Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Foundation - Check!

The foundation is set! They poured it Thursday, Dec. 16th and took some of the forms down on Saturday. They probably have them all down now. We are hoping that the plumber can make it out and get everything ready for them to pour the basement floor so that they can get that done before Christmas. The cold weather is slowing things up a little, but we are getting closer!

Bernadette stands beside the north side of the house.
She is freezing in case you couldn't tell.

Both girls stand in our "secret room". We decided to put a
storm shelter under the front porch and that is where they
are standing.
This is a view of the basement. Notice the door in the back:
That is where the storm shelter will be.

The view from the northeast corner of the house.

A view from the southeast corner.

This is the inside of our "secret room".

The garage. It is still framed as of this picture.

The south side of our house.

As of now, it looks like they will get started framing after the first of the year, so we are looking forward to that.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Foundation

When building a house, it is vital to have a good foundation. We were hoping to have ours poured by now, but after driving out today, we discovered that it hasn't been poured yet. It is all framed in and ready to be poured, now we just have to wait for the weather to cooperate.


















Additionally, OPPD (Omaha Public Power District) came out and got us ready for power! We're hoping that this location is just temporary, as it seems kind of a weird placement for it, but we'll see what happens.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Meeting the neighbors

While we were out looking at our footings, a guy pulled up and introduced himself. His name was Kevin and he is the neighbor that lives down the shared driveway.

After talking to him for a while we learned that about the neighbors, about the land around us, and a little about the history of our acreage.

Apparently, he first listed it in 2006. He advertised in the local papers and was approached by a guy to look at it. The guy said our acreage wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but offered to buy the spot where Kevin's house is along with our land. For the 10+ acres, he first offered $300,000. While it was tempting, Kevin thought it was a joke. The guy then offered $350,000. Kevin still held firm. The guy offered $400,000, but Kevin thought the guy was just messing with him and said "No deal".

A couple nights later, Kevin was watching the news and was surprised to see the guy on TV, being interviewed and asked what he would do with his lottery winnings. He was one of the guys that split the huge jackpot!

Well after a couple of months, Kevin listed the property with an agent. It was viewed a number of times, and quickly swiped up by a couple. He was a lawyer in Lincoln. She was a nurse in Council Bluffs. They were excited to get started and began to look into building their house. However, over the next few months, they decided to relocate. We're not sure where they moved to as we have heard Minnesota, Omaha, Council Bluffs, Auburn, and various other locations. At any rate, the listed the land. Interestingly enough, the land, which had been a huge draw last time it was on the market, lasted almost a year before we first discovered it. It could have been because on the real estate website it was shown as being 4 miles east of its real location. Then came that day when we found it... and the rest, as they say, is history (which can be read in our blog).

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Footings - Check!

We went out today, Wednesday, December 8, over Jeremy's lunch hour. Chris had told us that our footings were poured, so we went to see them. Sure enough it was. In fact, we found the guys who are pouring the foundation setting up their frames. They left for the lunch hour, and we snapped a few pictures.

The footings around the garage

A look at what will soon be our basement

More of their concrete forms



We also met another of our neighbors, the original owner of this property. More on this to come.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Up, up, up...

The two older girls have really been enjoying our trips to the house. Part of their excitement is seeing where their "Castle" is going to be. They have been really looking forward to moving into the dream house. The other reason that they are enjoying our trips are the hills. As we drive up a hill, they both chant "Up, up, up, up..." and then after we have reached the top, the both squeal "Weeeee!" Not quite the little piggy, but it is still a lot of fun.


Footings

The footings are dug. We went out and took a look today and it was so exciting. We can't believe it is all happening. They are supposed to pour the footings on Monday, so we are looking forward to that. Here are some pictures we took today:
This is the south side of our house. You can see the footing holes.

The footing for the southeast corner of the house.

Bernadette standing in what will someday be our basement.
 
A shot from the east side of the hole.

This "hill" marks where our garage will be.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Can you dig it!?!

Chris sent us some more pictures tonight. They got the hole dug. They put down some special sheets that keep the ground from freezing. See the pictures below of our new hole. Don't worry, we're not hobbits. Soon enough our hole will grow into a house.


From the northeast corner of our hole facing southwest.

The blanket marks what will be our garage. Our neighbors
houses can be seen in the background.

The front of our house. This is taken from the garage area
facing south.

This is from the northwest corner of the house (standing in the
garage) and facing southeast. Notice the back comes out flat
 for our walkout basement.
Before leaving for the day, this is a picture taken of the view from our front
porch of what we have to look forward to each evening for years to come.

With the digging done, we look forward to them getting the footings ready. After the footings are set, we should find out what our new address will be.

Breaking ground

Shortly after noon on Wednesday, Dec 1, Chris emailed me to let us know that they had broken ground! Our dream is moving closer to becoming a reality!