Project Set Out

We did have a couple of minor changes to make on the drawings to satisfy Building Control, but overall we are thrilled with the quality of the drawings from Icon and its MEP design team – the changes are minor and of more of a clarification nature than outright corrections. Well done Tami and the team at Icon!! This is an excellent example of why we bring the whole team to the design and planning process as early as possible.

We have been setting out the dimensions of the home on the finished pad over the few days. You can see where Ian, Troy and their crew have been painstakingly identifying all the major elements of the home; spray-painting the exact locations of walls, openings, and other elements like the septic tank, the propane tank, the pool and the generator pad. These marking will indicate where the foundations for the various building structurals will be dug.

Prepare The Site!

There are about two feet of topsoil to be removed from the site and replaced with crushed rock in order to create a finished building pad. If you recall, we knew about this extra topsoil and the fill that would be required to displace it from the geotech (scroll back and watch this if you have not) at the beginning, so we were able to allow for that in our budget.

The pad must be checked for density a number of times during the filling and compacting process – this ensures that the home will not settle as the building process unfolds. When you see cracked slabs and walls in a finished home, chances are this step was either omitted or not performed correctly. It takes time, effort and money to do this correctly but it is critical to the quality of the finished product.