Dirt Extravaganza!

Can you believe our house is almost FINISHED? And all I've blogged about is the dirt work! Yikes! I better get a move on! Don't worry I have the pictures, just haven't had the time to blog! Being the general contractor for your home does save a lot of money, but it doesn't save your time. Yes, the house moves a lot faster, but to make it move fast, you have to treat it like a full-time job... and that's what it has been so far... a full-time 6 day a week awesome experience! Here's a typical day: drive to the lot at least 2-4 times a day, make decisions, return phone calls, pick up supplies, schedule future sub-contractors, check on orders, research pricing, check inspections, dig lines, call several companies, organize construction draws, and much more! I'm just lucky that I've been able to take a break from teaching so I can do this full time. Otherwise, we would probably still be in the dirt phase, but believe it or not, we are already to the finish work and painting! Here's some pictures from the middle of July for you to enjoy!

We discovered after re-measuring the lot that there was several areas and corners that weren't dug out far enough by the track hoe.... hence the several hours of digging. View of our lot from the back corner.
Come rain or shine, and this specific day rained, we worked.... and worked.... and worked.... Everyday we would be on the lot until 9, 10, or even 11 pm working by street light if needed to meet deadlines for upcoming subs. Saturdays consisted of 14 hour days. This particular Saturday rained for several hours, but we continued to plow through the mud because we were paying by the hour for the Bobcat we rented. .Carson ran the machine picking up sluffage and compacting the floor while I raked the rocks and dirt until it was evened out. Because it had rained, the tires on the Bobcat compacted the floors pretty well. That way all we had to do was rent a jumping jack to do the edges for the footings instead of the whole floor.As you can see, our basement is split into two different levels, which made it a little difficult for Carson to get the Bobcat up the steep sides each time to dump. We finally created a ramp with the dirt so the machine wouldn't tip and decided we would just hand shovel it out when we were done with the machineAfter we finished with the Bobcat, we started digging the ramp by hand, but there were so many rocks and really nowhere to throw the dirt, but 9 feet above us. Carson jimmy-rigged his way down to the first level with the track hoe and was able to dig out the 2 level edge.

Can you see the stake in the ground in this picture? Well, that stake is supposed to be completely unburied...
This is the same stake in the picture above, just a different angle. We finally got it all cleaned out and compacted!Carson was a little nervous letting me run the compactor, so I did shoveling, raking, and watering while he compacted. He put several hours on the machine, and his forearms felt like they were still vibrating when he was done. I was so impressed with his endurance on the buckin' cowboy compactor! Before. Another area we had to clean out the sluffage and compact this for the footings.
After! Much cleaner and compact!

Another clean footings section!
Frozen Gatorade was a nice edition on the long hot days. We emptied our water cooler at least 3x during the work day just to stay hydrated!
We have the best neighbors EVER! They are all in their older years since this area was supposed to be a retirement comunity originally, but they changed the covenants a while ago so young bucks like ourselves could move in. We've had to bug them for tools and all types of things during the dirt work process and they've provided with ease for our needs. Here's a list of the tools we've had to borrow: shovels, gloves, picks, crow bar, hammer, sledge hammer, wheelbarrows, rakes, measuring tape, laundry basket, hoses, and WATER! We needed water (and lots of it) to wet down the extremely dry and rocky dirt to compact it for the footings. The picture above shows the hose we stretched from our neighbors yard across the road to ours.
It took three hoses to get the length we needed to our lot. Isn't that great that they helped us out with this? We told them we wanted to pay their water bill as a "thank you" for their help, but they refused. We are so glad they were willing to help us out!

The dreaded wall.... this one was 2 feet short, which meant a lot of picking and shoveling in thick rocks, shale, and dirt. Our friend Jeff was a big help during this process. He gave up several hours being with his family to help us get the dirt work done. It also made the work day go faster for us because he always has good stories to keep us laughing. The three of us took turns whacking away at the wall. It was my turn next. Carson took this shot to show that I work just as hard or harder than the boys... who would have doubted? Nope sorry it's not open for debate... :)Carson's turn. The wall's 2 feet shorter and we are all 3 hours weaker, but at least it's cleaned out!Carson and Jeff shaving away on a new area to try and get enough inches for the foundation frames. Before. Since our basement is two different levels, it was pretty difficult to get a wheel barrow full of rocks and dirt up to the next level. After! This is the same view as the picture above after we trimmed back the two levels and cleaned out the corner. Much better!It was a long trip each time up three levels to the top to dump the wheel barrow!
After much picking and digging, the corners are finally clean and deep enough for the foundation.
Lovely blister I developed from all the shoveling. Since this photo, I enjoyed six more. Carson and I LOVE to work hard. I know it seems crazy, but we really do enjoy busting our backs with little or no breaks to accomplish something...and fast. We also love to work outside together. The project is so much more rewarding when you have your own blood, sweat, and tears into it. I've also discovered that shoveling isn't a bad way to burn some extra calories!