Lots has been happening recently.
We've been basically twiddling our thumbs the last 3 months (actually a little more) on the house build. The construction loan was expiring June 14 and the bank contacted me at the end of April, right as we were basically ready to pour the concrete at the basement level, and said they were not going to pay any more bills until we renewed / extended the loan. As the market had gotten more expensive that meant a new budget and everything. I think I've mentioned this before but it took 5 weeks to get the budget set due to a couple bids/estimates that didn't get turned around without lots of prodding. (Busy time of year for everyone building back in May). Most got turned around in 2 weeks. Anyway, for some reason it took forever for the bank to process. We got prelim approval several weeks ago and then a quick (and good) appraisal within the next week. But they wanted us to stick a ton more money in ourselves to keep the ratios. Plus new closing costs / bank loan fees etc. I finally was able to get them to go from $65K to close to $12.3K to close. (Of that $12.3, almost all is bank loan origination fee and closing costs -- $600-$700 is new money). They are still writing up the paperwork but gave the go ahead to schedule the concrete etc.
Friday evening I got a text that Monday the form guys would be there to form up the "retaining wall" at the back of the house where the staircase that goes from outside ground level to a rear door in the basement is. Monday night I got a text that their foreman was actually on site planning it and I went and met him. He needed me to move some wood supports/wood braces so the forms would fit against the house so the retaining wall would be tied to the house with re-bar etc.
This morning my son and I went up and did the work to move or change the wood bits they needed to have changed and then their form crew showed up and spent a few hours putting the forms up. They helped themselves to my 2x4 stash in order to support the forms, hold them together, etc. Said stash I had just bought last Saturday to make vertical supports for doorways etc. for the actual concrete pour. So while they were working my son and I drove to Lowes and got another 2x4s. Luckily I still have the roof rack bars on my Audi hatchback and so we were able to bungie them down and get home. By the time we got back the form crew was done and just leaving. So we carried the 2x4 down and put vertical supports in every door way, fixed a few of the ICF braces where the spikes holding them down were not right (2 on one side instead of one on each side) and generally we were done around 3pm. Long day. I went home, showered (I had some dust or something in my eye plus was hot and sweaty). Ate some lunch and took a nap for 90 minutes. Tonight after the nap and a couple hours trying to motivate myself and after a cheesecake supper (literally cheesecake, not Cheesecake Factory or anything), I went back up for about 75 minutes before it got dark to create a few wood supports for the scaffolding on two corners that might cause concern for the concfrete crew when looking at them, even though we've been walking on it for months without issue). I also checked some of the clamps I have that hold some f the scaffolding boards to the ICF bracing scaffold bars (for safety).
Tomorrow the inspector comes to inspect my ICF "foundation" and also the retaining wall -- not sure how he is going to see down inside the 10 ft high retaining wall forms though. 9am the concrete job starts. My son and I will get there around 7am or 7:30am to do one last pass to make sure the ICF walls are as vertical / plumb as possible and to finish straightening clamps, pre-positioning ladders, etc.
Once they start pouring the concrete my son and I will be screwing down some plywood covers for the door and window opening once the concrete is in the threshold part so that as the concrete goes higher in the forms it won't hydraulic pressure itself out the opening in the doorways and window bottoms. That sort of thing.
Hopefully they are all done by 2pm or so.
Once the concrete pour is done, we have to wait 3 days minimum, and then we can start taking down the ICF bracing and all the wood supports and braces. The plumber will come do the drain rough in and then we'll dump a ton of gravel in and lay the foam insulation and water tubes for the in-floor heating (not the whole basement but the living space) and then the basement slab will be poured and the framers will come in an put the structural parts in
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On the personal side.
I think I may have mentioned, but my dad had been suffering from prostate cancer for several years. He passed away a little before 8am this morning. It was expected. He was 86 (would have been 87 in mid October).
He had had the cancer for a while and had been successfully treated a couple years with Testosterone suppressant therapy but eventually that stopped working. They tried some chemo and I don't remember exactly if the first one worked a while but I think he couldn't tolerate it. They tried a few things but he decided to stop the chemo. That was a year ago (or maybe longer). He has gradually been growing weaker over the last year or so but was doing quite well. He would walk in the neighborhood up until a couple months ago I think. Since then he could shuffle around the house with his cane or walker or later on his wheelchair which he would push himself with his feet to get around. A couple weeks ago he was not able to do that any longer and needed to be pushed into the bathroom, etc, but he could still, wth help, get stood up and put into the chair (he no longer could do it himself). He started getting really weak last week and we knew it would be soon. Maybe another week or so if not sooner. Over the weekend he got worse very quickly. We visited several times. My wife is an RN so she went over even more than I did. Sunday I and my family went again to see him as he had had a rough day and gotten weaker. He was able to open his eyes and see you and try to respond. Monday we knew it was close so we all went, except my son, who was at work, and saw him. The wife stopped there after work for a few hours and I went a bit later. My sister, who has been with her family in Africa since Spring, as her husband is a military attache there, was in town the last few weeks with her 2 sons for their scout camp and a general summer vacation. He second daughter has been living with my parents for the last 1-2 year or year (I forget) anyway and her oldest daighter flew in after a concert in California she was involved in (she is a student back east and is involved in music at the university). So my sister and her family were there. My other sister and her family drove down the 90 min from Wyoming to see him last night. I got my brother, who is in Arizona, and is the Arizona Army National Guard HQ unit commander and at summer camp, on FaceTime so he could see his dad one last time, and then we added his wife from their home and his daighter at school in SC in on the FaceTime so they all could see and talk to him. By then he was not able to open his eyes but he tried to acknowledge when people talked to him by trying to open an eye and by squeezing your hand. So all my siblings were able to say last good byes either in person or on FaceTime last night.
This morning I got a text from my sister (who is at their home), which I missed as we were working at the house, and my wife called to tell me he had passed about 15 minutes prior.
We knew this was coming so we've already been through the grief stage and it was more comforting than anything to know his suffering would be over and he would be released to go back to his heavenly home. Now my sisters are planning the funeral for this coming Saturday (with our input but I told them I trust them to do it since I have this house work this week as well). My one sister was scheduled to go back to Africa via Italy and Turkey on Monday and I also have a lot going on next week so I am glad for the early funeral. My brother and his family are coming in from Arizona for it (his daughter was scheduled to visit them in Arizona anyway so just has to come up with them). Luckily we also have a good (and experienced) church congregation with the women's auxiliary springing into action to help set things up, provide a luncheon for the family after the graveside service, etc. So my sisters can worry about the program etc and not the logistics.
As I said, it is a great comfort and relief that he did not "linger longer" as my wife likes to say. That once he started going down hill last week he just kept going. And we've known for a long time his time left on earth was not going to be long so we've all adjusted to the idea. I really feel for those whose loved ones are taken away through sudden accident or sudden health issue that was not expected. No time to come to terms, say good byes, etc.
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On top of it all, the wife and I celebrated the 22nd wedding anniversary yesterday. We didn't do much as we were mostly at my parents' house, and then I had to meet with the foreman of the crew doing the forms for the rear basement staircase retaining wall. But I did sous vide some nice steaks and then pan-grilled them quickly (my real grill is kaputt) and we also had some store sushi and cheesecake to celebrate. We've gone to a nice sushi place the last several years but it is pricey so had agreed beforehand to do the nice steaks and some store sushi, anyway, to save money while we finish up the house, so it worked out in the end.
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Morning comes early so I am off to bed.
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