What is inside of a moose?

Today I did up the inside sub-structure of the Mighty Moose. The sturdy steel tubing provided the strength to kae it stand. Now it was time for 1/4" pencil rod. With a little effort I could shape and bend the rod by hand. Once I was happy I would weld each piece in place. 

There will be more than 300 feet of steel in the moose when we are done. Then it will be time to carve the sign and start in on the concrete work. The deadline for his unveiling is only three weeks away.

I hear they will be having a competition to find him a suitable name.

-grampa dan

Gathering the building blocks

Today was a pedal to the metal day from the get-go. I got up bright and early to lay out the house before the suveyors arrived. They came early, just as we finished. While they set up Janis and I 'toured' the house one last time, just to make sure everything was right. The surveyors surveyed the site and then pounded in the pins on each of the corners of the house to make it official.

Then it was time to hook up the trailer to the truck and head to the local plant where they make the LOGIX Platinum Series ICF block. We will assemble these large blocks, much like LEGO, laying in rebar as we go, then fill the 8" cavity with a special mix of concrete. 

Monday morning the contractor begins buidling the forms for the footings. Once they fill those forms with concrete it will be time to begin stacking up the blocks to form the walls. I can hardly wait!

-grampa dan

Ready for actual building to begin!

Today was another big day on the house project. I was too busy to take any picures today. We brought in another 300 cubic yards of gravel, readying the excavation for the footings. I spent the day on the bulldozer and packer flattening out and tamping the aggregate. I did the last few passes after supper in the rain.

Tomorrow, the soils engineer does his last inspection and the surveyor will be here to pin the corners of the new house ensuring we get it in the right place.. I'll be taking the box trailer to the our local LOGIX manufacturer to start picking up the foam blocks we need to form the walls. Monday morning, bright and early the necessary lumber and rebar arrive along with the contractor's crew to begin forming the footings.

We have selected Western Concrete Ltd to supply our concrete needs. They are a small local company who we proudly support. 

It is exciting to see the first steps of our new house come together. There is so much to do yeet but at long last we are actually starting to se the results of our planning, dreaming and hard work.

Stay tuned for more real progress...

-grampa dan