A new crew has been working the last couple of days. They are preparing the foundation, digging footings for the new foundation. As I understand, once the footings are poured and cured the second elevation begins. They are scheduled to pour the footings Friday.  If it will quit raining.

The work crew went to work before 7am, worked until around noon, and then came back after the rain.  I want a riding toy like the one in the photos.  I don’t know what I would do with it but I want one.

No one was at the house again today. They say that they will be there tomorrow, but it’s supposed to rain.  So the pouring of concrete scheduled for Friday will be delayed until late next week. Now it’s supposed to start raining again on Wednesday of next week.

No one was at the house today, but Hugo says they will be there tomorrow. Hugo says that they are going to pour concrete on Friday.  Hopefully the weather will allow that.

The rain may be past, but it came

close to flood level.  The house is safe so far, being up 48”.

It’s raining hard outside, with a little small hail. While we wait for the next work crew to show up, here is a little musical humor:  The House of the Rising Sun. (Credit to Jo Ann)

This photo shows the house after the final lift of phase 1. It is now elevated to a height of 48”.  If I understand correctly, they will now shovel most if not all of the dirt piles back under the house.  Then, they will pour a slab prior to the final phase of lifts that will take the house up to 12.36’ at least.

Notice the legs dangling from the tree. Poor kid.  Apparently I bored him worse than I realized.  This shows the foundation after the lift to 40”.

At the end of the day there were 4 lifts of 8 inches each.  In the morning at 7 am they will begin the first of at least 2 more lifts.  Unless we have a rain to end all rains, our house should be safe from floods.  The 100 year flood plain is supposed to go over Highway 84.  It will take the second phase of lifts to protect us from that.  But for now we will think happy thoughts.

The second eight inches is done.

The first 8 inches is done.

Behold the mighty machine, with its tentacles reaching into the innermost depths of the structure.  Soon it will pump life to into the strategically positioned jacks under our abandoned home and lift it to heights heretofore unknown. We shall soon be safe from the whims of rain amounts. At least in this structure.

UPDATE:  The most recent information that I have is that the lift will start at 7:30 am tomorrow.

UPDATE:  Unless things go faster than expected, the lift will occur on Wednesday morning at around 8.

UPDATE:  The lift probably won’t happen until late tomorrow or Wednesday.

The Great Machine is here.  Despite torrential rains on Sunday and cold temperatures this morning, the work crew has been working all day. The last word that I had was that elevation could begin as early as 8 in the morning, but that depends on how far they get today. Apparently a lot of the dirt washed back under the house making preparations harder.

For the rest of this week Arkitektura will accumulate supplies and Weapons of Mass Construction. Monday they will prepare the foundation for the lift.  They will arrive at 8a.m. Tuesday with The Mother of All Elevation Machines.  They expect the actual lift to begin at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

I was told again today that the lift would be next week, maybe even Monday.  There’s a meeting tomorrow that may give me a better idea.

Yesterday afternoon the work crew told us that they were finished. Now another crew will come in to set up for the lift.  We meet Wednesday. Again, I don’t know if we meet to get started or meet to discuss starting, but either way is much appreciated progress. We expect to do the first lift next week.

During a lull yesterday, Jo Ann surveys the growing pile of dirt that comes from under the house.  Today was too bad to work. It was too cold and rainy.

Hugo is the Arkitectura guy who supervises the work crew that is here now.  I called him this morning and asked why there were only three people working at the house.  He said he would find out.  The answer:  three people were visible, four were under the house tunneling.  I couldn’t do it.

He says that we should start lifting the house week after next.  That would be wonderful. These photos are of the wreckage and of one of the guys in the crew waving at me (with a little coaxing).

They’re back!!!  They worked all day today.  For those of you who wanted to know whose legs (with striped socks and ruby slippers) were sticking out from under the house, it was Jo Ann’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the East.