No More Dirt

Trenches for Plumbing
Steel Re-Bar Before the Pour
The Day of the Pour!

I knew that building this house would be a learning experience, but I had no idea how much I would learn. In my simple, simple mind I never contemplated how foundations are constructed, specifically how the pipes are placed, the cement formed to the exact shape of your house, etc. First, the slab people came and placed the forms for the house, which gave us a rough estimate of how big the house is, but nothing more than that. Next, the plumber came and placed the pipes in the ground in the various ditches they dug, which was followed by an inspection. Then the slab guys came back, dug the beams, tied the steel, covered the dirt with plastic, and poured the slab. Our first 'incident' happened when the slab crew sliced one our pipes down the middle! Monty took care of it, and the pipe was quickly fixed and the process continued without incident. Just another example of how much more calm and collected Monty is. I immediately wanted to know who was going to pay for the repair. We definitely balance one another. That is an extremely simplified version of the week's events, but the important part is that we now can really see what the house looks like. They will start framing next week; I can hardly wait to see the rooms!

Brick?!?

I never would have guessed that picking an exterior could have been so difficult. When we moved from San Antonio I had a vision in my head of rock and stucco, a San Antonio staple. When we arrived our plans took a new turn to match the entire town; we switched to brick. I had a very hard time with this because I had the other house pictured in my head (and on our plans)- with rock! The best thing about this decision is that Monty and I have identical taste in brick. We were able to narrow down a color without too much effort, and crazy enough both Acme and Hanson manufacture brick in Mineral Wells. After living in Mineral Wells from 7th-12th grade embarrassingly I had no idea! Here is a picture of the brick we chose. It is a bit hard to get a good feel for it in picture, but until you visit in person....