Tension Bars

I don't think they are really bars, per se. They looked a little flimsy to be bars. But these are put in to prevent the floor and walls from cracking as the house settles and to try to prevent the house from settling so much. So they soak the ground and put these in, all in an attempt to prevent damage to the house later, to prevent a lawsuit. The soil in Vegas is so bad, that when it rains it doesn't soak up the water. Water tends to just sit. Also, there is so much hard clay (no, can't think of the right spelling) that it makes digging for a pool very difficult.

This area is our swing garage, with the formal dining room and front room right behind it.

Trenching and Framing

The ground trenched for the plumbing and other pipes needed. The wood is used to outline where the concrete will be poured for the house. I have a picture of the wood with LOT 14 painted on it. That's our lot. This area is our swing garage.

The piping is laid. We're standing next to the pipes for our refrigerator. The pipes behind us is for the island sink. The island will have a breakfast bar on it, which is just an extension of the island and also a vegetable sink with a disposal in it. The wooded area in front of us is where the front door will be and where the columns will be added. To the left is our two car garage. Toward the back of the area is our living room and the large area in front of us is our formal dining room and front room.

Soaking The Lot

The kids in front of the soaked lot. The water has to reach a depth of 30 inches for it to be considered appropriately soaked and before they can begin building.

The Dirt Lot

This is our empty lot, before they soaked it. Soaking it is required to make sure the soil won't swell too much when it rains. They soak it before they build, so all the expansion, or at least most of it, has already taken place. From the sidewalk to the garage, we have just over 30 feet for our driveway. In the backyard, we have 61 feet from the back door to the wall. Enough room to do a pool, expand the porch we are having poured. There will be a dog run as well.

The Model

This is the model of the house being built for us. We have chosen a different elevation, so the front will look slightly different from this one. This is the upgraded elevation. There is a two car garage and then a swing garage, for a total of three cars if we wanted. The swing garage will be used for storage, a workshop and punching bag. The two car garage will be used for the van and truck, some storage, the freezer and water softener. We are going to have a very large driveway and there will be concrete outside the front door, so Terry has said he wants to buy a seat for the front.

Just a Thought...

When you criticize someone for talking about you, you should really make sure you know what the hell you're talking about before putting your foot in your mouth.

So, when's that surgery?