Slab Prep Work

Today the cement contractor was able to come out and prep the building for the cement. The ground still has to dry up a bit before the cement truck can make its way out though.

Other than that, things have been pretty slow this week due to the wet weather. It has been nice to have had some down time to catch up with things in the house, however, we are anxious to keep things moving along . . .

Our Farm Garden

The cement contractor was supposed to be out at the farm to start setting up this afternoon after he got the materials in the morning. We weren't able to go out and check on things though. After a busy week last week which included two house showings, building starting, being gone for a wedding Thursday and Friday, and house guests over the weekend - we needed to clean house and get some work done around here, especially since we had a house showing again tonight (number 9) and VERY tired kids.

So instead of a building update, I thought I would give you an update on the garden. If you remember from previous posts, our garden has been a challenge this summer. The wet weather has made it very hard to get into shape.




We decided this year we just could not get it going as much as we wanted to. Ethan worked quite hard tilling up a small section of the garden to get just the basics for preserving in - corn, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, yams, and pumpkins (for the kids).

The majority of the garden is being worked up by our new pigs until they get into the pasture. They are doing a wonderful job at it too. So next year we will hopefully have a plentiful garden.


As for this year, the tomatoes are transplanted and seeds are just starting to pop up. We will put in a fall planting of some crops too and preserve as much as we can.

Day 4 1/2 and 5 of Construction

Saturday we got back out to the farm and were finally able to see everything that was completed on Thursday. We found out that all of the framework for the porch and house (minus the mudroom) had been completed.


On Saturday our plumber and septic contractors came out and worked through the morning. We were able to get our hydrant in, the waterline run to the house, and all of the plumbing ready to go for the cement to come in.
We were hoping that we would get the cement poured early this week, but we will have to see. Saturday night and last night we had unexpected storms, so we might have to wait for things to dry up again.

Day 4 of Construction

Today we went out to the farm at 10:45 am to take a peek at the house.  When we pulled up, this is what we saw.  

I was pretty surprised with how quickly they got the trusses up. We didn't get a chance to see what else they did today, and we won't be able to see until Saturday.  I'm assuming that they worked on the porch though - the posts in front that are still free standing.  It will be fun to see it all together!

The plumbing is still scheduled for early Saturday morning.  Ethan is going to go out and help with that since the plumber is from our church.  Today I also talked to the concrete contractor.  They plan on coming Monday morning, weather pending.  

Day 3 of Construction

We started out this morning with a bit of rain and some lightning. Thankfully it cleared up until after supper, when it really poured.

We have been going out to the farm every evening at supper and doing work until we could keep the kids up no longer, but tonight we just went out to take some pictures and come back in since the weather was not the best.

When we got out there, we were glad to see that the builder was able to get quite a bit done today. The rest of the sides have their framework completed, the posts have been cut down to size in preparation for the trusses, and the trusses and other lumber have been placed to start work right away. (You can click on the pictures to get a close up of the work.)

Sweet Ravine

We have a pretty big ravine on part of our land by the woods. Ethan has written about it a bit on his blog looking for advice on how to stop the washout and repair the land. Someone before us decided to dump rolls of woven wire in it, which might be helping. Even so, we would like to go a different route.

Not only are there rolls of barbed wire in this ravine, though, but there are brambles. Black raspberry brambles. And this ravine is about the only place on our farm where the black raspberries are going to be fruiting this year. (Blackberries on the other hand are a different story! If they continue like they are, I will have buckets full.)

So I was faced with a choice. Do I let the ravine swallow the crop of black raspberries this year, or do I go in after them. Keep in mind, the picture above was taken in the spring when the grass was short. Now the grass is at least chest high, making the drop offs into the wirey depths a little harder to see.

Well, I talked it over with Ethan, and we decided it was safe to go in. I found a decent path down into the washout where I would be free from wire if I would slip. Once down, I could maneuver my way around and get to the fruiting vines.

It was hard work, but I ended up with a nice freezer bag of berries. (This picture makes them look a bit red, but they are really deep purple.) I will probably wait a bit before going in again to make sure I can get another decent picking's worth. It is well worth it this year, but I am definitely going to start my own black raspberry patch by the house!

(Be sure to check out my post below for today's building progess.)

Day 2 of Construction

Today our builder had a rough day. His rear end gear (or something back there) went out on his truck so he lost most of the morning dealing with that.

Even so, progress was made on our house. The boards around the base are all in place, and the horizontal boards on the frame are set on the front and back - these are the boards that will have insulation between them and that we will attach the drywall to. (The picture is kind of dark. If you click on it though, it will enlarge and you can see the work better.)

Today our water meter was set up by the rural water company too. They were out yesterday but had to leave to work on a broken pipe somewhere.

Our builder is still shooting for Thursday to have the frame completely put together. Our plumber is scheduled to come on Saturday to rough in the plumbing, and we will hopefully have our slab poured early next week. Then comes the siding and roof.

Keep peeking, and I'll keep putting up pictures as I can.