We’re 7 days from Christmas! Ideally we’d have our foundation totally completed and backfilled by then, but at this point it’s more likely we’ll be welcoming 2019 with that milestone. We’ll take it!

With the footer poured and cured, the focus turned to forming the stem walls and lots and lots of snow removal.

December 1-5 were all about snow removal. So. Much. Shoveling.

Beginning on December 5, our team from Majestic Construction started the footer wall forms. First, they placed the exterior wall form, then created the rebar structure and placed the interior wall form. I imagined it as a rebar sandwich. Ha!

One stem wall form in place, with the rebar structure on the interior.

On December 12, the pumper trucks arrived to pour the concrete (the sauce on the sandwich). My parents also arrived that day! Yay! They’ll be here all winter long and we’re so thankful for extra hands to help with things on site and things at home. We couldn’t do this without you, Mom and Dad!

Forms complete, concrete poured, and the warming hoses distributed.

The most important thing with pouring concrete in the winter is keeping everything warm so it will cure properly. Our trusty Versa Heat ground heater and the insulated concrete blankets have become Kelsey’s BFFs. After the stem walls were poured, he and the crew draped the hoses from the ground heater around the forms and covered everything in the concrete blankets. The blankets made it look like the foundation was dressed up for a holiday party in a warm, cozy sweater. So many metaphors goin’ on here.

That same night of December 12, Kelsey was up at the lot securing everything when a mini-blizzard came through! It was so windy and snowy that night that I couldn’t even get the kids over to swim lessons from Frisco to Silverthorne. But, he persevered up at the lot and got everything in place. He said he was going to be gone for 90 minutes, it was more like 4 hours.

So, from December 12 until today, here’s Kelsey’s daily schedule…

11:00 pm - 6:00 am - Toss and turn and worry that something is going wrong with the ground heater. Have nightmares that the stem walls have crumbled.
7:00 am - Check the ground heater and breath a sigh of relief that everything is still working.
8:00 am - Come back to the condo to take the boys to school and daycare so I can get to work.
9:00 am - Purchase 43.6 gallons ($125.00 each day) of diesel fuel for the heater. Shovel and make sure concrete blankets are secure.
5:30 pm - Come home for dinner and some family time.
9:00 pm - Go check on the ground heater and the concrete blankets.
REPEAT

Yesterday, our crew started removing the concrete forms and wrapped up removing everything today! Yes!

Forms off on the north wall! The inset area is where our main entrance will be!

Kelsey purchased the damp proofing material, dimple drain, material for the French drain and insulation board. Basically, all of this material protects and diverts water away from the foundation. More on that later!

What’s next:

Damp proofing the stem walls
French drain around perimeter and cover with 3/4 inch washed rock
Dimple drain on north and west walls
Insulation on exterior stem walls
Backfill
Install steel beam across the center of the foundation
Install floor joists and sheathing

Ideally, we’ll have everything backfilled by January 1. Then, it’s time to start going up! When it comes time to install the floor joists and sheathing, we’ll need some extra help.

If you’re interested in a volunteer day (we’ll feed you and take you to our favorite Silverthorne brewery, Angry James), let us know! And, we might get some 9,290 Crew shirts to make it even more official!

Thanks for all the love and support. We can feel and hear all your cheers from near and far!

Merry Christmas! We hope your holidays are bright and merry!

Cory