As the year 2015 is coming to an end it always seems like a good time to take a breather, and look back over the year gone by. Two projects that stand out in my mind as I look back over the year are the two houses we completed on Sandra Drive in Orillia. If you were to take a drive by the completed houses today you would have no idea what difficulties we faced at the onset of these projects. We initially looked at these lots with our clients in early spring when there was still a little snow on the ground. Being in an established subdivision with hydro, water/sewer and natural gas at the road and no drastic grade concerns it seemed like a straight forward build. Once the snow began to melt we noticed some gravel and asphalt debris on the ground and began to wonder what kind of soil conditions we might be dealing with. Our client had already asked the question and had been assured that the soil conditions would be fine. Unfortunately that was far from what we discovered.

Once we started excavating we found that we were dealing with imported fill, which was not suitable for footings as well as abandoned water lines, which were directly in line with our footings. After speaking with the neighbours who were very helpful and several phone calls later we found out that there was an old “pumping station” on the property that had been removed many years before. Unfortunately when it was removed there were not only water lines left behind but also the concrete foundation for the pumping station was left as well. To make our situation worse the imported fill that was brought in at the time had not been compacted and did not have suitable bearing capacity for our footings. As it turned out, our 4 foot excavation turned into a 20’ excavation that included removal of water lines, concrete debris and required significant engineering.

However … we continued to find solutions for our clients who were very understanding and within a week we were pouring footings and moving forward with the projects. Looking back over the year I would say that this was by far the biggest hurdle we faced on any of our projects. Having said that, we will no doubt encounter similar situations in the year ahead and I am confident that Alair Homes Huntsville will continue to educate our clients and offer solutions to overcome these little hurdles that we face along the way. If you are looking at building a new custom home in 2016 feel free to contact us. We would be happy to discuss your project with you and explain how we can help you enjoy your custom home building experience by taking these headaches off your mind. Project rarely go perfectly but what is important is that you have the right people in place to offer the right solutions.