The Front Elevation, a basic ranch style design.

I received the bid from Loredo Truss.  It will cost a little over $3,500.00 for the trusses.  The framing contractor called and asked if the pitch of the porch roof had to be what I indicated.  I told him that he could adjust it a little if he wanted to.  A couple of days later I was thinking about it and realized that he may want to begin the pitch at the 9 foot wall and on over the porch.  Since it has a 3 foot overhang I can't have it begin at the wall, it has to begin further up on the truss.  A porch roof beginning at the wall would lessen the pitch and lower the overhang affecting the view and, most important, the light coming in through the windows.  I adjusted the porch pitch lowering it one foot and replotted the working drawings.  I went to Home Depot to see if they had 16 foot boards (the length that would be needed for the porch roof).  They said that it was a length they had in stock.  Today I will bind the working drawings and take them to the framing contractor.  I have to point out that the porch roof pitch has to be what I have drawn.
There has already been one glitch in building this house and I need to keep glitches down to a minimum.  I'm amazed at how closely one has to monitor the construction.

We're still waiting for a bid for the framing.  I emailed the plans to Loredo Truss for them to design the trusses and give me a bid (actually the cost).  When that happens I'm going to push the framing person for a bid.  We're going to do an Excel spreadsheet listing the windows and doors we will be needing for the house.  We'll use the spreadsheet to get bids.

We're still wetting the slab.  I don't think it really needs it anymore but I prefer to keep it a little wet, especially in the evening and into the night.  CRI will be here sometime in a couple of weeks to pull the cables.  Then it's time for framing.  We did a little window research on Monday.  We found the style we wanted, now we need to find the make and decide on cost.
By the way, you can see where we currently reside in the second picture.  We've been living there for almost a year.  It's funny how you grow accustomed to living in a place that reminds you of a WWII Uboat.

Well, the slab contractor arrived at 4:30 in the morning on Friday just like he said he was.  The concrete trucks arrived at 5:07 a.m. and the pour began.  It took seven truckloads.  They smoothed out the concrete until past noon.  In the afternoon they broke down the forms and started to finish the area around the slab.  The contractor remained wetting down the slab until the sun went down.  On Saturday Chris Cantwell came by and turned on the sprinklers on the slab.  Today Janice and I arrived from Corpus Christi and wet down the slab.  We'll do it again tomorrow.

The 5:00 a.m. pour

Doggone it's hot out there!  Both the slab contractor and the plumbing contractor made it out today to get ready for the pour tomorrow.  The slab contractor will be here at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.  I'll be standing there right next to him (yeah right!).  I still can't believe the concrete trucks will be arriving at 5:00 a.m.
I took some pictures of the ends of one of the cables that will be pulled.

Cable End (Pulled End)

Cable Begin

I saw Anthony, the slab contractor, drive in this morning.  I went over to talk to him about the timeline.  He told me that he was trying to get Consolidated Reinforcement (CRI) on the phone to set up a time for them to inspect their slab prep.  Once they inspect it and give the go ahead the concrete can be poured.  It's very interesting to see the cables and how CRI will be pulling them.  The cables will be pulled at the front and right sides of the house.  One cable will be pulled on the left side.

Anthony says they will pour the concrete on Friday at 5 a.m.  He told me that a little after they pour his crew will remove the framing and they will smooth out the earth around the slab.  He will wet down the slab, open the gate to let my cattle out of the pasture, and close the front gate before he leaves.  He will have Chris Cantwell drop by on Saturday to wet down the slab.  We'll be back from Padre Island on Sunday so Janice and I can wet the slab down then. 

Today Janice and I will be putting up an awning so the cattle can lay under some kind of shade.  I can see that they are suffering from heat stress (this damned drought!).  I've been wetting them down and most of them just stand there while I spray them with water like they were Brangus with a little bit of Lab in them.  The lack of any shade has made the heat brutal for them.  The awning was all I could think of save duct taping umbrellas on their backs.