Everyone enjoyed another blue-sky, California day. It was warm and beautiful (for a winter day).

After receiving approval from the City of Monte Sereno, we ordered the rigid insulating foam today and scheduled delivery for Monday (there is adequate space at the front of the project site). As well, we scheduled the shotcrete lagging for Wednesday. This lagging will go on the east and west walls, and on the first four feet of the north and south walls.

With the lagging in place, the 40 psi rigid foam insulation will be placed on the 3/4 inch crushed rock and around the perimeter walls. Then, the waterproofing will on on top of the rigid foam insulation, forming the outer hull of the ‘concrete boat’. With the waterproofing in place, we can pour the three inch working slab.

Yeah, lots to do in a couple weeks. It looks like 10-day weather forecast has rain on Thursday (with 10% chance on Tuesday and Wednesday).

View of south-east corner of site with excavation for plumbing.

With the drains in place and connected to the sump pit, we’re now collecting water. Yes, the cover to the sump pit is screwed down safely.

Water collecting from pipes leading to the sump pit.

We met with our designer, John Rider, to review the exterior plans for the south-east corner of the house, which is starting to look quite busy and complicated. John’s firm, Jrider + Design, is now located in Campbell on Hamilton Avenue so he is only a few minutes away now.

Jrider + Design.

We were addressing the placement of the rainwater catchment system and how the various utilities enter the house from the street. With an underground cistern planned, the utilities cannot go straight into the house. Completing these details required calls to both our civil engineer, Casey Carlson, and our plumbing firm, Wenger Plumbing. As usual, John did his magic on the model (using ArchiCAD v12).

John doing magic with ArchiCAD v12.

Back to the site to button it up. The site is looking safe and secure.

Site secured with holes covered.

Although the days are very short, the weather was amazing today. It was hot in the beautiful sunshine, allowing the team to get the wire mesh attached to the soil walls and continue grooming the 3/4 inch crushed rock.

The infrastructure under the house will never been seen again, and this is an area where it is easy to cut corners as it is difficult to verify. The photos below show that the design of the drains is being followed, and the actual drains are being constructed as per the design (plans).

There are only two penetrations of the waterproofing. One penetration is in the window well (see below).

Drain in window well.

The other penetration of the waterproofing is in the stairwell (see below). In both photos, you can see the black dimpled drain material against the soil that is covered with the wire mesh. The drain material is to allow a path for water so it flows down the outside of the walls to the crushed rock, where the water will then flow into the perforated pipes, which then flow into the sump pit. The wire mesh is for the shotcrete lagging on the vertical soil wall.

Drain in stairwell and groomed crushed rock for plumbing.

The two drains that are from the window well and stair well are joined prior to being attached to the sump pit.

Drains to sump pit.

Jorge and Tim were reviewing the plans to ensure that the insulation that will arrive on Monday can be placed exactly where it is required. The insulation will be either Owens Corning Foamular 400 or Dow’s Highload 40. Both of these competing products are high compressive strength (40 lbs per sq inch) and R-10 insulating value (2 inches thick). We are insulating the slab because of the radiant heating in the slab.

Tim and Jorge reviewing plans.

Craig Butcher, Chief Safety Officer from TEAMWRKX, our general contractor, came to the site to review the safety practices in place to date.

Craig Butcher arrives on site to review safety.

Craig liked the safe and secure site, noting the railings around the temporary site office were looking good. As we move into the next phase of construction, he will be arranging for some additional signage and recommended that we follow several leading safety practices. One of the objectives of this project is to have a safe and secure site, with no injuries.

Railing in place around temporary site office.

After the work had shut down for the day, one of our neighbors, John McLaren, dropped by to see the progress. John lives around the corner on Daves Avenue and, in July 2008, wrote a letter to Monte Sereno’s Site and Architecture Commission in support of our proposed development. He commented that, to date, the construction activity on our site has not bothered him or his family.

John, taking a quick call, while observing progress to date.

We had our weekly meeting this morning and reviewed the project status and issues. Everyone is thankful for the great weather so we’re “makin’ hay’ as the expression goes. However, Northern California needs rain in a big way.

Bill Brown was on site this morning, giving succinct directions on the final grooming of the 3/4 inch crushed rock that the insulation will be placed on.

Bill on site directing his team.

Also, Bryan met with the project engineer at Pacific Gas & Electric to work through the design issues that were identified. It was a good meeting as the alternatives were explored and solutions identified. There are many services being concentrated at the south-east corner of the house and, although workable, will require detailed planning and on-site coordination.

At the end of the work day, the crushed rock was looking perfect!

Crushed rock - east view.

Crushed rock - center view.

Crushed rock - west view.

Bryan and his father, John, got the shelf unit completed, site office doors trimmed and finished, and half of the OSHA railing in place (it was getting dark!).

Shelf unit in temporary site office.

Finished door with trim.

Railing in place, just before darkness.

With the soil dry and easy to work on, the geotextile fabric went down with the underslab drainage into the sump pit in place. Ready for the 3/4 inch crushed rock. Once these components are complete, let it rain!

Crushed rock in truck with attached spreader.

Truck driver controlling spreader remotely with wireless unit.

After the weekend, everyone was rested and keen to use the great weather to complete the infrastructure to prepare for the shotcrete walls and the working slab.

Drain from stairwell to sump, which will penetrate the waterproofing.

Pete Janovich of Bill Brown Construction directing the team.

Preparing excavation for plumbing in south-east corner.

Pete reviewing site work.

Geotextile fabric in pllace, ready for 3/4 inch crushed rock.

What not to do … download a printer driver from a non-HP site and install it.

We picked up a very, very nasty virus and somehow it disabled Symantec’s Norton Anti-Virus and lodged itself in Bryan’s notebook. Not good.

Several ‘chat’ sessions with Symantec’s ‘consultants’ in India where they took remote control of the PC, used regedit and removed the offending instructions from the Registry, etc. and we were back online. Yes, $100 for the services.

Resolving the issue consumed three hours and put the notebook out of commission for almost 12 hours.

As they say, ‘Be good. And, if you can’t be good, be careful.‘