The last week and a half have been a whirlwind watching our home come together! Excavation was completed within a few hours and the guys were able to quickly move into the footings and foundation phase. We had to fight the weather a bit in the beginning due to heavy rain. But once that cleared up, they got to work on the footings and then building the basement and crawl space walls!
I was really excited to watch this process because with my job, it’s not a part I have ever really gotten to see! I went up often to get a closer look at the details — the forms, rebar, etc.
It was also fun to see them pouring the concrete and watching how they smooth it out — a bit mesmerizing! They started with the footings, then poured, then we had to wait a day for that to dry. It’s funny how each step we take feels more exciting than the last, and more “real” than the last. Progress happens each day and it takes shape bit by bit.
Next, they worked on the basement and crawl space walls. I was honestly a bit freaked out seeing how tall the forms for the basement were. We could see them from the bottom of the hill! It made it seem like the house was going to be standing up out of the ground like a castle! There will be a lot of ground work to do to flatten it all back out and create soft slopes, but not as much as I was worried about originally.
The basement walls were built at 9′-0.” The reason for this is because we are wanting a flat walk-out to the back patio and at the front door. So what will happen is the floor joists will actually sink a foot below the top of the concrete walls. This will give us the flush walk out, as well as allow us to maintain an 8′-0″ ceiling height in the basement.
We also discussed the egress window in the basement. Often times in client’s homes, I see egress windows and they seem so high off the ground. 44″ off the ground is the maximum height it can be off the ground. But to me, that’s too much. Considering the point of the egress window is to have an escape route, that’s not an easy height to climb. Especially for children! So we requested to have the egress window 36″ (basically your standard counter height) from the floor. This will allow for easier access AND it will make the window feel more part of the room. On the other hand, it does create a deeper window well.
If you follow my stories on Instagram, you may have seen the poll we took on window well styles. We are debating between a simple metal grate with landscaping in front of it, or a fully landscaped/terraced wall. Our issue is the egress window is on the front of the house, fairly close to the front door. I think we will go with the more minimalist metal cover, even though I like the aesthetic the other option would have created for the basement bedroom.
Check out the final video reveal of the foundation below:
Anyway, it is really starting to look like a house! Next week they will start waterproofing, and we are hoping to have the basement plumbing and slab go in shortly after!
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