Is the glass half full or is it half empty? Boy oh boy, life can throw that question in your face twenty times a day. It can turn you into a cynic or it can hone your character and mold you into the person you want to be. That very thing reared its head to take a bite out of my hide on Wednesday. I'll explain what I'm talking about.

I must say that I am pleasantly surprised to have had such nice weather for the excavation and foundation to this point. As anyone who works in the construction industry in the Pacific Northwest knows, these could have been days spent slogging around in the slop and mud which always slows progress. Which in turn puts all of the ongoing building projects behind and therefore everyone is demanding their concrete at the same time, which leads to understandable delays. So to my delight the project has been progressing well.

The phone rings Wednesday afternoon and the proverbial "Glass 1/2 empty" hit me and began to deflate my balloon. When adversity strikes it does the following. Schedules can be disrupted, anxiety & stress is felt by builders, sub contractors and owners alike. If the weather had not cooperated, this situation would certainly have been worse. The problem was that the dig out was not long enough to accomodate the garage being 10 feet from the house. When I was informed, I called our excavator immediately and Ron, who had taken his equipment to another site, pulled it together, came back that evening and fixed the problem.

Like all human endeavors, when mistakes are made, it is how you approach the remedy that makes all of the difference in your success. I did not want to put off the pour of the footings until Friday. The Friday forcast was for a change in the weather, so it was not an option in my way of thinking. Besides, our clients were excited to see the footings poured and the project moving forward and I did not want to disappoint them. Long story short, Ron was back at the site with his equipment by the end of the day, and resolved the issue so as not to delay the project. The Thursday pour was accomplished. A situation which could have delayed us 2 or 3 days was averted. We instead have finished the footings and as of this morning are stripping them and cleaning up the site.

This is exactly why I like working with people who are committed to our clients needs. Who are not in it just for the paycheck. Who have been reliable partners for many years, and who will place our clients interests ahead of their own. That is a commodity that seems to be missing so often in todays world.

Mission Accomplished - "Glass half full"

Monday, June 13, 2011

The house is now staked out on the lot and today we began the laying out of the footings of the home. This process normally takes two or three days and we should have them poured by the end of the week. #4 rebar must be cut and tied into the footing for structure and the vertical #4 rebar place according to the engineering. Once the footings are poured and given a day or so to dry, the forms will be stripped, cleaned and the process begins again for the setting of the stem walls.

I tell people when I talk with them about construction that there are a thousand and one decisions that need to be made throughout the building project. Each day presents new challenges and opportunities in the creation of your dream. Let's talk about an example when you are just beginning. It is important to decide at what elevation you wish to have the top of the foundation. This ultimately determines how many steps you will have to go up or down to enter or exit your new home. This can be important depending on your physical condition or can be important for the asthetic value of your home, ie. your curb appeal. For example, a country or farm style design looks much nicer with an elevated front porch. A contemporary home can be elegant with a zero grade approach to the front door. Or if you are my age you may not want to have many steps into your home thereby making it more accessible. So determining the grade or elevation of the top of foundation is critical. It does not seem like rocket science but like all things if you take your eye off of the ball, before you know it, it is too late to make any changes. Concrete is very unforgiving. Once in place, changes are expensive.


A typical foundation in the Pacific Northwest has an 8" thick footing with a 24" stem wall to create the crawlspace. This is topped with 6" sill seal, a 1 1/2" treated plate, your joists at 16" on center (either 9 1/2" or 11 7/8") and a sheet of 3/4" tongue and groove plywood. This is your sub floor and its height above grade determines the number of steps you need to grade.

I will continue, each day to talk about the myriad of decisions and issues that you will have to make and am always available to you for information you may need no matter where you are at in the process. Just drop me a post and I'll get back to you in a timely manner.

Thanks for listening,

Regards,

John Arthur Anderson, CPBD
President, Blueprint Design Consultants, Inc.
4071 Hannegan Road, Suite R
Bellingham, WA 98226
(360 733-7206 Fax (360) 733-4596
john@bdcgreen.com

Building Industry Association of Whatcom County,
American Institute of Building Design
National Council of Building Design certification
Master Builders Association, Design Professional Council
Built Green member

Today is Wednesday, June 8. A bit overcast but not raining. So today is when the move in of equipment will happen. Sometime this morning the excavator will show up and will start the excavation of the new home. Ron Reimer has been selected as the excavation contractor. He has been a trusted partner on many of our building projects over the years and Jim and I are pleased with his professional approach and his way of interacting with our clients that leaves them confident that the work is off to a good start.

At the site the position of the new house will be staked out and grades will be determined. This home will be a two story house with a 30" crawl space. First there is quite a bit of earth to be removed to get the site level then he will begin to dig the hole to create the surface for the footing to be formed and leveled.

If all goes well, we should be ready for the foundation contractor by the first of next week.
Building construction is a very exciting process and one that presents new challenges each and every day. Stay tuned and follow the that process with me.

If you have any question about the process from start to finish, post your question here and I'll get back to you soon.

Regards,

John Arthur Anderson, CPBD
President, Blueprint Design Consultants, Inc.
4071 Hannegan Road, Suite R
Bellingham, WA 98226
(360 733-7206 Fax (360) 733-4596
john@bdcgreen.com

Building Industry Association of Whatcom County,
American Institute of Building Design
National Council of Building Design certification
Master Builders Association, Design Professional Council
Built Green member

Hey, there is summer weather in the Pacific Northwest. Just in time we are breaking ground on a new home next week. Whether you are in need of a custom home design, you are remodeling, building an addition onto your home or building a new home, if you have any questions about the process or would like to talk about any issue pertaining to your project, let me know. Just place a post here and I'll get back to you right away.

I always get a charge out of the emotions people go through when beginning their building project. The atmosphere is filled with excitement and the shutter on the camera never stops for the next several months during construction.

Visit our Web site @ http://www.bdcgreen.com to learn more about our design firm.