We’re back on the earth, my friends!

It was supposed to happen Monday, but, unbelievably, traffic in the Seattle area was so horrendous that the house lifters just couldn’t get here. Disappointing. They made it here on Tuesday, though, and cleared all their stacks out and put us down.

For the first time, we can stand in the space and get a sense of how it will feel. I went and stood in my future kitchen when I got home late Tuesday night, looking out at the room and imagining my counters, the couches in the living room, a dining room table… pretty cool.

Walking into the house for the first time was weird– my body anticipated the wobble, and therefore did a little wobbling itself, which made me a little discombobulated. I notice that where the kinetic energy of moving through the house was transferred side to side while up on the stacks (thus, the wobble), now that we are on the ground I feel the floor pushing back at me– the energy goes down and up again, more like a bounce. Not a whole lot of spring, though, which is probably good.

Next up, the slab. There is a last bit of excavation to get done under the house before construction can begin down there. I’m guessing that plumbing drains are first to go in after the excavation, then insulation, electrical, radiant heating tubes. The slab will be a complicated beast, so it’s likely to take some time.

Once the slab is poured, we can backfill the empty spaces around the foundation walls, something we had hoped to do before the rains started. Unfortunately, it has been raining in record-breaking ways this week. Perhaps it will be temporary, but you know, this is Seattle. Can’t change the weather. Mud boots and rain gear it is, and a little prayer for the dirt walls to hold for just another month or so.