Basement Walls

How are we possibly going to get this house up in less than a week? On the outset it sounded like a daunting task and despite the very tight schedule (in 30 minute intervals) it still seems unimaginable.

One of the ways we were able to move forward so quickly was the basement. Instead of using a footing, the base of the walls was built on compacted gravel, something we had never used before. It's common up north where the building season is much shorter, so time is of the essence.

In this photo Bob, Ben (our son) and I look the basement walls (yes, basement walls) before they are set in place. The walls came from Superior Wall Systems. They are incredibly energy efficient, featuring styrofoam insulation pored into place. Superior does the basement walls for all of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition shows.

As you can tell, the delivery came at night so in the morning the basement was done and we were ready to start building upwards.

This is just one of the many ways we were able to keep on track. We also learned a few things we'll incorporate into homes we build in the future whenever feasible.