Dirt Piles Dwindling

Lots of progress today. They got the breakfast room area built up and started on the deck. Our dirt piles are starting to dwindle. That is definitely going in the right direction. They also brought in some steel to make our footings. At this rate we will be walking on a deck in no time at all.

Lovely Weather

Well we woke up this morning to a massive downpour of rain. This is really not what you are wanting to hear when you are doing a construction project and your yard is full of dirt. You know what happens when dirt gets wet. Plenty of MUD. We could now open the Fritz Dirt House and Mud Spa. We will be selling memberships soon. Anyway the rain ended and the sun poked out around 11am so we were back in business. They got a lot done today. It won't be long and they will be pouring cement. Cheers!

Coming together

Talk about hard workers. The guys forming our slab are really doing a great job. They definitely have their system down as far as making things happen. I did find it a little funny when I walked out this morning and noticed that their jam box was a Sponge Bob Squarepants radio. Cheers!

What the...

As I was basking in the excitement of what all we accomplished last night and this past weekend with all of our dirt moving and layout, you will never believe what arrives. A dump truck pulling a trailer both full of DIRT!! I asked the driver why are you bringing more dirt?? We have plenty. Then he tells me that the dirt we have is not the right kind of dirt for preparing a slab. Great Googlee Moogalee! We almost look like one of those landscaping stores with the big piles of different dirt everywhere. We've got your black dirt, your sand, your crushed rock, you name it we've got it. So come on down to the Fritz Dirt House where we can fill all of your dirt needs!! I said dirt needs, dirt, geeezzzaammooolllliiii. Oh well as long as I don't have to move it, that's all that matters. Cheers!

Pool Decking Layout

Now that the addition has started and the pool is in, it is time to lay out the decking. Last night Kevin helped me shovel some more dirt out of the way so we could have a better feel for where the decking would go. Kelly came over and helped me paint out the outline around 9:30pm. We finally ended around 10:30pm after we had Laura come out to help finalize the layout. Good times.

Let the Addition Begin

This morning we also had the crew come out to start forming for the addition and porch. Another crew will be coming to form the pool deck. It is very exciting to see things happening on the addition.

Pool Cleaning and Backfilling

Today they came and cleaned the pool, put chemicals in, filled the trenches where the pipe was laid and finished backfilling around the pool. The hot tub will be where you can see the pole sticking out of the ground with the can on top of it in the upper right hand corner of the picture. It won't be long now and we will be floating around sipping on cocktails.

Equipment Hook Up

Monday was a day of laying pipe and hooking up the pool equipment. There was a lot of pipe laid from the pool to the pump. They also worked on getting more of the backfill around the pool. The electricians hooked up the pool equipment and lighting and ran the wires for the hot tub. The pool is now completely filled with water.

Dirty Weekend

It was a dirt moving weekend. Laura and I moved dirt and then after that we moved more dirt. If we had it all to do over again the load of dirt that was dumped in the front yard would have been left in the back yard. Then we would have brought the dirt we needed to the front yard. You don't realize how much dirt is a dumptruck load until you start moving it in a wheelbarrow. The good news is we got the front yard leveled out, our tree rings raised and planted and the front yard seeded. Ryan worked on filling the trenches in now that the electric has all been run. Kevin and Austin picked out the big chunks of dirt so we could spread the rest. They also swept up in between using the brooms as swords and broom guitars.

The Mountains are Moving

Wednesday was a pretty quiet day. The inspector came to check on progress. Today, however, we saw a lot happening. Our mountains of sand and dirt are starting to disappear. They worked on getting the sand backfilled around the pool, finished putting in the pool light and most all of the pool plumbing. They also filled the pool with more water. By the time it is completely filled we will have 22,000 gallons of water to swim in. Our electrician, Graeme, came and finished up a few things and scheduled an electrical inspection for tomorrow. Once that inspection is done, we will see the forming start for the concrete for the addition. That will probably happen on Monday. At this rate we should see all of the concrete for the addition and the decking around the pool being poured next week. I can already hear the tropical music playing....oh wait.....I always hear tropical music playing. Cheers!

Coming together

Today they worked more on the plumbing and installing the pool light. They are still backfilling around the pool with sand. We are getting closer and closer. I can already picture us floating around with a cocktail in hand. Cheers!

Electricity

Today our electrician, Graeme Hair with ITS Electric, came out an installed our electrical for the pool and Tiki bar. Since our electrical service comes in on one side of the house and our gas comes in on the other side of the house we had to get them together. That was the reason we had to dig the trench on Sunday. No that giant box isn't an outdoor grill, but it is a 400,000 BTU heater for the pool. You would think something that size could double as a grill. We decided to have the pool heater installed now so we can enjoy our pool any time of the year.