Digging the Hole

When I left here last Sunday Lot 4 was a jumble of tree stumps and brush piles.  Yesterday morning I found the site jumble-free, graded, and ready for business.  R.J. had knocked a couple feet off the ridge where the house will sit, filled in what used to be a hole under the garage's northeast corner, and shaped a curving driveway.  The transformation was remarkable.

The driveway curves into the site.

In spite of yesterday's early morning thunderstorms, and with a smoothed-out site to work with, Kyle and Dave quickly set the line for the house's west (lake) side — 60 feet from the water — and then flagged the house and garage footprints.  My lot, which had once seemed so large, has shrunk!  When you mark out space for a house, garage, driveway, and septic field, there isn't a lot of space left over!

(L. to r.) R.J., Kyle and Dave discuss siting the house.

After consulting with Jim, the masonry contractor, Kyle and Dave presented me with a decision about the foundation.  Option 1 was to go with the planned 6-foot tall crawl space.  Option 2 was to have a full basement under the entire house.  They explained that a full basement would somewhat simplify the foundation work.  I decided to go with the basement.  (I have to trust Jim's judgment on this.  He is not only well respected as a mason, but he is also the building inspector for several Alpena-area townhips.)

R.J. starts work on the hole which will become a house.

At that point R.J. got busy excavating the hole which will accommodate the foundation starting next Tuesday, if all goes as planned.  R.J. found that the deeper he dug, the larger the rocks!  He hasn't found any that might qualify as landscape accents, but we're definitely into the bowling ball and beach ball sized stones.  I told him I might make use of available material and create a rock garden.  R.J. asked how many rock gardens I planned!  I have enough stone to create several dozen!  Some of the material dug from the hole will be used for backfill after the foundation walls are finished, but a lot will have to be hauled off the site.  There's just no place to put it.

Sharon and Attila invited us to share the monthly potluck.  There's no shortage of food at this event!

We ended the day at the Presque Isle Harbor Association's Clubhouse for the monthly potluck, attended by about 75.  People were encouraged to sign up for activities ranging from theater trips to the Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk to decorating for a community Christmas party.  It's going to take me some time to adjust to life in a place so chockablock with retirees.  Am I ready for such single-minded pursuit of fun?  I just don't know.  •••