This is the summer we will begin building our new house by the lake. That is the plan, anyway. . . .               A great deal had already been accomplished by the time we arrived in early June. In March out excavator had determined that a normal basement could not be dug without blasting. How we were prevented from pursuing that option is detailed eleswhere. In early May we gave our approval to go ahead and build with whatever basement was possible.               Our builder, Dave Colby, took the first three pictures. Here the foundation has already been excavated. It is hard to judge in this picture how deep the hole is. Off to the left you can make out some of the rocks which will be permanent features of our basement. The gravel will help water drain away from the foundation .               Preparing to pour the foundation footers. This is looking east along the north wall of the future house. The long green roof straight ahead is the meeting Hall on Treasure Island. the roof to the right is our second cabin, where we live during the summer. You can see how they had to folow the contour of the granite ledge when they poured.               In this photo the footers have been poured. To the rear is the cement pumper, which is quite a machine. 'Nuff said.               The next step was insulating the foundation, so we could backfill the excavation and move ahead. But the foundation had to be dry, and the weather was not cooperating. It was a good sign when a truck arrived and dropped off a load of expensive foam boards.               Dave wielded a nail gun that used blank gunpowder charges to shoot cut nails through the foam into the cement. The trick was not shooting the nail right through the washers and the insulation.               Then we waited a few more days for Larry to come back and fill in the outside of the foundation with clean sandy fill. What he ahd earlier removed from the hole was rocks and roots and clay -- not what we want to promote drainage away from the foundation.               Next we had to prepare footings for the seventeen posts that will hold up the porch and the bedroom wing. In some cases bedrock was near the surface. In others we had to dig deep in soft soil and rocks on a steep grade to find a suitable purchase.               Here are the poured footings for some of the piers which will hold up the master bedroom. After the ground floor and deck are built the holes will be filled in a bit and the grade reestablished.               Before he poured the basement floor Dave wanted to get the exposed ledge clean. Any dirt, clay, or debris would just become dust in the basement, so the pressurewasher was liberally applied. The notch in the center is my future basement door.               Larry and Dave filled the basement up to a few inches below the final floor level with crushed rock for drainage. Also it is cheaper than pumped cement. Just behind the digger's bucket you can see the end of a six inch white pipe sticking up. This will become my basement floor drain.               Pouring day has arrived. Billy and his crew have laid a plastic sheet to keep the concrete from filling in between the crushed rock. Here they are shooting the final grade to ensure that the basement will drain properly to the intended low point. This shot shows clearly just what the ledge sticking up into my basement will look like.               After the job is done, looking back the other way towards the basement door. The clearance in the tallest part of the basement, the far right corner in this shot, will be less than six feet. Not comfortable, but enough for my furnace and mechanicals. The Cement in the floor is mixed with small fibers to reduce its tendancy to crack when heaved by frost, as happens in cold Vermont winters.

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Looking into the driveway (6 views over 8 months) Looking across the site (4 views March to June) Looking in the basement door (3 views) Like many Vermont barns and houses, we plan to have a roof vent covered by a cupola. We collect nearby examples (6) Our porch posts and railings will be unmilled logs. We are searching for the right look (5 ideas)

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