We had been waiting patiently since mid-August 2013 to find out what the appraiser thought of our house plans.  This was a critical point for us since the bank will only loan us up to 80% of the final value of the house, and since the housing market is still not in great shape, chances of it appraising at a value much higher than the cost to build was slim.  Fortunately we had the value of the land and garage to help make up that remaining 20%, but there was no guarantee that we’d be able to meet required value to secure the loan amount we needed.

During the last few days of August, we finally heard back about the appraisal, and we actually qualified for slightly more ($4,000) than we were aiming for.  Since we had already factored in some contingency money, we hope we don’t need it, but at least it creates a little bit of breathing room if we have cost overruns beyond that contingency fund.  The bank double checked our credit scores (which we’ve been making sure to get into tip-top shape for quite some time just for this very day) and set a closing date.  On September 11, 2013, the 12th anniversary of the infamous attacks on our country, we would be heading to the bank to sign about 400,000 papers, and leave with more debt than we’ll likely ever have again in our lives.

Now that we had our loan, we could start.  First thing on the agenda was to clear the trees on and around the land that the house would occupy.  So the first day that I had which wasn’t already booked with plans, I hopped on the bobcat and started ripping up trees.  I made sure to snap pictures just before and just after excavation was complete and did a wide panoramic shot to get as much detail as possible.  Make sure to click on the pictures to see the large detailed versions.

Before:

After:

I guess Snoopy (our black dog in the pictures) has one spot he really likes, since he has virtually the same pose in both shots.  One of the downsides to excavating in the middle of September is that we hadn’t hardly had a drop of rain in over a month.  While it made things easier for getting the roots out of the ground, it was extremely dusty.  I’m usually pretty good at keeping clean, but there was no escaping it this time!

About a week after excavating, the preliminary grading was done (to get the ground within a few inches of the proper height to pour the slab) and the form boards were installed.

Now it is ready for us to install plumbing, water lines for the boiler, and anything else that goes under the slab before the concrete guys come back and get everything to the final grade.  You’ll see that stuff in the next post!