You Have A Hole In Your WHAT?!

It has become evident to me now that I am not the faithful blogger that I was hoping to be. You know, the kind that has some fun, witty story to share every couple of days just baiting you, making you want more. Nope! That's not me. So, I've resigned myself to the fate of just the casual blogger that I've turned into.

For those of you who know me, which would be everyone that reads this blog (yes, all 13 of you), you know that I am rarely at a loss for words. I guess this house-building thing has me a bit too self-obsessed lately. To keep it short and sweet, here is the latest update:

The exterior of the home has been enclosed with the "Arizona standard" of styrafoam and chicken wire. This prepares the surface to accept the stucco that will later be sprayed on.

We decided to try to be a little "hi-tech" and ordered pre-wiring for surround sound in the living room. This required that we attend a frame/pre-drywall inspection so that we could verify the placement of the speaker connections and such. When we arrived and started the inspection, my attention was immediatly drawn to a suspicious looking pile of dirt next to what appeared to be two holes in our slab in what will become our kitchen. Here, have a look:
I was so distracted by the unsightly pile of rubble inside our new home that I found it extremely difficult to concentrate on the inspection. I sure hope D was paying attention, cuz I sure wasn't! Come to find out, during a routine test of the water lines and drain system, an under slab leak was discovered. Suspecting that the leak was coming from an intersection of several drains, they drilled in creating the rectangle-shaped hole. When they discovered that all of the fittings were intact, they opted to snake a camera through each line to isolate the leak and what they found was a wooden stake was driven straight thru another section of drain, thus the creation of the second, prefectly square hole. The picture to the left is what was fished out. So, construction has come to a screeching halt until the structural engineer can come out to verify the repairs are within code.

That's it for the house update. I really don't have anything else going on in my life right now. Work is good and I spend time with my friends when I can. I am really looking forward to moving into our new home then taking a break from working like crazy. Since today was a work day for me, it was dress shoes all the way...Jessica Simpson Abba in black suede.

Progress Report

Vacation is over and I'm back to work now. Work, work, work...that's all I ever seem to do these days. At least I have a job I love and the work is for a worthy cause - our new house! Since my last post, lots of things have happened. The slab was poured, and framing began. Here's a look at the progress that has been made...

So, this is how the progression of the above photos works: The first pic is of the slab (taken Monday, but slab was poured last Thursday). The second pic is of the first day of framing, which was Wednesday. The third pic is of the second day of framing, which was Thursday. I've been informed by a source close to the build (and confirmed by picture message) that the rest of the framing was completed today and the roof is completely covered!

I can't even begin to say how completely shocked/thrilled I am at how this build is progressing. I was able to go out to the property yesterday to take some interior pics:

The first pic is of the dining room/kitchen. See that pipe sticking out of the slab? OK, maybe you don't, but that would be the power supply for our new ISLAND!! The second pic is of the stairs and the third pic is taken from the garage looking through the stairs into the kitchen/dining room.

So, that's all for now, but as I have more progress to report, I'll pass it along! I think that may mean you'll hear from me sometime next week!! Till then...