Archive for March 24th, 2006
On March 23 we finished digging (most of) the trenches for the foundation. We dug by hand. The soil has about 9 inches of topsoil over a clay/sand base. It was work, but not too strenuous for a little house like mine.
Batterboards and strings define the layout:
Trenches dug. They only have to be 12 inches deep here in coastal Virginia. The middle trench is the edge of the main house, and the outer trench to the right is the edge of the porch. There will be 6-foot wide porches on the first and second floors.
March 24th, 2006
This is the lot I own in Onancock, VA. It’s 10,000 square feet of level, cleared land. Looking northwest, pre-construction:
Looking across my lot to the east: You can just make out the ferris wheel on the carnival grounds. The big grassy area between my lot and the carnival rides is the parking lot used by the carnival and the Little League.
March 24th, 2006
Welcome to my home building diary. Follow along as we progress from a vacant lot to a finished small house.
My property is a quarter-acre in the tiny town of Onancock on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It was unique in that the carnival grounds are my next door neighbor … but the carnival is going to be sold to make room for more homes. It will still be a nice neighorhood.
We staked out the lot and put up batter boards on March 16. Groundbreaking was March 20. No, there was not a ceremony. We finished digging most of the footers (by hand) on March 23.
March 24th, 2006
