News from Thursday, July 7th - Saturday, July 9th

My apologies for getting so behind in updating our news . . . but, ya know, we've been just a little busy!

July 7th was a particularly exciting day because it brought the arrival of the cement crew! I graduated with the guy we hired to do the work, but it's kinda funny because you don't actually hire HIM to do the work . . . apparently you hire the people that HE'S hired! But, some of them locals, 1 from out of town, they have turned out to be a GREAT crew. 'Course, it never hurts to grease the skids with leftover birthday cake on one day and cold beer on another (once they're done for the day, of course)!

So, we (they) squared up the house and laid the forms for the special (because a heavy timberframe sits on it) house slab on Thursday.

Friday was full of more work from the guys including squaring and forming up the garage slab and then beginning the detailed work on the house slab. That included fine-tuning the inside perimeter digging to accommodate the trench footings and beginning to cut and lay the insulation for the frost-protected slab.

Saturday, the 9th dawned bright and beautiful and a lot too hot (as all the days have been lately) and brought the arrival of our electrician to begin the installation of the solar panels. Tom worked with him most of the day, and my folks drove out to deliver the Thermopex and two 6" x 20' culverts that Dad had kindly picked up and hauled over 160 miles for us. The Thermopex is expensive as hell tubing that carries the in-floor heating tubes externally under the ground from the Central Boiler to the garage and house. But, it's supposed to be the best stuff for the job on the market right now! The culverts will contain the Thermopex where it runs underneath areas that will be driven on. You can't risk a sharp stone going through the wall of that stuff!