We have a Basement, well actually we have a Hole

Big news of the week is that the excavation of the basement foundation is underway. What once was a beautiful patch of land is now a giant hole surrounded by piles of dirt. Not impressed? Well, we have never been so excited to see a hole in the ground.

The photo above is looking towards the north as if you were approaching the house. The backhoe was there all day clearing the land and creating what will soon be our basement.

Yup, that's my future kitchen window view! I stood in my someday kitchen where the sink would be and envisioned how beautiful it will be without that 14 foot pile of dirt. There is actually a plan for all that dirt. The area where the driveway comes up towards the house is a little lower down. The dirt from the basement will move to the side and elevate the driveway more to the level of the house.

This is a view towards the East, with the kitchen more on the left and the stairway/entry way more on the right, and my mother in law too!

You are looking at our future first floor bathroom and mudroom. This is off towards the North East corner.

What a gorgeous day in mid Michigan. Just look at those clouds. Kyle's youngest sister Jamie, his mom and I walked down to the property to see the recently dug hole.

Jamie is eleven and around 5 foot 3 inches, so this gives a nice representation of the height of the basement. We are estimating it to be about 6 feet deep. Since the basement ceilings will be 9 feet tall, my math is a little rusty but sounds like the basement will stick out about 3 feet from the ground. I'm not sure if that will actually be the finished height or not, especially after the concrete gets poured next week.

And this photo has almost nothing to do with the house but I just found it so pretty (and creepy if praying mantis aren't your thing). We found this dude trying to get our of our basement, so we gave him a lift out of the dirt pile and I think he is so photogenic!