The Well ... More Progress!

Remember - I said this blog was my way of documenting - so ... 

Digging The Well

                                                     Hit water at 3 - 4 feet down.

                               So... gotta pump the water out so they can dig deeper.

Michael helps with transporting the dirt to fill in areas where dirt is needed - ruts in the road. 

                                                             - LAST YEAR - 
                        Michael helped by taking turns with Martin digging, using the pick ax,                                                       scooping out the mud, moral support...

Bill - helping with transporting sloppy, wet clay to ruts in the road.

                                                          - LAST YEAR -  
                     Bill - helping with transporting sloppy, wet clay to ruts in the road!

Oh, the joys of big tools!

                                                           - LAST YEAR -  
                   Hmm, it hardly comes close to the same size "bucket" of the backhoe!  =)

As deep as possible - keep going!

                       That's it - 13 feet! and tight quarters until the sides are evened out.
              THIS YEAR:  Digging & transporting of dirt away = 2 days, 3 men, 1 backhoe
LAST YEAR:  Digging & transporting of dirt = several weeks, 3 men/1 woman - Thanks Stacy!

                      Oh!  Look!  The water rose higher than we expected over night.  
                                                  Yes, the plug IS underwater!  
Warning:  Do NOT attempt this at home without a trained professional on hand.  Do NOT plan to jump in & go swimming.  Do NOT post these pictures to any OSHA site or authorities.  =)

                 After pumping it down a few times to clear out any silt - this is what it looks like.  
                                                      Clear, clean water coming up!

Covered with logs/wood for now.

Electrical to run the pump is in.

Final covering will be in place soon.

Movin` THE HOUSE In ,,,

                                    Rather than moving INTO the house!  =)



                  Coming in the driveway - W.I.D.E. load a-comin` & yes, we're excited!

Notice the ground is wet?  It hasn't rained in weeks but started this morning & now the grass is super slippery!  And, the truck doesn't make it across the entire yard before it starts spinning it's wheels.  =)

SO ... Martin's trusty old, ugly (I've maligned it numerous times over the years we've owned it) trusty backhoe comes to the rescue!

                Pulling the truck, trailer & house in 5-6 ft increments,,, the process begins.  

             Hmm, yup - THAT'S gonna leave a mark!  (My kids will get the joke.  =)

Here's the goal:  Turn this corner to the left; get the front of the truck up to the yellow house at the end of the driveway and then back it up into place.  NO PROBLEMO!

       Yes, it's raining & everyone is soaking wet.  Fortunately, it isn't freezing - but still!  The workers (4 guys on the crew, 1 truck driver & Martin) are troopers.  Those of us shooting pictures - we're under trees or umbrellas.

Notice the 2 blue flags in the left fore-ground?  That's where the back corner of the house needs to come to.  

      He is ONE HAPPY CAMPER!  Despite the rain & muck - or maybe that helps!  =)      

            I'm on the porch of the yellow house - the truck is just a few feet away getting ready to back up - with a little help from the friendly, helpful backhoe!  =)

                       Tracks?  What tracks?  I don't see any tracks!  =)

                        Backing up some more........... & more............. & more............& more

             Remember "motivational posters?"  This one is labeled:  DETERMINATION!!!

                                      Getting closer to those blue flags

                                             And....... we're there!

           House is sitting on "A frames" until the 8" x 8" pilings are set in place underneath.  

                                                 And - it's now sunny - YAY!

       Oh, right - the truck still needs to get out of the muck & leave.  Backhoe - still at work!

                                          Bye-bye and Thank You!

                                                 More work to come.......  

Digging post holes, by hand, all 15 of them.  They are 3 feet deep & about 16 inches around.                                        These guys can work ....  and work fast!

                                             But....... not fast enough!  

Since they were about 4-5 hours behind due to how long it took to get the house in place the crew worked in the dark by the light of flashlights & the living room floor lamp run off the generator.  Got done about 10 PM.  Troopers - every one of them - since they still had a long drive home, and they had left their construction yard at 5:30 AM!!!

                                        First thing in the morning.....  
                                   Oh look!  The house is on stilts!  

       Kitchen window to the far left, bathroom in the middle, storage/closet or mini-bedroom on the right.  This side faces all those gorgeous plants Martin has been transplanting to grow along the fence.  Also, all the solar panels will be on this side up on the roof.  The battery storage unit & water tank will also be along this side.  Some of the open slots will be used for vehicles.

The covered veranda area - sounds better than 'porch'.  (Yet again - another joke my kids will get.)  Oh, wait - it still needs to be built, along with the stairs up to this height.

       This side is the bedroom (far left door & window) and living room/dining room.  
Yes, the trees block the view but we didn't want to cut down more than we had to BEFORE the house came in.  We'll take out what we need for the views we want.  I'm hoping we can leave as much of the area around the house 'au natural.'

There will be a small porch & stairs from this door, as well.   I'm picturing Martin's 'work-space' (can you really call it a "man cave" when it is 'open-air?') somewhere underneath this house.  Can anyone else see that?  =)

If you'd like to see more pictures and have another perspective, Stacy Holbert has an excellent blog with more on this "house moving adventure." as well.  

Feel free to check it out:  http://www.holbertsinbelize.blogspot.com/