Construction is in full swing!

So after almost one week of construction, it looks like a big  pile of dirt!  But there's been a lot of progress...
After the surveyor came out and located all the corners of the building, the perimeter of the building was laid out with batter boards and forms for the slab and the steel for the foundations were delivered.

 

Bill and I posed for a picture.  But I know he wanted to hurry up and unload his truck!











Rebar

The deep foundations had to be dug in the few spots that we had them--in the connection between the 2 rectangular volumes (Thanks to Juan Fernandez, I learned about "portal frames":)  Kevin had his mini-bobcat out there... This thing was mini!

I had heard that the soil was hard in this area, so when I saw this little thing, I worried!  But for the most part, it did ok (other than breaking down once or twice and not being able to get the last small part of a foundation that was solid rock!)
After the foundations, the dirt fill was placed to the approximate level of the bottom of the slab.  
Meanwhile, Santi and his helpers worked feverishly for 2 days trying to tear down the last little bits of the remaining walls with chipping/sledge hammers

and by Friday, everything looked great....til Tommy got there on Saturday!  Tommy and I met there early and laid out all the underground plumbing lines,
including the Camper waste line way out in the yard... We spray painted them on the ground after completely redesigning the plumbing layout to avoid plumbing lines running thru the deep foundations. This is the kind of thing ONLY an owner/builder/architect can do ON SITE!  After a couple of hours of that, Tommy's backhoe arrived to dig trenches...  This thing was a little more equipped to handle the terrain!  Before 4pm, he was done, and all that was left to do was reassemble the chain link fence and we called it a day.
Next steps--put in the pipes, get the temporary electrical hooked up (so I can stop borrowing from my awesome neighbors, Orlando and Dora, who I consider GOOD friends already!)  and put in the underground electrical/mechanical and prep for the slab pour...  Stay tuned!!

It's January 16th....

...and construction didn't exactly start, but some progress has been made.  Thomas Garcia (Tommy the Plumber, or Plommy the Tummer, as Max and Ceci like to call him!) came by and got the water meter hooked up, a big truck of clean fill came in and dumped it on the site, and a 20 yard trash container was dropped off.  I'm happy that something happened and unhappy that something was stolen from the site already!  That's right, stolen!  My Picnic Table/Construction Site Conference Table has been claimed by someone who thought that it either belonged to them or thought that this was an abandoned property, even though the No Trespassing signs are clearly displayed.  I have spoken to Miami Police about the situation.  Let's see what that does...
Anyway, I'm really excited to see things starting to move after a month of sitting idle.  I hope to be writing often throughout the process.  I have a prediction that I'll be moving in on -- October 31, 2012. 

 First truck arrives and thankfully, the dumpster wasn't here yet!
 










Then the dumpster arrives.  Watch out you don't hit the tree with your exhaust!

Ooops! The tree may have won...












So now the site is ready for January 17.

Starting construction on the 16th of January...

At least that's what I'm told... who knows really, though.  There's so much that needs to happen.  As a contractor for the first time, (other than smaller projects without permits!) I'm learning what it takes to do this... I know this process is going to be a heck of an eye-opener.  I know that I will be able to relate to my homeowner clients better and be more sympathetic to their issues.  Maybe it's the kind of thing that every Architect should do earlier in our careers (if only we could afford it earlier!) Tasks like ordering a floating meter, to temporary electric, to negotiating fees with subs, and pulling permits... These are only the beginning.  I know. Now I need to get a dumpster company, and hire the surveyor to locate the "4 corners".  I think I'll order it WITH offsets... I'm learning alot already!  Anyway, January 16, Kevin from CKA Construction should start digging footers...
Stay Tuned!!