The Frozen Tundra
January has come and gone, and I’m sorry to announce we do not have a foundation yet…we have a frozen tundra. It has been abnormally cold the past month and we have been plagued with one snowstorm after another! Concrete was supposed to be poured over the holidays, but we had a 2 week setback thanks to an inspector forgetting to do what he was supposed to do at the site visit. That 2 weeks put us right into a major snowstorm, followed by well below zero temps which turned the snow into ice. Even with the warm sun of Colorado, the ice didn’t budge and we resorted to melting the ice with a propane torch! One issue of the torch that we quickly figured out was that it created a mud lake which then became a waterfall. Kris had the joyous task of scooping muddy water into buckets to haul out of the foundation area as I continued to melt the ice down. The only plus, the torch warmth kept my fingers and toes from freezing!
Just when we felt the foundation area was snow free and starting to dry out, winter weather advisories came across our phones! Noooo!!!! Next plan was to cover the hole so the dirt didn’t get wet or icy again. How to do that? Really big tarps! Our tiny apartment has never had so many random things dragged into it. We connected heavy duty tarps in our tiny living room and hauled them over to the property. These tarps weighed a TON!!! We worked til dark trying to line the area before another snowstorm rolled in. It was a brutal job, but nothing compared to what Kris had to endure after that storm subsided. About 15” of that horrible white stuff fell and we had drifts over 2 feet! You’re not supposed to disturb the foundation dirt, so he hand shoveled for almost 9 hours, 1 shovel-full at at time. He originally thought he’d just throw the snow up out of the hole, but it was too wet and heavy so he actually had to carry each scoop out, shake it off the shovel and head back in. Ugh!! Absolute winter nightmare!
After temperatures warmed up a bit, our foundation crew said they wanted to try to pour the footings before the next snow. So, the now frozen tarps had to be hauled out, we had to re-plot the foundation markers (which we did well into the dark of night) and pray for dry weather. The crew at last came out and was ready to pour! Not so fast, inspector says the ground is still too frozen and it likely won’t thaw with the cold temps we’ve had until March!!! January has NOT been a banner month.
Feeling more than exhausted and disappointed, we tried our best to regroup. Facing the fact we might not pour concrete now til spring, Plan L was designed (we call it Plan L because we figure we’ve blown WAY past Plan A, B and C and are at least at letter L!). So what is Plan L?? Cover the hole, plan for the worst! So, that’s where we are. Kris has now been constructing a giant plywood cover for the foundation hole that we hope will keep the ground snow and ice free until the frozen tundra of January leaves, and warmer Colorado sun arrives.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that our windows and doors came in and they have to be delivered within a week! I’m not sure how much more fun we can have building this house. I guess Plan M needs to address the doors and windows. Maybe put them in the hole since nothing seems to be happening down there??!!
We are hoping and praying for warmer days in the near future!
