Pouring The External Beam

02FEB2015 - This is the cleared area (for our external sub-grade beam) looking at the Guest Wing. Our design called for an external sub-grade beam located at the front of the courtyard. The beam ties the ends of Guest Wing and Master Suite together. The first task was to dig the ditch for the beam. We hit rock! Imagine that, here in the Hill Country. Well, at least I don't have to dig down very far.

02FEB2015 - This is a view of the cleared area (for the beam) looking at the Master Suite.

02FEB2015 - We planned for the beam when pouring the foundation. This is the rebar sticking out of the slab on the Guest Wing.

02FEB2015 - This is the rebar sticking out of the patio on the Master Suite. There are only 2 rebars on this side because it was so shallow.

01MAR2015 - This is Gilbert (Lopez Concrete and Construction) drilling holes for the supporting stakes to be driven in.

01MAR2015 - Gilbert is checking the lines for the concrete beam.

01MAR2015 - Gilbert and his worker are tying steel for the beam.

01MAR2015 - And the rains began....  It was cold and wet.

03MAR2015 -Here you can see most of the form work is done. I marked the drainage lines with green paint. I am so glad that I did that. I almost couldn't find the drainage holes later. They became covered with concrete.

03MAR2015 - I used the shop vac to clean the mud and debris out of the forms. It worked pretty good.

03MAR2015 -Here's a view from inside the courtyard. I'm waiting on the Engineering Inspector to show up now.

03MAR2015 - I installed 2 layers of drainage through the beam. I didn't want the courtyard becoming a mud pit due to poor drainage.

13MAR2015 - We needed to remove a tree branch for the concrete truck to back into position. Looks like Gilbert is the one in a bad position here.

13MAR2015 - The inspection passed and we poured the concrete for the sub grade beam.

13MAR2015 - Notice how all of the ends of the drainage pipes got covered up.

13MAR2015 - Here's another view looking into the courtyard.

25MAR2015 - After the beam was poured... and it rained again... I noticed that their was still a drainage problem in the courtyard and around the front of the beam.

25MAR2015 - Here's a shot of the water puddling inside the courtyard. This could be a big problem and cause foundation settling.

25MAR2015 - I chiseled a small ditch into the rock and laid in a french drain to the area that had the puddle in the courtyard. I used a heavy duty silt fabric and wrapped the drainage pipe with 1.5" washed limestone gravel and another layer of silt fabric.

25MAR2015 - The french drain is sloped to the base of the beam at the front of the courtyard.

25MAR2015 - Here's another shot from the front of the house, looking into the courtyard.

25MAR2015 - I added another layer of silt fabric on top of the french drain system and then covered it with 1.5" rock.

Here you can see the added layer of silt fabric over the french drain in the courtyard.

I then added silt fabric over the remaining drain field outside of the beam. This is a lower basin area that collects the water from the courtyard. I figure the oak trees will eventually find it and make use of the water that collects there.

This shows the silt fabric laid over the drain field.

I then back filled the area with 36 cubic yards of washed sand.

This is another shot from the front of the house. I brought in additional sand to fill the courtyard to about 2 inches below the patios and covering the black colored waterproofing on the foundation.

Cool Features

Cool Features

• The walls consist of 2x6 plates with 2x4 studs 16" OC staggered on both exterior and interior.(Yeah, I'm killing a few more trees, but I want a strong, well insulated house.)Staggering the studs provides an extra 2 " of insulation and significantly reduces thermal bridging from the sheathing to the sheet rock.

• Wall Insulation: Dense Pack Cellulose (R-19.8)  +  7/16" plywood (R-.52)  +  Grace Vycor enV-s Weather barrier (R-.17)  +  3/8" air gap (R-.5)  +  1/4" Hardie Board Siding (R- .51) 

          All of the components of the wall layers add up to about R-21.5.  Not too bad, however, it's
          how those components work together over the entire wall assembly that actually determine
          the R value.

• Roof Insulation: 8" Open cell spray foam at the rafters. Other special areas will receive 6" of closed cell spray foam due to the types of ceiling assemblies.

• A seriously weather proof and fire resistant house: Vapor permeable house wrap + Weather Resistive Barrier + air-gapped and ventilated Hardie Board siding and masonry 

• Monitor style roof with clerestory windows allowing light and ventilation above the Living and Dining areas

 

• Double Sliding Glass Door: (shown in picture above) will open from the Living Room to the backyard.

• Central Courtyard: Serves as the main entrance to the house for guests. Also, the Living Room and Master Suite have French Doors opening onto the courtyard patio lined with cedar post columns.

• Dog Wash: This is quickly becoming a popular item for people with pets. We'll show this later.

• Dog Watering Portico in the Mud Room:

• Stained Concrete Flooring in the Guest Wing (shown later... Hint: It's not what you think!)

• One-of-a-Kind Hand Carved Double Sink: Alyson has carved a sandstone slab into a rustic double sink for the Master Bath.

• Large Curb-less Master Shower: Alyson will be installing the tile for this.

• Large Kitchen Island with seating for 3-4

• A Butler Pantry: Allows you to bring in groceries and quickly place them on shelves.

• A Pull-Through Garage: We will have 2 bays with one the bays as a pull-through. 

• Rainwater Collection System: More on this later.

Breaking ground for the Barn...

Here is the link to the barn