DIY Home Additions - Part 1

Yes, you are reading that correctly. Today I will be talking about our home additions and the process to do it yourself!

If you have been following along here for a while you will know that Branko and I do pretty much most of our building on our own. The only time we ever call for some help is when something might just be too heavy to lift for myself and Branko can't do it himself.

I showed you the layout of our "Forever Home" here and talked about how we wanted to make 2 additions at each end of the house.

This project got started 2 weeks ago when Branko rented a small excavator to dig the trenches for the footings. Thankfully the soil is actually sand, therefore we were able to do the trench & pour process.

Step 1: Dig footings and pour cement. (It took Branko 3 hours to dig all 3 foots for a 540 sq. ft. area)

Step 2: Tamp the area where the cement is going to be poured so the surface area is level. 

Step 3: Lay the re-bar down(this holds the cement together) 

  

Step 4: Pour the cement and level!!! 

This job was completed by 3 guys. Branko did all of the trenching and preparing himself and had 2 people help with the pouring of the cement. The last picture shows the view of the trees that will be seen from the soaker tub and the 2 top pictures show the views from the area where the bed will be. The above pictures are all where the new master bedroom will sit. The other addition is going to be a new entrance way.


Next week I will share with you how we built the sub-floor and framing over the course of 3 days.

Have you ever attempted building a structure like this yourself?? I would love to hear how it went!