Geez, that's a lot of rock!

Already, two truck loads of rock have been unearthed in excavating the house foundation.  We plan to use much of the rock in the landscaping and to build a retaining wall on the south side of the lot.  Excavation and foundation work will continue this week.

Foundation and Tree Removal

The foundation of the original structure came down quickly this week, despite a short delay for a spring snowstorm on Mother's Day.  Apologies for the loud jackhammer noise.  But, we hope Jan and John's grandson got to see the heavy equipment.

With the new structure down, the removal of the old trees was completed.  A bit of explanation here.  We decided to remove the old trees after consulting with the the arborist at Lam Tree Service and our landscaper at Freshaire Enterprises.  Many of these trees were old cottonwoods which dropped a lot of trash and are notorious for undermining foundations.  Also, a couple of the trees were in the way of the new structure.  The small ash was deemed not worth saving with the arrival of the Emerald Ash Borer in Colorado (Dave's sister is on the state taskforce responding to this new pest).  We were particularly saddened to remove the large Siberian Elm at the back of the property but it had a bacterial infection that was weaken the tree and would eventually cause it to fall (and with our luck hit our new home or the Tracy's home next door). 

Never fear, we plan to replant new trees during our landscaping, selecting from the list recommended by the City of Golden which are suitable for North Table Mountain.  We hope to include a Hawthorne tree like the one Freshaire planted for us at our previous home in Evergreen (see above).  It grows fast and has beautiful blooms in the spring.

Demolition Begins

Demolition of the original structure went fast on Thursday and Friday.  Of course, since we finally started, the weather is turning cool and wet.  But that didn't slow down the process.  The foundation comes down next week.  The lot looks bigger and the views of Golden are beautiful.

Hello to all the neighbors who stopped by to watch the process begin.  We thank everyone - especially our next door neighbors, Sara, John and Reed - for living through another big construction project in the neighborhood.  Please stop by when you see us around the site.  It was nice to meet Jan and John from across the street who went through the same process last year. 

Welcome

Welcome to Dave and Mary Buller's blog about the construction of our new home on Peery Parkway in Golden.  Look here for the schedule and updates about the construction activities.  Check out the lists of our team, subcontractors, and vendors.  And, we will be posting photos of the project, too.