Had a long weekend at Critical NW last weekend. Came back ready to form some footings on monday. Turns out my footings are not dug out deep enough all the way around. There was some miscommunication there so now there is a bunch of dirt that has got to go. About 6″ to even 10″ in some places. I can’t get my excavator back here for just that, heck I can’t even find him. So I kinda gotta make it happen otherwise. It took Monday to get that figured out. Tuesday was about doing what Monday figured.
After stewing on my options (including just making the house sit that much higher) I went with digging it out by hand and getting a dumpster for the dirt. I ordered the dumpster for Wednesday, got Buphalo on the plan and spent the rest of the day setting up batter boards at the corners to layout the footings and later the walls. A plumb laser helped that out real nice to get it all spot on under the house. But I still really wanted a rotary laser level for getting depths right in the trenches. I could use the one I already have, but only after dark. So kinda limited in application. I figured the batter boards will be good enough to get elevations off the strings. Worked till the wee hours to get everything from the laser level I had marked off. Four hours of sleep until the dumpster gets delivered in the morning.
Except, real quick after I closed my eyes I was startled awake by, what’s that sound? It’s rain. Real rain. Real, hard rain. I ran outside in my underwear like I was going to be able to hold my hands up and just hold that downpour up in the sky. Instead I just witnessed the torrents pouring off from my 20′ high gutters pounding onto my uncovered, un-shored dirt embankments. I had visions of all my dirts slumping into a goopy mess under my house.
Dumpster came around 7am, no digging today. Instead I go shopping. It seems as soon as I started this project a lot of the tools I have been using for years decided to up and quit on me. So call up Buphalo for some guy shopping time and we start at the pawn shop, ’cause might as well give it a shot. There I score not only a miter saw and worm drive skill but lo and behold, a rotary laser for the same price as renting one. We finished off at Lowes for a job box and ladder.
That’s about the jist of it. More rain for tomorrow. I get to write a blog!

It happened, we’re 3′ 11″ further south. I held off that last inch ’cause I’m worried about not infringing the easement. But it went over fine and easy. The secret,.. come-alongs. Yep, chain winch come-alongs. There are videos in my flickr album.
DB Davis came in and did the deed, just another job for those guys, life changing for us. You might have gleened the main reason to move the house sideways was to widen the driveway to my shop. Now, from the viewing angles, the driveway view is the most telling. I am so excited to have this reality actually happening.
Here’s the driveway before and after, all I could find for the before shot shows the old cedar tree already removed. But imagine a big cedar tree there and you get the picture.

The house moves laterally tomorrow. If you wanted to come witness the spectacle, feel free to come over. I’ll have a cooler for your beverages and a little shade for reclining and watching.
The caveat will be you can’t really interrupt the crew and I’ll be running around and not too social. But it’s a once in a lifetime event, at least for me.
Festivities will begin around ten am but the real action probably won’t get moving until after noon, but not too much.

New floor joists and Honey Bucket.

Last week the excavator scraped away our sewer line. This was necessary and expected, but it is a major bummer nonetheless. Even MORE of a bummer was the morning that Morgan forgot about the whole “sewer is disconnected” thing and used the toilet when his coffee took effect. Immediately aware of his mistake, he retreated to the shop to bemoan his mistake and discuss his options with buphalo. Suddenly, the sound of a flush and of water (among other things) falling out of the house… Huck had flushed the toilet. Fortunately, it’s just dirt down there; unfortunately, they do have to work down there in that dirt. Not directly on it for a few days, but, still. It’s nice and dry here in Seattle this summer, so that helps.

We used our trailer potty last week, which is fine and all, but has a limited capacity and nobody to come and suck out the black water on a regular basis, which means driving it to somewhere to dump it. Given the realities of our situation, we decided to pay for a Honey Bucket for a couple of months– our very own! Fresh and minty! Cleaned weekly! We’ve really made it, now.

Morgan actually removed the toilet from the house. No more mistakes. 

This week has been interesting. New, beefier floor joists are going in, which has meant that at various times there is no water coming in, no electricity, and no sewer. The sewer issue won’t be changing soon, but water and electricity are relatively flexible. Some of our outlets work– the fridge, for instance is being preserved– many don’t. I took a cold shower last night because the water heater didn’t get hooked back up. Invigorating!

Every day is an adventure. Thank goodness for the amazing summer we are having, it makes this all so much easier to be cheerful about.

For whatever reason, Thursday was the day the slow process of piecemeal excavation became a huge rush of pile-driving accomplishment. We were hoping to start a four-day weekend that day, but frankly, making progress on the house is way more important to us right now.

Morgan and I got up at 5:30am to start prepping– well, he was prepping, and I just couldn’t sleep with the excitement of the day upon us. A lot had to get done before the geotechnical engineer showed up to monitor pin-pile installation.

Measuring for placement.

Pin-piles will support our new foundation footings in the places where the geotech had previously determined the ground was a bit too soft. He was on-site to test the ground in precise locations, to determine how many piles and where they were needed, and to affirm that they were correctly installed.

Finessing the pipe.

Working on pin piles.

It was a long but very satisfying day!

We are now back on Morgan’s schedule instead of an outside contractor’s. Today and tomorrow he is installing new floor joists with Buphalo and Flaster, and we will hopefully be able to move the house over (now about 4′ instead of 5′) later this week.

We have not had our excavation contractor’s full attention. He is juggling other jobs and coming through just enough to feel like things are moving, but not fast. It’s hard for me to tell how much longer this phase will last, but he was at our place bright and early this morning, so maybe that’s a good sign.

We had our “pre-construction” inspection yesterday, the last hurdle in the permit process that we were nervous about. Technically, we haven’t “built” anything yet, but still, a lot of work has obviously happened here. Apparently, the inspector didn’t bat an eye. Morgan did spend the morning unhooking our pipes and water lines so that the fact that we are living in this raised-up house wasn’t demanding attention. No need to make things difficult :). 

At this point all lights are green and we are ready to go. Our excavation contractor has been digging away our foundation and the old slab, re-grading and prepping the land. 

One of my clients today said, “Now that you have your permit, the next big thing is to be done, right?” He has a point! But I think I will celebrate each small achievement along the way– when the excavation is done, we move the house over five feet to the south, and that will seem like something to celebrate, too! 

In the meantime, the earth moves, and we are digging it.

We were told our permits were approved last night. I ran to the computer to pay the fees and at the last minute we realized it was the wrong permit. At least I didn’t pay for the wrong one. Turns out the lingering issue is with our drainage plan and the original side sewer easement mess.  Way back when King County did the big Rainier Valley combined sewer and overflow they really messed up with recording the correct information as to the side sewers in our property. What was  recorded is something different then what was actually installed. Not only did this exacerbate the legal battle between us and the neighbor but now it is impossible to submit plans that reflect the actual layout of the pipes in the ground. Now we have to submit plans that show this wrong information. Supposedly this can be corrected in the field. Seems like we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. I have visions of the inspector forcing us to hook up to the wrong side sewer or requiring another corrections cycle.

We have been living in a suspended state for a week. Waiting… For permits… For our excavation contractor…
The house wobble is less disturbing now, though I find myself expecting other buildings to shimmy gently once I stop moving.
We are still carrying our kitchen sink water out in bins to dump on plants in the yard. It’s a little bit of rigmarole that just makes me feel grateful that water magically comes into my home, and most of the time, magically leaves it, too. Plumbing is great.
Morgan hooked up the washer and dryer out in the yard, under a pop-up tent by the shop. Another luxury I do not take for granted.
Morgan is ready to step away from the computer and get his hands dirty again. I’m ready for that to happen, too. I have a good feeling that things will start moving again soon, and so I will take a deep breath in this pause and try to enjoy the novelty of the weird view, the wobble and sway, and walking the plank to my front door.