Prepping for the Basement Floor

Today they waterproofed the walls (that's the black coating you see in the pictures), put the heat coils in the ground and stubbed the piping into the basement for the geothermal, did the underground piping for the plumbing and backfilled with rock to prepare for pouring the basement floor today. See pictures below.

The Walls Are In

There's No Turning Back Now........

Yes, we have officially begun construction on our new home!

Not only did they start digging today, but we also got our footings poured as the sun decended over the beautiful countryside.

This is the view from what will be our future living room and front windows.

We can't wait!

Links to Green Products

Here are the links to the green products we are planning/researching for use in our home:

www.bondedlogic.com - Ultratouch recycled blue jean insulation
www.shawfloors.com - Recycled content carpet
www.sherwin-williams.com - Green Paint
www.ccrane.com - LED Lighting

Maybe Not This Year....

Ok, so with everything Mother Nature has been dealing us this month, it is unlikely we will get the foundation in this year. Unless we have a decent thaw in January or February we won't be digging until March. Of course we're bummed as we were getting really excited about starting but we'd rather have a good product than rush it and try to pour in cold temperatures and risk it freezing.

Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise: will give us time to get our house ready for selling, give us more time to sell the house before we move into the new one and finalize all of our design issues prior to starting.

On the flip side, I already have the boys on the list to start daycare on June 1 so we'll have to figure out what we do with that, actually start them even though we don't live there or take our chances waiting until Aug 1, but then what if they're full? The other drawback is whether we will actually be able to get in before school starts for Tay, it will all depend on the type of spring we have and how soon we can dig. Builder is estimating 6 months from start to finish, so that would put us at the end of August IF we are able to start March 1. This is even harder as I would have liked to have moved in and be settled before Tay started school so everything wouldn't be so chaotic.

Seems ironic we are in this position since we bought the lot 2 years before we wanted to be living there and have had all this time to plan. Used to think we were way ahead of the game, but now, not so much. We knew this would be the risk we would take when we decided to try and get the foundation done in late November. Who knew December would be like this compared to the last 3 years?

Sometime later this week, I'll post some links to the 'green' things we are going to do.

---Amy

Well we were slated to start digging today, but mother nature has other plans for us. Until the temperatures settle down, we're in a holding pattern. There is a possibility of digging this weekend (temps projected to be low 40's) and pouring the foundation on Monday. The foundation guy said if it was his house, he would like to see above freezing temps for 3 days and lows not less than 18 degrees. We're not in a hurry, we want to make sure the product is good.

Not sure how many people know this but we are trying to do a lot of 'green' things with our home. The major one is having a geothermal heat system. I think the last energy audit we saw from Alliant shows we will save $50,000 over the next twenty years in heating costs. Also along the energy line, we have designed the house to take advantage of the south and west exposure for sun. A couple of other green ideas that we are researching but haven't decided on are:

Recycled blue jeans (cotton) insulation (scraps that are recycled from blue jean manufacturers)
Harvesting our rainwater for irrigation
Harvesting our drainwater (grey water) for flushing the toilets
Recycled material carpet
Recycled material - hard surface flooring (in place of ceramic tile)
LED lights
A 'green' paint product with no VOC's (volatile organic compounds)
Buffalo grass (native to Iowa and doesn't have to be mowed as often as bluegrass)
Native Iowa plants that are used to Iowa's possible dry/wet climate.

As far as design items, we are looking at a darker color for the exterior, like burgundy, forest green or brown. Inside colors will be 'warm' colors. The kitchen cabinets will be Rustic Hickory, that will have knots and streaks in them, trim and doors will be knotty pine. Stairway will also have a top and bottom rail that is Alder (another type of rustic wood) with oil rubbed bronze spindles. Appliances (which we already purchased) will be black. The stove will be a flat top and the refrigerator will have french doors on the top with a bottom drawer freezer. Countertops will be a laminate material, but a new one called high definition laminate that seriously some of the patterns look like real granite. You would have to walk up and touch it to know the difference. Wood burning fireplace in the living room.

Pray for mother nature to give us some warmer temps to at least get the foundation in soon!

---Amy

Not Yet........

Well, we now have a digger (backhoe) on site but no digging. Due to the potential bad weather coming up this weekend the wall contractor has asked that we hold off on excavating until next Monday.



So, we continue to wait but at least have some equipment on site for the kids to climb on.

We're Digging!!

Well, our family is at least.

Thought you all might enjoy some pictures of the kids and our whole family taking our first dig at the lot where our new house will start construction this week. Thanks to Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Sue for going out with us on the windy and brisk morning to take pictures. The contractor hopes to start digging for the basement on Wednesday, with the foundation walls to follow.

House Plans

Shown here are the most recent house plans for our future home in West Branch. Aside from small changes and modifications to the final budget we are ready to roll. In talking to our builder today, J & K Builders, we are looking to break ground and start excavating November 26th.

Future Lot

Well, as most of you know Amy and I have purchased a lot just outside of West Branch, on the east side, in preparations of building a new house in the near future. This lot is 2.8 acres and is located in Cedar County. The lot slopes from left to right as you look at it, and contains a tree line along the back side.

Welcome

Welcome everyone to the Boelk 5 Blog! We hope to use this as a way to keep all of our friends and family up to date on our busy lives. In particular, we plan to track the upcoming building of our new house, as well as the constant activity resulting from our children. We hope you enjoy.