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Excavation


Finally, we were ready to begin construction in May 2008.


The process started with excavation of our basement, which is being tucked into the hillside.

Excavating a maple stump
May 2008


Dave Monsaas, of High Meadows Excavation, was an expert with his excavator.


He started by pulling out the few stumps in the homesite's "footprint," and we spent several days -- mostly rainy days -- burning them.

Burning stumps
May 2008

Then he began excavating in earnest.

Excavation
May 2008

He carved away at the hillside...

Excavation
May 2008

...and carefully lined out the locations of the footers, which would support the load-bearing walls.



Soils testing had indicated that the hillside is mostly deep sandy soil, overlying a layer of silty-clay that is closer to the surface at the bottom of the hill.

Excavation
May 2008

We were surprised to discover, as he excavated, that there was silty-clay close to the surface on the eastern one-third of the home's footprint. The western two-thirds was the expected sand.



The sand and silty-clay were not separated in distinct layers. Instead there were pockets of silty-clay within the sand. You can see these in the photo to the right, where the clay-sand is wet while the sand has dried.

Interspersion of
sand (lighter) and silty-clay (darker)


We called in our geotechnical consultant, who required that a thick layer of rock be laid down and compacted to support the footers.

Excavation
May 2008


Repeated compaction was necessary, until geotechnical testing indicated that it had sufficient load-bearing capability.

Excavation
May 2008


As Dave excavated, he very carefully separated the sand from the silty-clay. The sand will be very useful in backfilling, while the silty-clay holds too much water.


When he was done, we covered all of the excavated soil with black plastic, secured by staked-down sandbags, to help protect it and minimize erosion in the rain.



Next:  Concrete Work...

Excavated soil covered with black plastic


Getting Ready | Well | Milling Wood | Excavation | Concrete
Framing | More Framing | Plumbing | Electrical | Floors | Roofing

What's Happening Now:
Late Oct | Early Nov | Mid-Nov | Late Nov | Early Dec | Late Dec
Early Jan | Late Jan | Early Feb | Late Feb | Early March | Mid-April - Done!