Up in the Air

Waiting is not one of my strong points.  On April 16th, the house-supporting company finished their work in getting the supporting beams in place.  The next phase was for the excavator to come and dig out the ground under the house. 

The excavating company was not able to come 15 days because of their busy work schedule and weather delays.   They were able to come on Thursday, May 2 and excavated the dirt out from under the front of the house.  The piles of dirt around the house got a little bigger and our excitement grew as well.  But then the patience thing had to kick in again!  Due to other commitments, the crew was not able to come back on Friday.  The weather forecast for the following week was not looking good - Rain!  Rain!  and more Rain! 

The crew came for part of the day on Monday and could only work for 1/2 a day on Tuesday.  They were able to excavate about 3/4 of the dirt from under the house.  We also had to disconnect the water tank to the house which meant no running water in the house!  Yay!  No laundry!  No dishes!  But wait - No showers!?!  No flushing?!?  Fortunately, were were able to fill up the tank in the camper and use that for showers and the bathroom - but midnight bathroom breaks were NOT top on our list of fun!!

Wednesday and Thursday were a washout. No work could be done. But we did get the water hooked back up Thursday evening!  LONG HOT showers for everyone!! 


End of the house with no original foundation.
 

Friday we were surprised by the sound of the white work truck we've come to look for each morning!  We didn't expect them to come back until the next week.  This was the day we'd been looking forward to, but dreading!  This was the day they would dig out from under the existing foundation, and the foundation walls would be removed.  I was away when most of the work was done, so I came home with a moat!  There was no longer a front porch - when you went out the front door, you found a hole 9 feet deep.  Out the back door was another hole.  One minor hiccup, a piece on the water tank got broken in the process so we temporarily lost water again!  Phase 3 is essentially complete - then the rain came!  Lots of rain!  But we're still standing - or floating!

Front of the house.  Just beyond the metal beam is where the front stoop used to be.
 

Back of the house.  The blue water tank was temporarily relocated to the back porch until it can be put back under the house.  At this point, three sides of the house are resting on the metal beams. 

We are expecting them to return on Monday to dig the footers.  From there we pour footers and start building the foundation!!    But until the walls are built, I expect to be saying "walk slowly,"  "no running," "tip-toe" more than I ever have.  Oh, and "Don't go out that door!- there's a huge hole!!!" 

For some reason I have the 80's song stuck in my head, "Believe it or not I'm walking on air . . ."