Last week was the week of the plumber and this week we thought would bring the digging of the new well, but it was a surprise when we pulled up to the house on Monday night. They poured the floors of the front and rear additions and buried the plumbers work right into the slab.

The week of 8/18/08 was the week of the Plumber. We have had a very dry August, and this week was no exception - and it was hot, too. He worked almost every day onsite to get the bathroom roughed in, the laundry roughed in and the gas lines in place before they came out to pour the slab floors in the living room extension and back hallway addition. You can see the gas line sticking up from the back living room addition where the gas log fireplace will be located.

The well was going to be relocated during this week, but it was pushed back so that the concrete trucks could pour the floor with ease and not disturb the new well location. The existing well has to be moved b/c it needs to be further from the structure. We have never had a problem with our well over the past nine years, but getting a new one will be a nice addition to update the property. It will be located only about 10ft away from the existing well in the backyard.

We took a break from the action August 6-10, 2008. Sean, Madeleine and I visited Ontario Canada to continue our vacation tradition of renting a house on the water. This time we found a wonderful cottage in Amhurstburg along the Detriot River, where all we could hear was the movement of the water and the whisper of the willow tree -- needless to say, it was a welcomed change from the jackhammering and bulldozing!

When we arrived at dusk at home, I didn't notice any changes. Sean continued to point out that the huge piles of excavated earth had been backfilled back in and the landscape around the foundation was somewhat level. The ducts have all been laid in the new living spaces and the vents are installed and capped where they will lay.

This week they are getting bids for drilling a new well. Originally, the architect felt the existing well may be able to stay, but the health department wants it moved. So.....that is the first part of the project that is an "additional item", per say - not a part of the original plan. Ok, so we are hoping that everything else stays on track and that we don't rack up a bunch of additional items cuz you know they don't come free ;)

It is fun to watch Madeleine's reaction each time she visits, about every other weekend, because something is always missing or added and makes for great conversations when she is in town. She even likes to look at the plans!

Lots of earth moved during the last week of July 2008. Huge piles of excavated material formed at the front and the rear of the yard. We thought about harvesting the stones that were revealed, but Sean's Dad pointed out that they were frail and not suitable to last even in landscape design or interior effect.

The top pic is very dark, but if you look closely to the right of the washing machine you can see a guy with his shirt off who is digging a trench at the back of the garage. He spent most of the morning digging the trenches - just when we thought they were done with that part, they dug them even deeper.

The week of July 28, 2008 included the full demolition of the shed slab floor and the completion of digging the trenches in the garage to prepare for installation of the ductwork so the HVAC professionals can begin their work.

Also this week, the doors and windows were ordered and well-drillers are sought out to install a new well. The existing well is too close to the new structures, so a new one will be installed. They are going to include a hook up that will lay dormant JUST IN CASE we are ever offered to hook up to public water -- though free water is just fine for now!

Yes, this was a Saturday morning about 9am. Hum.... yeah, so I guess it is good that the work is getting done, right? No matter what day of the week. Work for Sean and I has been extremely busy, but there is "no rest for the wicked" (a quote from one of my clients this week). Because there were no footers at the shed slab where the new office will be located, they have to remove the concrete to make way for footers and new floor.

In the garage they are working on digging trenches around the perimeter so that they can lay the new ductwork through the new media room and office and also through the new family room addition. It took them about a week to jackhammer all of the concrete away, and then they started digging through the gravel and fill to make the trenches deep enough.