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The Garage Saga Part Three: The Foundation

Renovations· The Garage

8 Aug

It’s 8:57 pm on Monday, August 7.

We’ve (HUGE shoutout to my parents and brother for all the help – isn’t family amazing?!) been busting our asses for the past several weeks on all things garage-related and I’m currently typing this out sitting on a stack of block [not so comfortable], intermittently filling Brett up with mortar or broken blocks for filler.

We know you’re jealous and wish you could be spending this quality time with us because the fun level is at an all time high here at the ‘ole Nest.

garage saga part three

When we left you last, we had just received the surveyor results and were told some great news about having more property than we originally thought [helllooooo larger garage, you’re lookin’ mighty fine!].

In case you’re just joining us, check out part one and part two of this wonderful garage adventure we’ve been on.

And if you haven’t figured it out from the introduction, we got the permit (!!!) and are knee deep in mud, block and mortar.

garage saga part three

We kicked off this dirt party the weekend of July 22 by renting a skid steer and digging out the trenches and laying in the forms for the garage. This involved a LOT of digging, losing a few pounds of body weight in sweat and a few blisters [but the smiles were still there!].

garage saga part three

After the forms were in, Inspector Dennis stopped by that Tuesday [7/25] to check on our work. We passed the first of many checkpoints and also made a new friend 🙂

Random side note: Be nice to your inspector and don’t be afraid to ask questions. More often than not, they want to help you.

garage saga part three

After the green light on the forms, it was time to pour cement [7/26].

Not that I would ever admit to women being inferior to men in any way, this was definitely a job for the males of the family. My mom and I tried our best to help, but who knew cement was so damn heavy?!

Once everything was dry, Brett ripped off the forms and prepped for the dreaded block.

garage saga part three

Delivery was scheduled for Monday, July 31. They didn’t specify a time, but we assumed sometime in the afternoon.

I was home from work around 3:30 and our yard was empty.

Brett got home around 4:30 and still nothing.

My parents came over around 5:00, all ready to be put to work and still nothing.

Finally at 7:45 the delivery truck pulls in and unloads the umteen-million pallets of block and…cement. We ordered mortar.

garage saga part three

Of course he’s too busy to come back that evening with the right product so we call it a night and get ourselves psyched up to start the next day.

And that’s what we’ve been doing [nearly] every day since.

Brett and my dad have the job of block stacking and mortar filling while my mom and I make sure the dogs don’t throw themselves into traffic, haul the block over to the guys and mix together the mortar.

garage saga part three

It’s quite the handy system and if it wasn’t for the fact that the block weighs 867 pounds and the mortar can be a bit tempremental when mixing, everything would be great.

Someday when we finish the block, Inspector Dennis will be making another stop by and if we pass, we can begin to fill all the dirt back into the hole. Then we put up the forms for the actual foundation, which will hopefully be poured August 19.

garage saga part three

Yes, one week before the wedding. Because, why not? We love the chaos and JUST planning/prepping a wedding is not nearly enough to-dos for this household 😉

garage saga part three

And with that, we’re off… to lay more block.

All our best,


 

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Related posts:

The Garage Saga Part Two: The Surveyor, The Property Lines and The Permit Project Update: Fall & Winter 2016 The Re-Sealed & Re-Painted Front Porch The Garage Update: Putting Up the Walls

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    August 13, 2017 at 8:00 pm

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oh, hi!

We’re Brett and Kelly! A husband and wife team tackling our first complete home renovation. We love all things DIY, our two furbabes and lazy summer days out on the lake. Our mission? To share the journey of turning a house into a home.

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what we’re loving right now

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the archives

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Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the w Last summer, Brett and I didn’t get out on the water at all – not once did we take the boat out.

Given the fact that we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I felt like the worst Minnesotan. How could we not enjoy the water when there’s three within five miles of our house?

This year? We've been able to get out on some body of water at least once per week - how cool is that?!

What’s been really great about these last few months is that we’ve seemed to have found a nice “balance” between go-go-go and taking time to enjoy whatever it may be.

While this season of relaxed work is probably not the norm, it's been a pleasant surprise that we'll be enjoying for as long as we can!

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We finished it wayyyy back in 2017 but there was a small frustration: the washer and dryer cover the window.

Every few months we'd circle back to the space and see how we could make it work. It was one of those little issues that might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but here's the thing - you deserve to LOVE your home.

After four and a half years of constant projects, I often find myself wondering why in the hell we are doing this and I keep coming back to this idea that a home is meant to be loved, to share a story, to work for you, to be a space that you can relax in and enjoy.

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New post #ontheblog today all about the lawsuit we've been in with our neighbor for the last year. And it started all because of our garage.

In short: three years ago the county required us to get a survey done on our property in order to build the garage. The results showed that the easement our neighbor was using to access her property was not in the right place - it was inside our property lines instead of outside.

Fast forward to July 2, 2019 when we were served lawsuit paperwork from said neighbor, claiming the rights to the easement location - and it's been a long, stressful process since then.

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So, here's to continuing to find that balance of function and design - and I'd love hear, have you compromised anything because it just didn't fit with how your family lives in your home?!?

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