Gwen and her tube arms

Gwen tube arms, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

My kids can always find something fun in the construction trash pile!

The layer between the gravel and concrete slab

Untitled, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Today, they applied a layer to the top of the gravel.  Ultimately, this layer (shown in white, above) will be between the 6 inches of gravel and the 18 inches of concrete.  It's about 1/8 inch thick and is supposed to bond to the concrete to create a water-proof barrier.    They didn't finish today so they'll finish up tomorrow.  

Forming the Master Slab

Basement, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Today, they put in the forms for the master slab for the basement. They didn't get very far so they'll finish up over the next few days. Hopefully we'll pour the concrete next week.

The Princess Suite Chandelier

We're creating a fun bedroom for the girls that they'll want to keep through Elementary school and Jr High and (dare we dream?) ... well into High School.   Yeah, I know that's a tall order so we're trying to keep our expectations realistic and the costs low just in case it all has to change in a year or two.

A fancy chandelier is a must-have but we've cringed at the price tag until I spotted this little gem at our local Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) store: 

It's a 24 inch diameter, 6 light chandelier for only $149 and I pulled it off the shelf and ran to the checkout line as fast as I could.  Even thought it's not exactly what I want, the OSH price is really impossible to beat.  In fact, I've not even been able to find it anywhere on the internet!   So here's my question for my artsy-craftsy friends:  How can I paint everything but the crystals of this chandelier to look like bronze or pink or some other interesting color? 

I'm thinking something like one of these:

Has anyone ever painted glass or crystal with good results?  Also, I'm looking for reasonable (ie, cheap) sources for clear and colored hanging crystals so I can spiff this up just a little bit more.  :)

Gravel

first day of gravel 0776, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

After 10 days of rain, we're back in business again. Today, workers started putting 6 inches of gravel on the floor of the basement. Because of the muddy conditions down there, they rolled out some fabric so the mud and rock don't mix. It all had to be done by hand since the soil engineer didn't want any heavy equipment used (again, because of the mud). Lots of work for sure!



Obviously, there's a lot of gravel for this part of the project.  The height of the hill was about 6 feet at street level but nearly 20 feet high when viewed from the basement.  The temptation was too much for the girls who pleaded with me to let them play on this mountain of fun.

Steep?

Dig Day 5 a video by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

This is how they get this beast out of the hole at the end of the day. I wasn't completely sure he'd be able to do it but he said this was just a typical day for them. Wow!

Where the dirt goes

Where the dirt goes a video by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Yesterday, I rode with one of the truck drivers out to the dump to see where all our dirt was ending up. It took about 20 minutes to get there. It's an old garbage dump that hasn't taken any trash in years. They only accept soil and all of the mountains of garbage have been completely covered in the hope of turning this area into a beautiful park someday. Have to say, it's REALLY beautiful out there!

Dig Day Four

Dig Day Four, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Dig Day 4, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Okay, I know this is probabably not very exciting to anyone but me but here's a pic of today's progress on the basement. Today they almost completely excavated the basement and also cut a 90 degree "OSHA slope" into the upper half of the entire perimeter wall. They do this to reduce the risk of someone being injured should chunks of the dirt wall break away or collapse. Oh the interesting things you learn when you watch your first basement being dug!

3rd day of digging

3rd day of digging, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Heavy Equip operators, a photo by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

Today was our third day of digging and the basement is about 3/4 finished. When I look at this huge hole, I feel a little bit embarrassed because it looks so excessive. I have to remind myself that they over-dig the area by several feet to allow room for workers to frame the exterior walls and even after considering that, there's still the large portion of the basement that we don't have plans to finish. So this ridiculous space is large but it's not really as ridiculous as it seems.

Digging The Basement

Digging the basement a video by Donna & Andrew on Flickr.

We started digging the basement today. After school, I took the girls out to the new site to see the progress and Gwen took one look and gasped "Man, that's a deep hole!" Yep, that was my first thought when I saw it too! :)