Back-filling the Trench

The residential building code requires an overdig of at least two feet around the outside of a basement wall to allow access for waterproofing and laying a foundation drain. Since I figured that too much access to the foundation was better than too little I chose to make the ditch around the basement walls about twice that wide. The implications were that while it would be easy to get in there and do what had to be done, it would also mean having to fill about twice as much material.

The foundation drain was placed before the walls were set in place and waterproofing had been completed on one of our typical 95 degree summer days. While I don't generally allow drinking of the jobsite, since no power tools were being used, I allowed an exception this time. So during the hottest part of the day we swilled ice cold beer and slapped on the tar with rollers.


















We could not backfill until the first-floor decking was built and attached. The top of the superior walls is bolted to this floor deck every four feet with large bolts and these bolts and the weight of the floor combine to strengthen the walls against the pressure of the soil as it is piled up against the outside of the walls. I chose to wait even longer until all of the framing was done but now was the time. I wanted to get on to our final grading and build our front steps that lead up to the deck and this required that the backfilling task be completed first.

I called multiple excavation companies and they all had waiting lists as long as a month, so because of my impatient nature I decided to take on the task myself instead of waiting.

Two large piles of dirt had been left when the basement was excavated to be used for backfill so it was a matter of moving about 80 cubic yards of the stuff one bucket at a time and dropping it into the hole. I had estimated that it would be a 4 hour task but in reality it required about twice that long.

My machine is old and it smokes and groans but ultimately Slowly the piles of soil were depleted and the trench was filled.

Framing (part 2)

The total framing job took less than four weeks and every day there were new changes to see. Really though, it was seeing the roof lines go up that was the most exciting of all. The roof in our great-room soars 27 feet above the floor and big beams are required to support those 24' long rafters. The ridge beam spans the top of the room and the rafters are nailed into it. This beam is 5 1/2" wide and 18" high and it is composed of three big LVLs that are nailed side-by-side. One end of this beam is held in place by the other roof but the front is supported by a post (see this connection in picture at right) that rests on the foundation 37 feet below. The ridge beam and the post are bolted together and several other large beams attach to them to support the roof load. There is also a 3 1/2" x 24" horizontal beam that attaches that is meant to stiffen the entire front wall to meet the 90 mph wind load requirement. This beam will provide a "plate shelf" that spans the entire front of the house.

The framers spent much of a day building a large scaffold and I was there early the next morning to watch and take pictures as the 6-man crew lifted the huge pieces into place. I guess I expected something dramatic but like the rest of the house, the roof took shape one piece at a time. Two rafters had been nailed in place the previous day for placement of the back end of the ridge beam and a post was put in place to hold the front end.  The crew lifted the 3 pieces that would make up the ridge beam into place first, assembled them together, and then began lifting and nailing in the rafters. Within a couple hours they had several of the members in  place and by the end of the day most of the rafters were nailed in. The next day the rest of the rafters were installed (pic at left shows the roof with a few rafters missing) and framing began on the big south-facing "wall of windows". After that, sheathing was added to the walls and roof and they were each covered by membranes in preparation for roofing and siding.


Indeed the frame is what makes the house what it is. After framing is done, windows and doors are added and then plumbers, electricians, and HVAC installers come in and chop holes in it all. Then the insulation crew caulks the holes and stuffs every nook and cranny with insulation so that the drywall guys can cover it all up in preparation for paint. The framing crew was there for a week and I really got used to their laughter and hammering. Things now are much quieter.