Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Progress on Site Work and Foundation at NHND to the Pond

When you build in an established developed area, like a village, there could be municipal services that your new building can hook up to, like water supply and sewage treatment. There are enormous benefits to shared services such as these, and that's why the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards value selecting a building site in an already-developed area so highly. (Site selection can also help one minimize their transportation footprint - which this family is great at, biking to work/school/town)

This rural site doesn't have any municipal services to offer.  So the owners here have to install their own services. Here are more photos of dirt, but essential if you want to have indoor plumbing!


Temporary construction "road" to SDS area of site (follows existing carriage lane)

Raised Leach Field

Well!
House Footings
In addition the the well and septic, the footings for the house were poured. The house is placed on the site such that part of the foundation will be exposed out of the hill sloping down to the pond, so the footing needed to step down as well. In our climate zone, footings need to bear on undisturbed earth minimum 42" below grade. (or be re-bar tied into bedrock) This is to ensure they are on soil that won't freeze and heave, which would rack/move the building un-evenly, like a annual winter earthquake! Footings and leach fields may not be interesting or glamorous, (no pics like these on Houzz!) but they are probably one of the most important parts of making a rural home safe, solid, and comfortable to live in for many generations.



 
Tall Forms used (right side) where footing steps down hill

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