I picked up Benjamin from the local 7-Eleven this morning to help me with a few items for the house that I wanted to complete before the modular units arrived. I first met Benjamin when I went looking for day laborers to install the silt fence. That is the black fence all around the property you might see in some of the photos. That is used so that dirt or construction debris doesn't go onto the public right of way.
Non-Woven filter fabric has been placed above the gravel.
Benjamin helped me with the waterproofing of the foundation. He first laid a layer of filter fabric on top of the gravel. That will help keep dirt out of the drains that were installed two weeks ago. Afterwards I made him paint Decoseal onto the Superior Walls to provide a waterproofing layer. Two coats are required for Decoseal to work at its maximum strength. Between both coats a dry time of 8-12 hours is needed. Benjamin painted the first layer today and will come back next week to paint the next layer. However, he went a little light on the layer. He only used a little more than one bucket but he should have used a little more than two buckets. I'll be sure that the next layer is applied as thick as instructed.
First layer of waterproofing is applied. The area with no waterproofing will contain stone on top of it.
I also had fun using my newly bought Dewalt Circular Saw! Power! I cut some pressure treated wood into 3'-0" lengths that will be used for the window wells for the basement. During the week I'll paint the corners that were cut with wood preservative and do the installation next weekend.
Lots to do. Tomorrow the modular units arrive!
I thought this day would not arrive. Especially because in the last few months I didn't just switch contractors but also banks. Bank 1 began to put a lot more restriction than what I originally thought. They also only gave 80% LTV. That means if your house appraises for $500k you can only get a $400k construction loan. They also began to request additional information of the contractor and stated that I could not do anything in regards to construction. Not even hang a towel bar! In April of 2016 I decided to switch banks at the same time I switched to contractor 4.
Bank 2 promised me 90% LTV! Perfect. The plans were approved by the city in Augst, I had a signed contract with Contractor 4 and was ready. Once again it all looked good until it wasn't. The home was appraised at $700k and I was getting the loan that I wanted. Until I found out a clause that if a credit score was lower than 720 they would only do 80% LTV. My entire life my credit score was over 750 until now we're it was 718. Two points off! The reason my score lowered so much was that bank 2 required 10% cash holding of the construction loan. So I saved my money and did not pay off the credit cards which in turn lowered my credit score. A classical Catch 22. So I pay if my credit cards My score goes up but I no longer have the 10%! After wasting 5 weeks of trying to resolve this issue I decide to go with bank 3 Bank of Charlestown. They gave me 90% LTV with no strings attached. I asked repeatedly. On September 1 I made the switch. What is another few weeks to be delayed.