Today we back filled the house. We are now ready to have the framing process started.
Prior to back fill we had a couple issues. 1 was with the drain tile improperly installed in a few areas. The masons clearly rushed the job to get in and out. The connection of the tile to my natural drain was completely off the drain pipe which would have definitely created a real problem with drainage and my basement. Working with my field manager got the issue resolved as well as could be done in the areas that were still accessible. Special Thanks to our FM for taking care of that for us.
The 2nd issue was our discovery of an additive to our concrete that we had many discussions about not wanting in ours. I was pretty adamant about it not being put it since it is used during low temperature situations and we waited to dig until the temps were not an issue. It was put in anyways as it accelerates the cure of the concrete. The only purpose it served was to allow the masons to start blocking sooner. It causes corrosion of metal and we had added rebar to our footers because I believe it is not possible to overkill the foundation your house is built on - that's just how I view it. Nothing can be done about it now so we just have to live with it. Working with Wayne homes personnel, they did rebate half the cost of the rebar we had paid extra for. Hopefully we will have no issue. Footers should stay in good shape with all the extra gravel we used today at back fill.
Garage filled with gravel... lots of it.
Yes, I'm excited to have a real garage finally!
Inside garage stairwell wall not back filled completely. No brace is on the side so we need to get further along in the build before topping it off.
Front porch back filled. You can see wall braces in the background.
Almost 4 feet high of gravel along the entire back of the house. The property has springs behind the house on the hill. The back was the only real concern as far as extra measures to ensure plenty of water handling. Better safe than sorry!
