Entry 10: After Turkey Day

Hello reader,

I went to the site today at 10am with Tom Rose to check out the latest scoop and here’s what I found. Today the digging continued from last week (thanksgiving break). The entire hole should be dug up by Friday and Monday the cement trucks are scheduled to come. Tom, Ray, and I worked out logistics for locations of the security cameras. It was a beautiful day and the mud was soft yet firm enough to walk on. Some photos of my visit are provided below. Notice the muddy tracks. The next safety orientation time is in the works, so expect to receive an email in the near future.

Snapshots of My Visit (click to enlarge)

Entry 9: Construction Breaks Ground

Construction Breaks Ground!

During our Tuesday OAC meeting (which is now in the trailer on site), I witnessed the first signs of construction! I think the most important thing I got out of the meeting that I want to share is the most recent schedule. It is as follows:

• Today, the digging will remove all of the top soil.
• By the middle of next week (pending fair weather conditions), the basement will be dug up.
  
• Following is a 3 week process will begin for the footers.
• With all of the delays, we are currently only a week behind schedule because landscaping prep work was finished before permit was completed.
• This projects a completion date of Sept. 17th, 2007*

*Note: With this date, the safest advice I would give anyone interested in living in the house would be to plan for the Spring Semester of '08.

Entry 8: Pre-Construction and Safety Orientation

Hello Smart Home community,

I apologize for not keeping more frequent blogs concerning the construction, but the truth is that there hasn’t been anything to write about. However, have no fear – good news is here in this recent blog entry! Also, have a great Thanksgiving!

So, from last time I wrote, I mentioned that Bovis has started working on the site. They have cleared the shrubs and preserved some of the trees (see photos below). A few other things have passed that should be brought to attention. Firstly, a permit was acquired last Monday (11/13), which gave BLL the green light on official construction. Secondly, 8 video cameras with night time infrared sensors were donated along with 2 DVR’s to record the activity of the site! I will let you know when they are set up. And finally, all primary building materials were ordered and we expect initial construction to move smoothly. The timeframe is at the beginning of next week, the basement will be dug up and the foundation will be installed. More updates will follow.

Members on site (from left to right: Kareem Lee, Tim Gu, Mark Gu, and Jordan Woodson).

Example of Tree Protection on site.

View of construction site.

Because of future heavy equipment and activity on the site, safety is a big concern. Wavers handed out in the Mid-Semester Presentation will be used for going to the site. If you are interested in visiting, you must be cleared through a safety orientation led by Ray Pruitt, superintendent of the site. It is important to remember that the site is Bovis’s until construction is finished, so we must follow their rules.

Safety orientation in Trailer by Ray Pruitt.

The first Safety orientation occurred yesterday (11/17) and 6 people were certified including myself to access the site. Future dates for those interested will be set up. In learning about site safety, proper attire such as leather-upper boots, long sleeves, and a hard hat are required on site. Bovis has been kind enough to lend visitors with hard hats and possibly goggles. After you fill out some paperwork and listen to Ray’s overview, you will be given a card with the number for the site as well as a sticker that acts as a form of clearance for the site. Check out my official Smart Home sticker below.

ID Sticker for Safety Orientation

Entry 7: Bovis Sets Up

Bovis has started work on the Home Depot smarthome site, and is currently working to prepare the lot for smart home construction. Bovis has placed a temporary trailer on site to run operations from in addition to constructing a fence around the entire site. Over the next couple of weeks expect to see the shrubs around the site taken down, and after that the foundation will be laid followed by framing. As noticeable changes to the construction site will be eminent, expect to see more updates (with pictures included); these updates should occur at least every week.