"One house was built on sand, the other on rock. The house on the rock withstood the weather, the one built on sand did not fair so well." As we are all familiar with this biblical story. So, why is it that our house is built on rock and sand? Of course, we want out house to be built on a strong foundation. But, what makes a strong foundation?
The past few weeks workers have been digging up the limestome on our property and dumping sand on top of the stone. I did a little research and it turns out that if the concrete foundation was poured directly onto the limestone, we would have irrigation problems. Ground water seeps through the foundation and reeks havoc on the foundation, indoor air quality, heating costs and flooring systems.
In order to avoid these problems, engineers figured out that if you put sand on top of the stone, water is able to flow freely from the foundation. A "vapor barrier" is placed on top of the sand, to prevent (or slow) water from seeping from the ground up into the foundation.
Like watching a pot of water boil, we have been watching our foundation being built. Last week daily progress could be seen. First, sand was dumped into the newly excavated hole. Then, the sand was compacted down and troughs were cut into the sand. Finally, water pipes were laid.
April 28, 2010
April 29, 2010
April 30, 2010
Then everything stopped. In the past six day absolutely nothing has happened. Nothing. Our daily visits (don't judge) to the property became more and more frustrating (as the temperature outside got hotter and hotter). But, thankfully, today, some minor progress was made. The pipes are all covered up and the vapor barrier has been draped over the sand cubes.
May 7, 2010
Based on what happened over at our neighbor's house, I believe that the next step is to put re-barb wire over the water vapor and then (finally) pour the concrete.
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