We have a mountain of dirt...and a big hole!

Excavation has begun.

Moving dirt

So now we have a mountain of dirt...

 

dirt along the south edge of the property for the time being

And a big hole...

 future basement

This view to the west not only shows our neighbor's house, but how our house is being cut into the hill.

Finally getting started!

Last week the excavator was hired to do the initial site work to get the lot ready for construction.  They dug a drainage trench at the top of the hill and down the side to get all of the water from above to drain down below the house.

Notice the man in the trench at the bottom left, gives perspective on the depth of the trench.

They also removed some of the Russian Olives, which are a nuisance, and the city requires their removal.

It was a beautiful day to see our mountain views, too!

Oh what a year!

We hoped to start construction this time last year, but here's what's been happening since then:

 Winter View of Lot

• We had an energy analysis done by Ambient Energy,  to ensure that the envelope of the home will be as energy efficient as indicated by the design. 
• We interviewed several builders to be sure that the design would fit our budget, and chose Richard Ludwig, Environmental Homes of Colorado LLC.
• We decided that the awesome first design that Toby created would be considerably over our budget and worked with him to redesign the home.  After several tries, we finally got a design that fit our needs and our budget.
• We spent several months getting neighbor approval (we are building on one of 5 lots that are governed by an Architectural Control Committee comprised of the owners of those lots).
• We spent a couple of months getting city permits.