Construction Begins

Straw Bale Update: Wednesday we began (in earnest) construction of the house. This picture shows the grade beams which will be poured tomorrow. The small shed in the right corner will act as a tool shed during construction and eventually will be home to the generator and well pressure tank. It has been great having Etienne on site to work with. He modestly calls himself the co-designer as he is very interested in the research I've done regarding straw bale construction and welcomes my input. Ultimately, he draws the structural details and engineers the challenges. We've been starting at 7:00 a.m. and the plan has been to quit before the heat of the day. The 7 minute commute to work is a killer!
The grade beam is quite shallow, (only six inches) as we're using the least amount of concrete possible. The posts which will be concrete filled insulated forms will be built later in the week and if all goes well, our second pour will be Thursday or Friday.
It'll be interesting to see how much we can get done before Etienne goes home next Wednesday.... He's already hinting he may be up for a return trip before the end of summer. BTW, he lives in Smithers, BC.

Saturday Evening, we went to the annual Firefighter's picnic, hosted by a husband and wife that are both members of the department. It was an enjoyable time with endless amounts of food and libation.