PROJECT 1 (current)

Project 1: Luxury Custom Home at 12560 E Cochise Dr, Lot 2

Project Details:

1 – Acre Lot

4850 SF Home

5 BD, 6BA

4-Car Garage

850 SF Detached Future Casita

Style: Contemporary

Floor Plan: 4850 SF

Architectural Design – Front

Architectural Design – Rear

Construction Events – June 2022

Boring a 25ft deep hole for a percolation test required for a Septic Tank System.

Relocating 25ft Saguaro that was within the house foot print. See video below.

Marking stay-out boundaries with yellow nylon rope. Scottsdale requires 25% of my lot be left natural.

Had to put down this hundred+ year old Saguaro. It was at the end of it’s life. See video below.

Other Events in June:

Drawings Approved
Permits Acquired
Roped off NAOS Areas
Bids for Grading, Foundation, Framing, Plumbing, Electrical
Relocated Native Plants
Designed Septic System and Permit
Designed Fire Sprinkler System

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Knock-down-Saguaro.m4vhttps://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Relocate-Saguaro.m4v

Construction Events – July 2022

Lot prior to grading. Ready to clear the brush and start grading. Saguaro already transplanted.

Grading Begins – OverExcavation of 1.5Ft required at house pad location, then built up.

Over excavation watered, soil tested as part of process for pad compactness certification.

Brought in 40 22-ton truckloads of fill dirt. Necessary to fill the low spots and to raise the house pad.

Completed House Pad, perfectly flat/level. Passed Certification! 1500 psf at 1.5ft below final grade.

Marking the outer perimeter and internal load bearing walls to trench for footings.

Trenching for footers (the pretty certified pad dug up again).

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Trenching-Video-1.m4v

“El Vaco” (backhoe) hard at work, makes it look easy.

Smoothing the bottom of the trench and insuring it is 18 in. deep prior to laying in the rebar.

Rebar in place, ready for inspection. Notice ufer for electrical grounding.

Footer trench, bottom is for porch column

Set up security Cameras, live pictures sent to mobile device. Used flagpole.

Other Events in July 2022:

Signed contracts for Foundation & Framing
Obtain bids for Lumber, Trusses, Electrical
Evaluated / selected piping sizes for natural gas – F.P., Range, Barbecue stub
Researched Tankless water heaters – selected two Navien NPE 240A2s.
Relocated water meter; installed fittings for hose
Interfaced with APS to design electrical utility plan (run line along Cochise Dr )
Marked up blueprints for minor mods

Concrete pours typical at 5am – at least two trucks. Guys are quick, poured all footers, smoothed out, straighten j-bars, inserted vertical rebars …All within about 3 hours, for both the main house and detached Casita.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Actual-Pour-manipulating-the-shute-2.mp4https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Inserting-Rebar-for-Porch-Columns.mp4

Footings Poured. Squares are for columns

Construction Events – August 2022

Porta Potty (or J-John) delivered – gets serviced once a week. But next to water meter in case…

Framing for Stem Walls, 8″ wide x 18″ tall over Footings.

Basically one rectangle for Casita Stem Wall Framing

Details! Column Stem with Rebar and Straps. Simpson straps used throughout corners of structures.

More Stem Concrete Pour, no accidents with Shute.

Busy spreading / leveling, have to work fast.

Stems Complete! Framing removed. Beautiful.

Stem Detail – Simpson Strap, Studs for Sill Plate (framing)

Begin to lay-in drainage pipes in Casita, about 3/4″:12″ slope. Vent pipes.

Plumber laying in underground piping in 108 deg heat – has his portable umbrella.

Underground Plumbing laid in south side of house.

More underground plumbing – lots of bathrooms/vents.

Covering up underground plumbing. Next will be 4 inches of compacted ABC, then underground electrical.

All underground plumbing and electric passed inspection. Ready for Cement Slab Pour

Plenty of garage length, fits crew cab pickup and about 5′ to spare.

Other Events in August 2022:

Contracts for Plumbing and Electrical
Downselect vendor for Lumber/Trusses
Passed Inspections for Footers, Stem Walls, UG Plumbing and & Electric
Reassessed electric panel sizes & breaker layouts – Main 400A entering house, 200A subpanel in garage, 200A in Casita
Provide daily support at site – check dimensions especially pipes that have to align with centers of fixtures or walls.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Digging-Trench.mp4

Digging drainage exit, next to Septic Tank. Love to see these backhoes in action.

Construction Events – September 2022

Concrete Pad Poured! Started 4am! Dark – using truck headlights and some head strap lights.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Spreading-Concrete-5.mp4

Fourteen “Cementeros” working in unison.

Crack of dawn, …about half way done pouring/spreading the concrete.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Spreading-Concrete-2.mp4

Working hard to keep up with the truck after truck of concrete.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Spreading-Concrete-4.mp4

Working hard to keep up with the concrete pours. Total of ten 13 cu-yds trucks coming one right after the other. These guys have to work fast.

Pad starting to look good, needs floating, smoothing. Rectangular frames are to create slight recesses for curbless showers.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Smoothing-Concrete-1.mp4

Above: Smoothing the concrete.

Right Side Pic: Slab cuts to act as control joints especially ast corners, …prevent slab cracks.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Concrete-Slab-Cuts-2.mp4

Concrete Cuts, about 1/2 in. deep, and about 8-10 ft apart – control joints.

Noon -Completed Slab!..smoothed, cut. Looks Good. Ready to mark up for Framing.

Garage Area Slab – See control joints which are created differently using a trowel with a long pole

Other Events in Sept 2022:

Set up Security Perimeter Fence
Lumber Delivery/Start Framing
Measure carefully to tweak truss designs prior to fabricating.
Interface with truss vendor on truss calcs.
Bought Trailer for Trash

Beginning of security fence installation – portable bottom supports that the fence panels insert into, then clamped together.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Installing-Fence.mp4

Installing Security Fence.

Security fence installation complete – 500 lineal ft perimeter fence took them less than an hour! This includes 3 12-ft gates.

First shipment of lumber arrives. Let the framing begin! Two more subequent loads follow and then the trusses a couple weeks after.

Beginning of Guest house framing. Walls are built on the slab, then lifted onto studs.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/G_-One-Two-Three-Lift.mp4

Teamwork! These huge walls are heavy.

Unexpected visit by OSHA Inspector – we’re in trouble now!!!

Construction Events -October 2022

Guest house exterior siding pretty much complete – waiting for trusses.

Main house looking good so far, most of exterior siding is up – waiting for trusses.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Trusses-Arriving_Dumped.mp4

Trusses Arrive! …first of two loads. They get rolled off the truck onto the ground.

Started setting the trusses ont the Casita first.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Setting-Trusses-Casita-2.mp4

Windy day made it more difficult and dangerous but these guys are experts.

Casita trusses all in place, followed by full nailing and cross bracing.

Using crane to set the massive porch support Glulam in place.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Setting-Porch-GL-2.mp4

Dangerous work but they exercise safety as much as possible – don’t want a bump from this approx 500 lb. beam.

Anxiously waiting for 1st truss (from crane) for main house, starting at back porch.

1st Truss installation onto the main house porch.

2nd Incoming truss-Happens quickly, only about 5 min to position/secure before the next one comes flying in.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Setting-Porch-Trusses.mp4

Following up on Porch truss install. Close coordination.

Truss setting main center of house. Moving along quickly.

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Setting-Trusses-GR.mp4

Setting trusses over the center of the house. Wind was making things more difficult (and dangerous).

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Cross-Bracing-Trusses.mp4

Cross Bracing the trusses for structural rigidity.

All trusses set, both in main house and Casita, about 162 trusses in 7 hours!!

https://grb-az.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lifting-Plywood-Sheething.mp4

Time for start of Roofing! Loads of plywood sheets lifted onto trusses.