ISAIAH HEINZ

Of course, the really big news was the birth of Isaiah Heinz, which has been chronicled in emails and photos. I'm adding this to the Family blog for completeness, since everyone has seen a gazillion pictures and heard me rave about this perfect baby, probably till you can't stand any more. Tough! For pictures alone, see the Greenhoot Photo Site which shows some of our photos, but be sure and follow along on Jennifer's Blog Site, which details all the stuff you want to know....and her own pictures.

SALUDA PARK

We're slowly getting started on the Saluda house. You can see the original post in the series by clicking here.

The site preparation is taking a lot longer than we thought it would, as the house is larger, and the mountain has to be carved out and larger retaining walls built, but we've broken ground, and our Master Builder, Bill Burdett is hard at the project.

There've been delays that we've caused, of course, not the least of which is a substantial re-design of much of the house that delayed final plans and engineering drawings...but, it's better to get it right the first time, and worth the effort. Bill had real reservations about the first plan, and we're glad he told us about them, as the house is much better and more functional this way. We're particularly glad that Bill's proud of this project that he feels will be a showpiece of a house.

Here are some views of the current elevation drawings, the site as seen at the beginning and as the walls are being placed.

This will be a view from the far shore of the pond...the view is actually off the deck at the right side of the drawing, looking at the center of the pond.This will be the view as you approach the house down the road, looking at the front door beside the garage.


This is the site when we first started.


We dug out some of the dirt for the preliminary survey.

Now we're seriously into site preparation, and building
the retaining wall(s)



Kathryn has the furniture layouts pretty much planned, and much of the furnishing has been arranged....furniture and oriental rugs and "stuff" is accumulating in varied places in the hope that we'll remember where it all is at moving day.

It's exciting....and will be a fine legacy for our family in the future. Named "SaludaPark" it'll be waiting for you to visit next Fall.

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FEBRUARY 28,2007...BIG NEWS!
They poured the foundation today....the house is BEGUN. All this time has been spent getting ready to build....site preparation was so important, and so complicated by the major league slope issue that it's taken much longer than expected....but now, the hole is dug...the foundation is poured, and after a few more weeks we'll start framing the house itself.

THIRTEEN! truckloads of concrete were brought in to fill the forms that have been constructed to make the foundation.

The structure is really massive... I'd been concerned that we build it strong
enough to last for several lifetimes and never slide off this mountain. Bill says, "Jerry, that house isn't going anywhere, ever."

There was a huge hole to dig before they got down to solid dirt and rock, so the foundation is basically countersunk into the mountain...the sides of the hole will be filled in after waterproofing the concrete...and then comes framing.

After the forms were removed, the concrete foundation looks like a fortress.

This is Bill Burdett...our builder...Those blueprints are his way of showing us that yes, someday there WILL be a house here. Bill's a great guy, and we're lucky to have him build SaludaPark for us.


It takes a LONG time to build a house....and it's more difficult in remote areas on mountainous terrain...but our SaludaPark is finally coming together.

It's now September, 2007....and the house is dried in....roof is on....we're changing things around a bit, and creating a new pond and a trail around the property, choosing the colors and cabinets....and making the turn to the home stretch.

Here are some contemporary pictures of our new home.