleeping.
The lumber is here. The lumber to construct the forms which will outline the boundaries of foundation. But first we need the surveyor to stop by and mark the exact corners of the house and rear detached garage. Only then can the forms be assembled in the correct location and configuration.
After a long and drawn out city approval process (which I will not go into here), we officially have the green light to begin construction on our home! Step one: clear the lot. Thanks to a hardworking crew, this is done in no time. Can you tell we are eager to get this house underway?!
So you can now mark your calendars – April 1 – our project begins. Stay tuned as we track the building process from start to finish. It may not always be the most interesting, but it will be accurate – triumphs, frustrations, design choices, and all.
With the pink (now, a friendly minty green) house officially scooted over to its own lot, we are able, for the first time to take in the site of our future home...And, oh boy, do we have our work cut out for us.
Here's the existing home which currently straddles the lot line of the two lots we purchased. The house, we are told, dates back to the 1930s. Our plan is to move the house over to the eastern-most lot, leaving the western-most lot free for us to build our new home.
I'm really looking forward to restoring the existing home while also giving it some modern updates. The current floor plan does not make much sense for contemporary living, so we'll be updating that as well. With two bedrooms and a bonus room upstairs, it's sure to make an lovely east Austin home for our future next door neighbors.