We've now got two sitework bids, and I've added the second one to the table below. The numbers are pretty close for the most part, except Contractor B is coming in way below on the backfill price. I need to find out if we're all talking about the same thing.
Also, I am going into the stump-grinding business.
Item
Contractor A
Contractor B
Remove stumps for septic, driveway, and cottage site
4,000.00
5,700.00
Strip topsoil for cottage and driveway
400.00
750.00
Excavate for frost-wall foundation
860.00
included above
Install driveway
4,389.00 (approx. 3850 SF)
2,970.00 (approx. 2200 SF)
Backfill foundation with excavated material and imported fill
5,790.00
825.00
Supply and place screened stone inside foundation
3,360.00
4,285.00
Install a 3 bedroom mound system including design and permit fees
The housing market can be hot, and it can be slow. Rates can be high, and they can be low. But one constant remains: most contractors aren't great at answering calls and emails, returning calls and emails, providing estimates, and in general doing what they say they will do. And we haven't even started construction yet.
When the sun dies in 5 billion years, this will still be the typical behavior.
It's been over two weeks since five different contractors looked at our project, and I have only one estimate back. I wanted to post it here to give readers an idea of what we're looking at in order to do all the sitework. As more bids come in🤞I'll add their numbers to the table in the most normalized, apples-apples way I can.
Item
Contractor A
Remove stumps for septic, driveway, and cottage site
4,000.00
Strip topsoil for cottage and driveway
400.00
Excavate for frost-wall foundation
860.00
Install driveway (approx. 3850 SF)
4,389.00
Backfill foundation with excavated material and imported fill (estimated 350 yds)
5,790.00
Supply and place screened stone inside foundation
3,360.00
Install a 3 bedroom mound system including design and permit fees
Foundations are *by far* the thing I've spent the most time researching, looking at different assembly drawings, and trying to understand. There are so many different approaches it can start to make your head spin, especially if you don't come from a building background. TBH I'm still not on totally firm ground. (End of foundation-related puns ... for now.)
One constant in my mind has been that bedrock is near, so we should use the foundation Mother Nature has generously provided. It's as good as it gets. There is 4' of soil on top of bedrock at the thickest points. At the MVC site it's more like 2 feet, and at the northwest corner of the volume it's basically exposed bedrock.
The other piece of the puzzle is that we're cladding the structure in a full stone wall, so that has to sit on something hard.
So with the help of our timber framer — who also builds whole houses — here's where we're at right now:
For the stone wall, I wanted to start it directly on the bedrock, but in the interest of time-to-market we decided to go with a 2' wide concrete wall rebarred into the bedrock. I can't let my time-consuming, amateur stonework block the structure's erection. ðŸ¤
2" of foam is shown here, but we're still looking at foamed glass aggregate — specifically Glavel — as an option. We already have loads of foam in the Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) that's giving me anxiety. (Much more on SIPs to come.)
Adding to the anxiety is the amount of concrete, but given the site, the building plans, the timeline, and its familiarity to most masons, it's a logical route.
Any foundation pros out there, I'd love to get your take: dack@dack.com
