3. The Stem Wall

The stem wall is a concrete outer wall that forms the boundary of the outside foundation. This will be filled with plumbing, air vents, and radiant tubing and finally concrete. All this will form the foundation. The wood frame and subsequent house will sit on top of the foundation. It was really fun to walk in the middle of the stem wall and imagine where all the rooms are and the views from those rooms. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to see progress on the house. Yay! builder!

2. The Footing

The footing is what the stem wall sits on. The footing is the under the foundation. The footing was going to be done last week but the footing guy's ditch digger machine hit an underground granite mountain last week and broke down. I was later told that this particular ditch digger machine cost $70,000 dollars new. Wow! That cost more than our first house. Anyway, they got it fixed and today dug the footing and filled it with concrete. Really exiting stuff to finally see some concrete down.

1. The Site Pad

The trees have been pulled down from our 2.3 acres, and the pad has been cut. I met the guy who cut the pad. If you ever heard the phrase, "he was the 'salt of the earth'," this guy was it. I saw him actually grab dirt to rub it in his hands to get a better grip on the steering wheel of his tractor. Watching him move the dirt with his tractor was captivating. I think it is a guy thing to love watching big machines manipulate the environment - whether destroying or creating.

Click on photo's for larger view

The Builders

After six months of trying to find a builder who would build our home, we finally found one who took a challenge and worked with us. They are Custom Builders of Oklahoma (405-664-7881). http://www.custombuildersofok.com
Custom builders are owned by Eric Williams and Rhonda Trower, and they are wonderful people. My wife and I are very hands-on and picky with this house, and Eric and Rhonda have been very patient and have answered every question we've had - even when I call them four times in one day. We prayed for a builder and the good Lord provided us with someone who He thinks can handle us.

The Floor Plan

I designed the floor plan to take advantage of our beautiful acreage. After spending 4 months learning and designing I came up with the current floor plan. After that I sent it to the designer to make sure that it could be built and the walls wouldn’t come crashing down. A friend led us to Kelli Smith of Design’s Unlimited (405-285-6305). She took my floor plan and redrew it to work. She is very professional and did a fantastic job.

Click the text to download the PDF floor plan.
The Main Floor Plan
The Elevation
The Site Plan

The House

This is the inspiration for our elevation and is similar to what the new house should look like when its done.