(1) We finally began our project
(2) The world didn't end
At 8:30 a.m. yesterday, Albert Gabelein Construction rolled up with a dump truck and backhoe to our blackberry-choked patch of land and began digging. After two years of talking, dreaming, drawing, filing paperwork, crying, filing more paperwork, and hoping for the best, we finally turned over some dirt.
The crew included John and Julie, Julie's dad, mom, and brother, John's Dad and mom, and legal consultant for the project, Bill Schneeman. We began the day by cleaning up the sidewalk. The sidewalk ended at our property before Albert began scrapping the dirt and grass off of it. This was the first step to becoming a part of the neighborhood. One by one, neighbors began coming over to introduce themselves to us throughout the day. We quickly learned that everyone in the neighborhood at some point or another had dreamed about buying our property, but didn't have the "young courage" to tackle it. It's likely that after they went back into their houses, they whispered about those two crazy kids moving onto the street.
Next up, we attacked the bush that marked the future driveway site. John and Steven jumped into the back of the dump truck as the backhoe plucked the bush, roots and all, from the hillside. John remarked that the scene was reminiscent of a Jurassic Park dinosaur devouring its prey.
From inside the box, John and Steven trimmed the stray branches hanging out of the dump truck. Julie, Lori and Bill cleaned up every trace of dirt and leaf that had fallen onto the street, taking the city's warning seriously: We will shut you down if you leave any trace of the work on the street.
Once the bush had been removed, we took a lunch break (courtesy of Lori and Costco) and plotted our next move. We were giddy with visions of the machinery actually being able to drive up onto the property by the end of the day. At the pace we were going, it felt like the house would be complete by next week.
That was until we found the electrical wire.
Our elation quickly dissolved when Albert cut the engine to the backhoe and jumped off to examine a newly exposed wire. John and Steven slowly pulled the wire from the dirt and followed it up the hill to our neighbor's house. We quickly discovered that no driveway could be built until this wire was removed. This would require conversations with the neighbor (the vacant house is managed by the owner's son who lives on Whidbey Island) and Seattle City Light. Bottom line: We are back to the City on day one.
Not wanting to waste a perfectly good afternoon, we built the silt fence along the bottom of the property. This was a team effort with everyone either digging the trench, pounding in the fence posts, zip tying the silt fence to the posts or supervising the process. Around this time, John's parents dropped by to visit and had brooms in their hands within five minutes to help sweep up dirt and other debris from the road.
It was a bittersweet end to our first day of construction. Our focus is now on pouring over documents to determine how to proceed with the removal of the underground electrical wire. We hope to be forging our driveway into the hillside in the next week like true homesteaders, barring any calamities such as problems relocating the wire or the world ending.
Next Up: Magical wire disappearing act
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