Blog

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas.  Our kids and grandkids are with their in-laws so we are home for Christmas.  Church this morning, sharing small gifts, and a great meal prepared by U.W. have made for a relaxing Christmas day for us.

Many have been asking if the GarageDominium would be ready for Christmas.  While that would have been a great Christmas present, it did not happen, nor was it expected.  We hope to be complete sometime in January.

Weather is always a factor in construction and this project is no exception. For the most part the weather has been favorable for this build.  The heat was bad in the summer, but it didn’t slow down the work.  Cold weather has not been a problem either.  Although they did weatherize the house this past week due to the exceptional cold over the last few days. 

We’ve only had one rain delay that I know of and that happened last week.  The plan was to pour the driveway and a pad for the A/C unit on Monday.  The site was graded, and the forms were set.  But it rained most of the day on Monday.  Delays have been typical, but this was potentially a big one.  A big cold front with sub-freezing temperatures was predicted for Thursday afternoon.  Christmas was only a few days away, so getting a crew was iffy. 

If we didn’t do the pour by Tuesday, it would be January before it could be done. This would have set back other critical items, particularly the appliances.  Since the forms and grading are complete, we can’t use the driveway to access the house.  Moving appliances in would be difficult and the contractors wouldn’t do it.  However, the concrete contractor was able to find a concrete plant that could deliver on Tuesday.

They started the pour about 9 am Tuesday.  The site was a muddy mess.  But we had a good base for the driveway, so the cement trucks were able to deliver their loads.  It took 9 truckloads of concrete to complete the driveway.  It was too muddy to get to workshop entrance and the storage shed.  Both of those need small pads in front of the doors.  They can do those later.  The concrete crew finished up on Tuesday evening using the headlights from a pickup.  They were on site until 8 pm, well after dark.

They did a good job on this big driveway.  Even the local wildlife approved as evidenced by the raccoon tracks that meandered through about 2/3’s of the driveway the night of the pour.

The site looks a lot different with a driveway.  Turnkey Builders has made progress in other areas including electrical and cabinets.  Contractors are working on interior details.  Due to the driveway delay, they put off appliance delivery until December 28.    We’ve met with the landscaper a couple of times now so he should be starting his work soon.  His first project is to build some stone retaining walls.  We’re hoping for steady progress from all trades over the next couple of weeks.