This is Robert Norton of Norton Concrete. He is preparing the foundation and he will pour the concrete. Gary Shiver is the builder and nothing gets done on the site without his supervision. He arrives every day before 7 AM.

Gary is showing Ted Oliver of Oliver Electric where he wants the service panel to be. Ted will put conduit in the foundation so that no wires or boxes will be hanging on the side of the house. They figured a way to put the electric meter far away from the house. Wires will go under the foundation in conduit to the garage - the pool - and the workshop. It is easier to put them in now rather than hang them on the side of the house later.

You can tell I love Monday morning - it is a fresh start after 4 days away at the wedding of my kids - Liz and Keith. Today's weather was excellent for work. 

Mainly we got done two things. First the power company came out and took down an old electricity pole from the middle of the lot. Then - They installed a new pole and a pedestal for an underground power tap. 

Next 11 truckloads of sand was dropped inside the forms for the foundation. In Florida where there is no frost line in the ground - the foundation only has to go down about two feet. Then they pour a monolithic slab over top - but first the foundation is filled with sand and tamped down very hard. Steel rebar criss crosses the slab to keep it form cracking Termite chemicals are put into the sand. Finally the city inspectors test to see that the sand is packed tightly enough to prevent cracks in the foundation or floor. They do this by dropping and object on the sand to see how far the it sinks in.

The city worker is installing an underground pedestal next to our new power pole. From the green box - a 200 amp aluminum service wires go directly to the service panel in the laundry.

The foundation will be 2 feet high in the front and only 1 foot high in the back. If ever needed - a small ramp can approach the house on the back porch.

In my first 6 years - the only toilet we had was outside. History repeats itself - the code requires a outside toilet for the workers on-site.

This is an underground pedestal. The wire comes down the pole in the gray conduit and enters the green box. From there the wire goes directly to the house under the foundation. The string is 10 feet from the southern boundary line. You can see an orange flag behind the palm tree. the palm tree is on our land. The other green pedestal is the for telephone. A thick cable with over 10 pairs of wires runs to that base.

The front end loader is spreading the sand evenly over the foundation. The plans are in the builder's tent. Robert Norton is driving the loader.

The forms are all made with brand new 2 x 12 inch planks. The planks will be pressure washed and used in the construction of the frame of the house later. It is an excellent example of re-cycling. We saved a couple trees that way.

The city crew installs the new power pole.