WELL

Today our well was completed! Chris and Jim of Moerke and Sons Pump and Well came out and began drilling and completed the job within three business days. We chose the company strictly off of instinct and were quite glad we did. We had a little bit of concern due to a neighbor telling us about his horror stories of drilling a well and having difficulty getting through a layer of hardpan which caused his driller to bring out a different truck, go much deeper, and had to pay a small fortune. Of course this could happen to anyone, however we were quite relieved when Chris and Jim hit water at 240 feet without difficulty. It was amazing to watch the entire process. Chris and Jim were extremely knowledgable with over twenty years experience and it showed. For those that don’t know how a well is drilled I will do my best to explain being that I don’t have much knowledge myself. They begin by sending a “casing” into the ground which is a 6″ wide steel pipe and there is a drill bit within. The casing is “hammered” into the ground with a pneumatic piston while the drill bit spins to break up everything from dirt, gravel, clay, etc. As the casings enter the earth, bentonite is poured around the casing to seal it from contaminants. As they get deeper into the ground, more drill bits are added, and more casings are welded on etc. Eventually you hit water, and it is capped. We will have a pump and spigot installed later closer to construction. Again, I think we have been extremely fortunate in choosing all the right companies for the different phases of construction and would highly recommend the companies and employees we have chosen thus far.

WILDLIFE

Bass Pro Shops just opened in our area and we took a few minutes to run over and check it out. While Lindsay and Caiden were distracted by the fish tanks, I snuck a trail camera into the cart. Long story short I placed the camera on the property nightly after assisting our excavator in clearing the land and the results were pretty awesome. Check the videos out for yourself!

PERMITS

We recieved the results of our soil test and our permits have been submitted to the county! They said it should be about 38 days for review and then we can pour our foundation!

EXCAVATION

This last week has been busy with the arrival of our new daughter! As soon as we cleared the hospital, I met with Cole from Hemley excavation to clear the property. The driveway was cleared, the home site was cleared, a culvert was placed at the roadway for drainage, and rock and gravel was laid down for the driveway. After all of the land was cleared, Cole placed some heavier rock to the well site in preparation for their large trucks. The septic site was also cleared in preparation for the septic installation. After the lot was cleared, there was a ton of debris left over. At the start of the process, I opted not to have the debris hauled away because it can cost upwards of 6-7 thousand dollars to have it removed. I figured I could take care of it myself but I quickly realized it wouldn’t be easy. Cole suggested I burn the material so I went to the local fire department and obtained a burn permit to burn the debris and we got rid of it in a day! I could have never done it without the help of his machinery. It’s starting to look less like a forest and more like a home site!