I haven’t been keeping up on what’s going on at Oak Moon. Busy with life in general, I guess. So in an attempt to post at least monthly I’ll start with Christmas 2016. Last year we were trying to get everything together and make the house functional. Decorating wasn’t high on our priority list. We did a little better this year.
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Mid-September and the ground has been leveled, the driveway reworked and the lawn seeded. Kathy and I arrived and set-up 6 sprinklers on timers to get the grass seed going.
Winter decided to hang on longer than we thought. After a very mild January, February and March were cold and wet so 7 weeks after closing there was still no sign of the new house. Then, in late March things began to move forward again.
Digging on the basement started and we found that you really don’t know what’s under the ground until you get there. Expansive clay and bedrock had to be removed from some of the foundation site which required a larger tool.
And then, of course, we had to fill back in what was taken out to get back to grade so the truck loads of rock started rolling in, a drainage pipe was installed and after it’s pushed around the cottage will sit on top of a very large french drain. That’s very good for keeping water out of a basement but not so great for the budget. But the foundation isn’t the place to get cheap!
Here’s a little video of backfilling the drain pipe. Certainly not going to get the nod for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short category but it was fun to watch none the less.
Looking forward to getting back out to site tomorrow to see the progress.
Last Thursday, Jan 29, 2015, after countless delays, sending and resending required information and working through a number of financing wrinkles we finally closed on the construction loan for our home at Oak Moon. Of course since it’s now the middle of winter it will probably be March before we really get anything more going but when the weather is right we’ll be ready to go. Now it’s time to go back through all the light fixtures, ceiling fans, faucets and such one last time and see how it will fit with we are planning for the interior style. It will be a lot easier and more fun knowing we’re making the final decisions rather than just trying to get an idea for cost reasons.
We’re also starting to put together garden plans. Not sure how much we’ll be able to do at the farm this year because we’re so far behind but even planning the gardens for Rosewood makes it feel like the winter will soon be over and we’ll be planting and building.
I got the cabinets ordered. Changed the ones in a couple of bathrooms to cherry as that will go better with the tile than the honey maple. Chuck staked out the foundation so I’ll head out there tomorrow to review and approve. I’m still waiting for the actual loan paperwork to be delivered. Expected it yesterday so hope it gets here today so I can get it signed and back to the bank before the weekend.