Day 10 - Pouring Of Cement

I am happy and surprised to announce that when I went to the house today they were pouring cement into what will be the foundation of the house.

 

So I am now assuming that the wait was caused by the fact that they were waiting for cement (and they might not work on weekends).  

I think that it's really impressive that it's only day 10 and the foundation is going down.  It can supposedly only take 24 hours for them to add the floor.  After another small drying period they can begin to build the frame as long as it doesn't rain which there is a chance of that for this coming Friday (40% chance of rain)

So there was one person that was overseeing the pouring of the concrete that was looking at me so I smiled and waved (mostly to feel less awkward) and he nodded at me so it was all good. 

P.S: They are building a garage behind our neighbours house.

Day 9 - No Progress

I'm writing this post since it's been since last Friday since I posted and I said I would try to post everyday.  Well last you saw they had poured the cement in.  The status is still the same and there is no further progress.  Could be because of various reasons.  My theories: 1. The next crew isn't ready to go 2. Any parts they could be waiting for aren't in yet 3. cement isn't dry (least likely since it's been so long and it hasn't rained).  I did see them building a structure behind our neighbours (finished house) though.  They were constructing what looked like the frame of the building (side/front with window area to it).  Part of me hopes that that would be ours and they are just building that while they wait for other things to line up but since we don't actually even have our basement cement poured or weeping tile I doubt it (there just aren't other buildings near us that they would be working on a structure at that location so maybe!

Day 5 - Footings

Progress
I am starting to feel less akward and less like a little stalker.  Due to that I have found a permanent place I will take pictures from that isn't off to the side in side my car so I can speed away (it also helps that for the next while I have to take picture inside the hole).  So this picture doesn't show too much of a difference other than the small amounts of cement in the dirt pile.

Once you look into the excavation site you see that there is progress!  The footings have been started as you can see and the weeping will will be laid down around the outside of the structure you see.  I'm not sure how long this will take to dry as to if there will be a lot of progress done tomorrow.  There is a 30% chance of rain tonight and 40% on Sat and Sun (but estimating if it does rain it will only be 1mm).  I assume that might make a difference to cement while drying if it rains.  Here's to hoping for clear skies!

Day 4 - Weeping Tile & Footings

 Progress
So today when I went by to do a "drive by shooting" of the house I almost missed that there was a structure at the bottom of the hole.

I realized that it would be much more appropriate to park and get out of the car to take the picture (just like it would be more appropriate for me to not say "drive by shooting" but I couldn't stop myself).  So the progress that they've made today (and bear with me as again I have limited knowledge in construction) seems to be as follows.  They have a layer of aggregate (or pea gravel as my co-worker is calling it) on the base which will be better to soak up any water in the future (better than that dirt which is mostly made up of clay).  Then they have put up the structure in which the footings in which the weeping tile will go around it and I believe the area where the sump pump will go (that that one is more of a guess for the sump pump). 

 Descriptions (for anyone like me that didn't know what this stuff was really)

Aggregate: the aggregate serves as reinforcement to add strength to the overall composite material. Due to the relatively high hydraulic conductivity (the ease with which water can move through pore spaces or fractures. You bet your bum I Googled that!) value as compared to most soils, aggregates are widely used in drainage applications such as foundation and French drains, septic drain fields, retaining wall drains, and road side edge drains. Aggregates are also used as base material under foundations, roads, and railroads. To put it another way, aggregates are used as a stable foundation or road/rail base with predictable, uniform properties (e.g. to help prevent differential settling under the road or building), or as a low-cost extender that binds with more expensive cement or asphalt to form concrete. -Wikipedia

Footings: Another common type of shallow foundation (footings) is the slab-on-grade foundation where the weight of the building is transferred to the soil through a concrete slab placed at the surface. Slab-on-grade foundations can be reinforced mat slabs, which range from 25cm to several meters thick, depending on the size of the building, or post-tensioned slabs, which are typically at least 20cm for houses, and thicker for heavier structures.

Sump Pump: A pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a water collecting sump pit, commonly found in the basement of homes. The water may enter via the perimeter drains of a basement waterproofing system, funneling into the pit or because of rain or natural ground water, if the basement is below the water table level. -Wikipedia

Weeping Tile: A porous pipe used for underground drainage. The pipe is typically plastic with small slits cut lengthwise into it. It is buried and surrounded by aggregate larger than the slits. The aggregate rocks prevent excessive soil from falling through the slits into the weeping tile. With this arrangement, water in the surrounding soil above the weeping tile flows into the weeping tile. The weeping tile then drains into a storm sewer or a sump pump .
It is often used for water drainage near basement foundations to prevent flooding. It can be used in farmer's fields to drain waterlogged fields. Such fields are called "tiled". Weeping tiles can be used anywhere soil needs to be drained. -Wikipedia

Day 3 - Open Excavation

So I was very excited to see today that there is a huge hole where my lot is.  I guess not huge per say but there is a hole the size of my house there which makes me happy.  There was even a sign that said "danger open excavation".

I would have taken a better picture but there wasn't any room to park this time.  This weekend I should get some good quality ones.

Survey
 So a week ago I got a call to tell me that there will be a survey coming out regarding the house.  There will be three surveys for each phase of the house process.  The first survey is regarding how the process of the paperwork went, how the salespeople were and if they were informative and how they did their job.  I have not gotten the survey yet but it should be coming soon.  I know there is one after you've moved into the house and somewhere in between I believe there is another one.

Day 2 - Breaking Ground

Progress:

So the second day I was happy to find that they were breaking ground!  I felt a little bit akward driving up and taking a picture (esp when there were workers on site) that I went up and introduced myself.  Pretty much to say "Hey, i'm not a creeper i'm just taking a picture a day so I can combine them all into a video". 

They're breaking ground!

Summerside:
So as I said before we are buying in Summerside but let me explain more of what Summerside is.  So Brookfield Residentials' (formerly Carma Developers) plan for this community is to have a Cape Cod architecture theme.  It was started in 2000 and they estimate it will be done by 2018 and will be home to over 3,000 families (that makes it sound really big but it doesn't seem like it).  They get master builders such as Jayman to design houses and offer homes from starter, move up, estate, townhouse, semi detached and apartment condominiums.  My favourite part of this community is that is has a very substantial pathway system and has a 32 acre freshwater lake that lets you swim, kayak, fish (catch and release) and so much more.  They plan to have many schools surrounding the community as well as some recreational centres.  Near the lake is tennis courts and of course a playground for the kids.  It seems to be a very social community as there is a page just for the people of summerside that you buy/sell things, they have farmers markets, and "movie in the park" nights.

The location of Summerside is at the edge of Edmonton but is close to both the Anthony Henday and Calgary Trail/Gateway Boulevard so it's easy to get to destinations around Edmonton without too much difficulty.  Plus side is if you're career makes it so that you need to frequent the airport, it's not that far away.  For a bigger city the airport is indeed far away so living at the edge with a close drive to the highway makes it so much easier whether you drive, taxi, or are picking up a friend.

The Thought and Process of Getting the House

"Author's Notes"
This is my first time writing a blog so bear with me as I fumble my way through writing.  I will try to keep everything easy to read and hopefully for the most part not too "personal".

"Prologue"
Technically I am already a fair ways past where I should have started blogging so I'll go quickly back to the beginning.

Thoughts Of The House - July 2010
My partner and I have been together for awhile by the time we figured we wanted to buy a house.  At first it was only a "buy a house" notion.  We decided to humour ourselves and go to a couple showhomes to see what was out there.  We knew in Edmonton there was really only one area where both of us would want to buy and that was Summerside.  The community with a lake, perfect for triathletes (even poorly training ones).

Showhomes
At first we got lost and found Summerside Fields.  An area where they have lovely houses but have no access to the lake.  So we mosied on over to the destination we were originally trying to get to; which ended up being Daytona.  I personally loved the Concorde...until I thought about it more (big beautiful living room window that gives you a nice view to your....garage wall?  Uh uh!).  Then we stepped next door which was Jayman.  Saw the Jazz and then we saw the Outlook.  I'd like to say it was love at first sight but really it was love at third storey (the house has three storeys and you can look from the very top to the very bottom like a spiral staircase that is square).

The Outlook
When we first stepped into the Outlook we were first introduced to Brett (the Area Sales Manager).  He was the epitomy of what I like in a sales person.  He greeted us as we came in, made it clear that he was there if we needed him, and then left us be to wander around without being bothered.  When we did need help or had any questions he was more than happy to answer them (he did have all the answers and the rare time he didn't he didn't say "I don't know" he'd look into it and was very prompt too).

We spent almost the next year saving for the downpayment (and going back into the showhome to ask Brett more questions and wander through the house talking about it) until we were finally able to start the process of buying the house.

Buying the House

Side Note: By this time Eddy The Sales Associate was also brought onto the sales team (of two) at Summerside.

Step #1: Meeting With Brett
So the first step and meeting was to go over what house we wanted and what we wanted in it.  This meeting was mostly for getting a lot on hold and an fairly close estimate of what the cost of the house would be so we could bring it to Jayman Finance (the mortgage broker).  We went over the layouts of the house, what upgrades we'd want to get (which is put in as the Style Magic Allowance), any extra things to the wiring/pluming/electrical (like a natural gas line), or the basic upgrades that they have on their website.  Nothing was signed at this meeting other than handing over a cheque for $1,000 so they could hold the lot we picked while we got our finances in order.

Step #2: Meeting the Pierre (The Jayman Financial Mortgage Broker).
This is fairly straight forward.  We met with the Mortgage Broker to hand him all the paperwork and go over anything else he needed and to sign off.  It is a very fast meeting if you make sure you have all your paperwork filled out and everything signed.  Whether you go with Jayman, another mortgage broker, or even just through a bank i'm sure they will email you everything you need. 
Note: When you print off three month bank account statements make sure your name and the account numbers are on the papers.  Most times when you print them off it won't print your name.  We had to printscreen it into word and email it after the meeting

The Unofficial Step #3: The Wait
The wait to see if you are approved or not can be exciting/stressful/overwhelming or all of the above at times esp if you are a fairly young buyer who doesn't think you've had enough years of credit to get approved.  Thankfully we were in Vegas so we didn't have much time to think about whether we were or weren't.  Three to four days later we finally got that email saying "congratulations you're approved!!!".

Step #3: Meeting with Brett 
This meeting was to hand over our down payment (which has to be a certified cheque or a bank draft) and sign many many pages of paperwork.  It took me 1.5 hours to complete this meeting.  That seems like a long time but Brett took the time to make sure all the documents were explained to us so we wouldn't later on be like "Hey! I never knew that" or "No one ever informed me of that!".
Side Note: It was storming and hailing on this day and it was crazy to see how much water built up fast but I also learned that Summerside is built very well because the water goes fast and doesn't just pool in one spot.  


Step #4: Style Magic Appointment!
This appointment was very long but very interesting.  This is the appointment where you get to choose what colour cabinets, rug, laminate, counters, handles, lighting, doors, etc that you want.  It is nice because you can personalize your house to be yours.  I think one of the best things for being upgraded for price wise was the triple pane windows and the headers.
Side Note: There are things that you are better off not to get them to do like dimmer switches, garberators, garages (style magic doesn't do that but the builders do), etc so I guess the best thing to do is ask and hope they give an honest answer.  Our sales team were really good at telling us what would be better if we did ourselves to save money.

Step #5: Meeting with Brett (last step in the paperwork process).
After all the official prices are in the final paperwork can be drawn up.  We went over what we were approved for so we had to email the mortgage broker to add on $8,000 to the pre approval.  So we sign the final paperwork and the blueprints and then they all need to be sent in.  Paperwork usually takes about 1.5 months.  We started the process June 30th and our house is officially starting to be built August 22, 2011 (today!).  Our house took a little bit longer because my partner works in Calgary for four days out of the week so we either had to make our appointments on Fri/weekend or I had to email him paperwork to sign.  It was a lot of juggling but it wasn't fault of Jayman so I was fine with it.
Note: the colour on your house will need to be approved because they don't want a similiar colour schemes side by side.


Stalking - Breaking Ground
I call it stalking only because I am going to try to go there everyday to take a picture so at the end when the house is finished (or at least when it's finished on the outside) I can put it together in a video and watch it be built fast!

Today I went to the house and there was stakes in the ground to mark off where the house will need to go (i'm not a construction worker so don't take my word for exactly what the stakes are for....there were flags too).