Staking the Foundation

When Karen and I decided to build a new home on our Idaho property, she knew just where she wanted to build - on a high point among the trees, where the sun rises early and sets late, where we would have good views of our land and of the surrounding valley. Every time we walked up to that site, we tried to imagine how we'd position the house, moving it west, south or east in our minds, envisioning how close it would be to the well we'd already had dug, worrying about how many trees we'd have to cut. It was all educated guesswork.

Today, Stratford's building site manager, Scott Dawson, and his assistant, Star, came up to stake out the house site. "Don't worry," Scott said. "We can move the stakes as often as you want." Armed with our construction drawings, Karen and I started with the north-south orientation we'd talked about in our walks up the hill. Scott and Star drove in the corner stakes, then staked out the garage and the front porch. Then, they ran orange twine around the stakes so we could see (not literally) the views from the windows and porch; how close we'd be to the existing driveway; and the proximity to the well head. The first time was a charm. Everything was just as we wanted, including access from the extended driveway to the garage door. Only one small tree will have to be removed during construction.

With the stakes and string in place, we can "see" the house every time we walk up to the site - but not for long. The winter road weight restrictions have been lifted, and work on the foundation could begin as soon as two weeks from now.