Plumbing Lines are in

The sand inside the foundation form has been leveled and compacted...the rough plumbing is done for the water lines. Now it seems, the cement is ready to be poured. Should happen the first part of this week.

If you notice, there is a lot of sand inside the foundation. The compacted sand is the building pad in which the cement will be poured on top of. Because of the grade/level of our corner lot, the foundation will be a lot thicker/higher on the side towards the side street. It starts to drop down towards the street so from the side of the house so you'll be able to see over the fence from the first floor on that side.

Notice the sand bags and wonder what they are for? They are basically used to further "stabilize" the compacted sand inside the forms. Although there is a lot of sand inside, the sides are all trenched. The sandbags serve to hold the compacted sand from getting into the trenches along the side. If you can visualize, there will be cement on top and around the sides of the sand. There will also be some piers placed inside the treches for support of the thick foundation as well. You see, cement is very expensive. Structurally, you put cement in where it needs to be but if a slab is too thick, it will crack and break when the ground underneath contracts or shifts. Some of the compacted sand serves to balance this but also serves as filler to get the ground to the level you need it to be. There is a lot of clay and rock in the ground here in central Texas. That's why they do what they do here with foundations.

Above: This area is the concrete slab in the back for the covered patio.

Above: Bay window area in living room