Kurnick - Preconstruction work

I've been waiting on the client to get his construction loan in place so that we can start the foundation work. In the meantime, I took the plans into the building department for plan review and to obtain a permit. I also had Duke Power evaluate the power situation. There are two power transformers that my client could tap into, one closer than the other but I wasn't sure if there is a tap-in position available in the closer transformer, luckily there is so we are going to set a temporary power pole next to that transformer and then I will need to call in to inspect the temporary power pole. Once that is approved, we can get a power connection. While we wait on the inspection we will get a jobsite box set up with the permit in place and a port-o-john. Those things need to be in place before the inspection.

Kurnick - Clearing the site

The clearing and excavation of the site is being done. Luckily there are not very many big trees on the lot because all of the stumps need to be removed and that can take the most time and they are costly to haul off to a dump site. Usually you have to pay someone to dump your stumps on there site and they dispose of them however they choose, either bury or burn. Stumps can take days and days to burn down so it isn't often something you want to do on site because of time constraints, future trees being damaged by the fire or maybe the development has rules against open burning.

Some of the trees that we took off the site were hickory trees so I did have them hauled down to the local sawmill. If the client is interested we will likely saw them into planks for flooring but I know we will not have enough to do any major section of floor. Also, in order to do this the tree needs to be sawed as soon as possible, stickered and covered to dry out over the course of construction before installation.

Kurnick - Septic install

We started to install the septic field today. It's good to get the septic field in first because it's on the far side of the house so once the foundations are in the path to the side of the house for the septic get's more difficult to access. Thankfully, no hidden surprises of rock so all is well and the septic field and setting of the tank goes in like clockwork. The field and tank need to be inspected by the Jackson County Department of Environmental Health before covering up to ensure all is installed properly

9/28/2011

Kurnick - Septic evaluation

I'm starting to build a new project today. To begin, I visited the lot with the health department employee to evaluate the lot and determine if the current three bedroom septic system that was originally permitted for the lot can be increased to a four bedroom septic field. To give you a little history, the lots were divided up and evaluated for a standard three bedroom septic field in order for the developer to sell the lot but my client's house plan is for a four bedroom septic field so the evaluation needed to be redone. We were lucky in that my clients soil conditions and lot size were perfect for allowing an increase in the septic field size.

Kurnick - Design

I started a new design project. It started out that the client had a plan that was designed by an architect but after the client sent the plan to bid, they quickly realized the plan was not fitting into their budget. What I find often happens when working with some architects or designers is that they do not know the cost of building and the plan quickly get's out of control. It is difficult when the client has a long list of desires but I always assume that when a client tells me what their budget is, that is the number they want to use as a guide. It is important to always keep that number in mind when designing because certain aspects of the house like complicated rooflines, areas of the house that require too much foundation work, too much square footage, certain framing techniques all create additional cost that could be eliminated with a different design. I try to find the right combination of clients desires, budget constrants, asthetics, flow of the space, lot layout and development requirements in order to create the perfect plan for each client. It's a lot to keep in mind but every item is important and all of those goals must be met in the end. I redesigned the clients plan and now we are ready to move forward.