Breaking Ground

It is hard to believe that we are finally breaking ground on our house! The process so far has been amazing. The official breaking ground date was Tuesday, February 19. It is really fun to see months, actually years, of planning coming to life. In this picture they are mapping out where the footings will be dug.The footings were dug and filled with concrete and rebar. Next the block crew came in and built our stemwalls and piers. I can't believe how much I have already learned about building a house. We are being the general contractor for the project. So far it has been great. I am trying to stay really organized so I have this huge notebook that I take everywhere with me. I keep all the subs names and phone numbers as well as bids and notes close at hand. We will see if I am still on top of it in about six months! :)
The block is now completed. The next step is to grout the entire inside of the block which is happening tomorrow. In the picture below, the kids are standing on the piers for the front porch. A storm was moving and it was starting to snow.
In the picture below, Harrison and Cassidy are standing where the garage doors will be soon. Notice it is starting to snow harder then it was in the picture above.
We will have about a 2.5 foot crawl space under the house for all the utilities. Hopefully we will start framing this week after the grout and garage floor is done.