Rebar, Rebar

The soil was finally compacted enough (102%, is that even possible?) to start laying down about forty miles of rebar for the second retaining wall. Originally they were supposed to pour concrete on Friday, but it was hot and windy, so they decided to add another twenty miles of rebar and pour next Wednesday when it should be cooler and less windy. Once the concrete is dry, they will backfill that wall, compact the soil, and have it tested for proper compaction. Then they can start on the last wall which is a lot shorter than the first two walls, but has to hold up the pool. They have about a third of the house pad dug down four feet from the original level and should be pouring the foundation in about 45 days.

We also met with the architect for the first time since we got the permits. Our major questions at this time are the placement of the downspouts and the placement of the pulldown staircase to the attic mechanical room. Although many houses in Clark County don't have any gutters at all (we only get four inches of rain per year on average), we will have ones that spill through pipes in the exterior walls. Some of the channels in the drawings seem to be placed through window areas. Oops! A more serious problem is the pulldown staircase to the attic mechanical area. Most of the prebuilt ones are only nine feet tall. Right now the staircase is scheduled to be placed in my studio closet which would have a lowered ceiling to accommodate it. Even though we would only use the staircase rarely, we still need to leave access for it. Which really limits the amount of storage space that my closet would have. It would be better if we could put the staircase in the ceiling of the hallway to the kitchen. Our contractors will research longer ladders.

Both our architect and contractors seem to be surprised that we have so few changes to the architectural drawings. I feel as if we have been living in the house already. We really have tried to think of every little detail. But I have to admit that I am getting excited about getting to the framing stage. Once there are three dimensional walls it is so much easier to see how everything fits together.