Mid-September Construction Action

Things slowed down a bit again the past 3 weeks. During that time our builders called for an inspection they really didn't have to have done. They wanted to make sure the pad was officially high enough to meet the county requirements. It passed with flying signatures.

Of course, just when we think things are moving along nicely, some other little snag causes a delay. This time it was two little snags: a lost plumber & a slight discrepancy in the concrete plan. The latter required additional approvals from the county that took an extra week. By Week 11 (9/10 - 9/16) that got resolved & by the end of Week 12 (9/17 - 9/23) the plumber was found & the rough-in plumbing was finished & passed inspection.

After the nice, flat, packed & settled pad passed the height inspection okay, of course it had to be trenched up for the rough-in plumbing. That's what you'll see in most of the pictures below.

These are the on-the-ground markings for the rough-in plumbing. The piles in the background are called A&B. It goes on top of the dirt before they pour the concrete.

These are the plumbers, the DuShane brothers. They're checking the plans as they continue to lay the rough-in plumbing.

The pipes sticking up are the septic clean out pipes. We spent some time spotting where we wanted our wall to go one day & requested that the palo verde in the foreground be kept. So this line appears to have been moved slightly north to avoid the tree. Everything perks on the lot so the exact position of the septic system & drain field isn't a big issue. It just needs to be outside our wall & not in the Natural Open Space.

For all you potential shop visitors, this is the rough-in plumbing for Trout's shop. There will be a small bathroom complete with toilet, sink & shower.

This is the major trench to the guest room. Yes, visitors to LMMM will have a semi-private bath & a place to sleep actually in the house. They won't have to stay in the shop.

The final plumbing rough-in that passed inspection.

Someday this mess will be our house.

The local grasshoppers seem to like the place. These guys come out after the monsoons. They are about 3" long & when they fly, the green you see on the wings looks red. We're guessing the wings are red on the bottom.

These views are irrelevant to the construction, but highly relevant to why we chose this lot. They are from about 6 p.m. one evening. We were supposed to be at a picnic & flute concert at Kitt Peak with some friends about then, but it was canceled due to the clouds. So the friends came over & we just went to the lot instead.


This is looking east at the moon rising & a rainbow.

This is looking west at the mountains we were supposed to be in. It's too early for sunset, but not too early for a nice view.