Papa (grandpa) came over again to help us pour the east foundation wall. We built the same thing to direct the concrete into the form; a wooden support which held up a piece of sheet metal, and our little concrete mixer, which can hold three 60 lb bags' worth of Sakrete, poured the wet concrete onto the sheet metal, which slid down into the form. Putting into effect the things we learned from pouring the south wall, we didn't have any leaks or blow-outs this time, and all went smoothly.

We poured concrete cylinders underneath the four big posts, and with a lot of two by sixes we made a pretty deck with Trex decking. Eventually we put a railing up on the top part, and the upstairs leads out onto the deck with a beautiful view.

We poured the south facing wall's foundation before Jamin White had spray foamed the rest of the crawlspace. This foundation part was our first big pouring concrete job and it was not perfect. We had several leaks, and it took much longer than expected, but eventually we got it done!

Dad and Papa built a 'concrete directing' machine that would pour directly into the form of the foundation. The dug out trench, as shown in the first picture, was impossible to pour from, so this elongated contraption, with the mixer sitting up on the bank, was very handy.

After two long years, the digging under the house is completed! We were close, but were running out of time. It took the renting of a Hilti TE 1000- AVR hammer drill for a day, and with the whole family working together, we powered through the hard clay and got it done! Soon after it's completion, Jamen White of Energy Lock Spray Foam came and sprayed Spray Foam insulation under the house.

As many know, moving into a house before it is complete produces chaos. Add to that farm chores/mess, and new heights of chaos can be achieved.

At 4' x 8' x 2.5', this box will hopefully be big enough for incoming packages, a secure cash payment slot, and several pick-up slots for packages or products being sold. The current plan is to have 6 compartments for outgoing and one large compartment for incoming goods.
It was a high priority because we could not receive packages, even at the post office, or so we thought. Then after not having the box finished in time, two Amazon packages were delivered to the front door.... This post will be updated with final pictures when it is complete.

After nearly a year, the East, North, and South walls are getting trim.

Cabinet hardware = decision fatigue. Thank you Amazon and Home Depot for 10,000+ options. Our final, very satisfactory selection; Cosmas 4392ORB Oil Rubbed Bronze Modern Cabinet Hardware Handle Pull - 3-3/4" Inch (96mm) Hole Centers.

In Garfield, a completed building permit with occupancy allowed is an occupancy permit. The building inspector came by today giving the okay to move in, on Adam's birthday no less! We will be moving in after a week or two more finishing work, but we have the official go-ahead.