It all starts with the foundation. 

​This is true for anything we create.  A stable and solid foundation allows fantastic things to grow and flourish.  And that's exactly where this projects gets underway - laying a foundation:  footings, stem walls, and slab.

But to be honest, it sure feels like this is a surprisingly large footing for such a small addition.  It's a massive amount of effort, concrete and investment for only about 152 square feet (the kitchen addition). 

We're hoping this is so well built that it'll last another 100 years easy.

~ click Read More to continue ~

The beginning of every castle is the foundation upon which it is built.  And, in fact, castles used to be build essentially by hand, so this story fits right in (even though our abode is a tiny cottage).

The first few weeks have been focused on digging, moving earth, and discovering.
​

BARELY enough space between the current house exterior and the 7 foot setback to the property line on the north.

​And on the east side of that is a large deck, that we built when we first bought the cottage, and it's going to stay.  The deck goes right up to the setback line.

On the west side of the addition is a gorgeous fence and trellis that we built many years ago, and it's now covered with mature Halls Honeysuckle.  The scent of those blossoms will be wafting into our new kitchen soon(ish)!

​So, there you have it.  There is no choice but to hand dig the foundation (and also for the Whiskey Porch extension going up out front - more on that in a separate post).  

And here's the story of how a 2-day excavation became a four week slog...

~ post continues below, click on "Read More" ~
​