Curing Time

As indicated earlier, our slab was poured on Thursday morning, 6/28. That afternoon, they did some of the saw cuts in the concrete, to encourage it to crack in specific areas. On Friday morning they did the rest of the saw cuts and did a rough grade for about eight feet around the slab. I picked up a lot of the nails from the forms, just to avoid finding them next year when I am working in the garden.

The slab is now in the "curing" stage. Our Builder told me he expects the cement blocks to be staged on 7/03 and that the block masonry crew will start work on 7/6. Basically we are in a "wait" stage for the next week.

Also, on Thursday, I got the final plan page for the HVAC system. We've been going back and forth with Design to be sure that the plans correctly showed the HVAC zoning system we want. We also got a no charge change order to sign and return indicating that this is the system we do want.

We Have a Slab!

Today, at about 6:00 AM, the crew started work on the slab pour. When I got there at 6:30 AM they were well underway, with three cement trucks lined up.

They poured the main house slab first, then the garage, then the front porch, and finally, the Lanai. By 8:15 AM the cement trucks were done and the eight man crew had dwindled to only three workers. The foreman told me that they would continue to work the slab for a few hours, including bringing in the big float machines, until there was a good, smooth finish. He said it would be essentially done by noon.

We're supposed to have some storms this afternoon, so that will help keep the slab moist for curing.

Here are some pictures:

Final Slab Preparation

When I checked this afternoon, all the issues found by the inspector yesterday had been corrected and the City Inspector had passed the mono-slab inspection. My Builder called me to say that the slab pour had been scheduled for Thursday morning, at either 6:30 AM, if we are the first pour, or between 7:30 - 8:00 AM if we are second.

I also cleaned up some debris around the site and put it in one of the dumpsters. With three dumpsters sitting right at the front lot curb, I don't understand why the contractors just leave their debris on the ground. However, I realize that I will probably not be able to change that behavior, as it is just another job to them.

Private Inspector

Several things happened today regarding the preparation for the slab pour.

First, I met with the Builder to discuss my concerns about the plastic plumbing lines run through an area that will be a concrete support pier, or footing. He said that it was allowed per code. However, within thirty minutes of our discussion, the plumbers showed up and proceeded to move those pipes, so they are just normal under slab plumbing, instead of being embedded in a concrete pier. This issue was quickly resolved to my satisfaction.

Second, we discussed the conduit, or chase, set to go from the rear of the house all the way under the slab to the front garage wall. The Builder intended this to be for the 240V 50 Amp circuit for a hot tub on the lanai. I had paid $800 to have a special circuit and exterior box run to the rear wall of the house, with a disconnect there and a chase from the box to the lanai. After some discussion with the Builder and the electrical contractor, it was decided to leave the conduit in place. The wires can also be run through the trusses later, if necessary.

The "City Inspectors" signed off on the water service, underground electrical (the floor outlet conduit and other electrical chases), and public works (whatever that inspection is).

My private inspector arrived and found one medium and some minor issues that need to be corrected before the slab is poured. the medium issue was that "a steel column pad was not installed a the rear of the house, on the rear den wall." This was shown on the prints, bu thad been missed by the slab preparation crew. There were also some minor issues with the reinforcing steel being in contact with the soil or PVC pipes, with dirt that had washed into the footer because of heavy rain, and with some seams in the plastic vapor barrier not being properly taped.

The Builder decided to delay the slab pour to get these issues corrected and get another inspection of the slab preparation.

Slab Preparation

Today the work was almost finalized for pouring of the slab. The iron rebar was set and most of the plastic safety caps were put on top of it. The soil was treated for termites. A plastic vapor barrier was put on top of the ground with the seams taped. Then electrical conduit was put on top of the vapor barrier for the electrical circuits for the Great Room floor outlet, the power to the Kitchen island (as it is not adjacent to a wall), and to the posts in the Lanai.

I have two issues to be resolved before the pour. First, the electrical conduit for my special circuit for our hot tub comes from the wrong location. It is supposed to be from a visible disconnect on the rear of the house, and at least 5' from the hot tub location. This is not the way the conduit was run.

Also, there is a load bearing pier between the Master Bedroom Closet and the Master Bathroom. Unfortunately, the plumbers ran pipe through this location and the way it is rigged though the pier looks very strange. I've asked if it is per code. Also, my private inspector will be out tomorrow and I'll also ask him.

I was told that the two taped wires near my water meter were originally for a street light that Pringle now does not intend to install. Tomorrow I'll make sure they are fully disconnected.

More Inspections

When I checked the site on Sunday, I found that two inspections had been done, and passed, sometime on Friday. The Sewer Inspection and the Plumbing Inspection #1 were both done. Also, since those were complete, the plumbing trenches had been filled in with dirt. The excavations for the slab footings was done, although the reinforcement rebar was not yet installed.

I cleaned up some trash from the site. While it might be minor, I don't like to have soda cans buried under the slab footers.

The water meter reading is holding steady, so it appears that there is no water leakage in the installed plumbing lines.

Water Meter and Under Slab Plumbing

There was no work being done at the site today when I checked. However the under slab plumbing was completed and a pressure test was underway. The water meter was installed and connected. The sewer lines were connected to the public sewer.

I took twenty pictures of the under slab plumbing, uploaded them to my computer, and labeled each one with the room and direction. I hope I never again have a plumbing problem under the slab, but I will have pictures in case they are needed.

Cliff, our Builder, called and emailed me. He plans to have the slab poured next Wednesday if the inspections are ok. He ordered both the required City inspection and my private inspection for Tuesday.

Builder Meeting

On Thursday, we had our first "Builder" meeting. We did this at the lot, looking at documents on the back tailgate of Cliff's truck.

Cliff had reviewed our file and went through the options to verify certain items, including exterior colors, cabinet style and colors, tile, etc. While we were there he called to confirm that the tile for our floors had been set aside at Mastertile, so there would not be any delays. This is because we upgraded the tile from the standard choice.

We discussed some of the options to be sure Cliff was aware that we had changed, or upgraded certain items. We also discussed our desire for things to be plumb, square, and neat. An example is with some garage door openings, where the gap sealed at the bottom appears to vary about an inch across the garage door width.

I had checked the set of plans in the Permit Box and advised Cliff that the HVAC plans were not the latest set. He called the office and confirmed that he needed to get the latest page to put in the box. While this might not have been a problem for awhile, it would have popped up at the HVAC Mechanical Inspection, as either the right HVAC installed would not have matched the permitted print, or we would have had the wrong HVAC system installed. We had upgraded our system via the Design process.

The meeting took about 45 minutes. While it could have been done by phone, I think it was better to be able to point to things on one common sheet of paper or plan.

After the meeting, we confirmed one measurement on the forms for the Lanai and also discussed the location for the Whole House Water Filter. I had specified that it be installed on the outside of the house along the garage wall, so it would be easy for me to add a water softener in the future, if we decide we need one. The plumbers suggested putting it in the garage next to the furnace. I left it outside, as I don't want to use up valuable wall space in the garage.

The plumbers should finish all the below slab piping later today. They told Cliff that the water meter was not installed yet and he would check on it.

As it happens, the plumbing crew supervisor was also the supervisor who two weeks ago handled a major water leak under the slab at the house we are renting. That is a whole other story. However, he looked at me, and said "Don't worry -- I'll check this one at 100 pounds pressure so you won't have another leak."

We finished and left to go to ceiling fan store and to eat lunch at Too-Jay's Deli. It was a great lunch.

The plumbing drains are in!

I stopped by to check the building site this evening. The trenches for the under slab plumbing have been dug out, and the drains are all in, with stubs going up for the sinks, tub / showers, and water closets. The crew had laid out string lines showing where key walls will be, so they could then run the drains to the correct (I hope) locations.

It was getting dark, so I didn't take pictures, but plan to do so on Thursday.

Builder Meeting Scheduled

At about 8 AM today our Builder called to schedule our first Builder / Customer meeting. We're set for Thursday. He told me that they are doing the under slab plumbing today and he hopes to have the inspections complete to be able to pour the slab next Monday.

Sitting on the Lanai

Our next door neighbors to be, beside our new home site, had a party and invited us. I took the opportunity to do a few measurements of the form boards to be sure that the house was positioned where we expected it to be on the site. No problems found.

We also took two folding canvas chairs and sat on the dirt, inside the forms for our lanai, and looked at the evening view. We think it will be great in the evenings as the sun goes down.

Density Check

Today an inspector did a dirt density check at three locations within the forms for the foundation. The goal was 95% compaction minimum and the results were 99.9%. No other progress on Friday.

Public Notice

Today the construction work on our new home became official and public. The Builder put a permit box up at the front of the lot, posted the building permit, and put the "on site" full set of plans in the box. The plans are used by the various inspectors, both private and the city, to verify that the house is being built per the drawings and building codes. However, the public nature of the permit box means that anyone can stop and see what inspections have been done, the design of the home, square footage, etc.

We also got three dumpsters delivered to the front of the lot. Next week I expect the below slab plumbing to be done.

"Builder" Assignment

The company that is developing our community and building the houses assigns "Builders" to manage the individual home construction projects. In other areas this person might be titled Construction Supervisor, Construction Foreman, or Project Manager. The Builder has a wide range of responsibilities from managing the subcontractors, scheduling inspections, assuring that the home is being built to the plans, handling problems, and communicating with the customer.

I got an email today officially telling me who my Builder will be. Cliff is a very experienced Senior Builder who has a reputation of doing a very good job. I'm pleased, as our home has a lot of customization and is not just "build it like the last 20 of this model we've done."

Cliff and I have been in contact by email and will have our first Builder / Customer meeting next week.

Our First Builder Pictures

Part of the service provided by our home builder is to take construction pictures twice per month and post them on the web for customers. Today we received our first set. A link is posted on the main page, here at this url. http://lakesofmountdora.org/default.aspx .

Forms for the Slab

After the surprise yesterday, I drove to our lot to see if anything new was happening. A crew was working setting the forms for the concrete slab. They had established the perimeter outline and were working on the step downs for the lanai, garage, and front porch. These areas will be a nominal 4" lower than the floor level of the main house. They are using 2" x 4" boards to form these areas within the main perimeter outline, which seems to be made from 2" x 8" boards.

This is the first time we can really visualize how the house will set on the lot and how near / far we will be from the next door neighbor. I stood on the sand in the Lanai area and looked out at the "lake" area. I think we'll be able to see well to the north, to the clubhouse area, as well as to the back to the island.

As I suspected, the 25 MPH speed limit sign is presently in the middle of our driveway. We'll have to get Pringle to move the sign.

Construction - Stage 1 - The Slab

June 12, 2007 - Surprise! Our construction has started six days early. When I drove by our Lot in Lakes of Mount Dora today, I saw a survey crew at work. They were locating / installing the four lot corner pins and staking the corners of the house. Two of the corner pins that they "found" were about three inches down under the sod of the existing neighboring house.

After the four pins were set / exposed, I put concrete doughnuts, similar to sprinkler head protective doughnuts, around them. I also drove 18" sections of plastic pipe next to the pins, so we can continue to find the lot corners during construction. After we're finished, and the sod is laid, I will do something more permanent at grade level.