Kitchen Foundation

Though we thought we'd be much further along with our kitchen project by now, we are still making slow but measurable progress. In an effort to save time, money and lots of concrete, we're using Arxx Green Insulating Concrete Forms to build the kitchen foundation.

The blocks look and fit together just like Legos to form channels for filling with concrete. They also have built-in tracks for running horizontal and vertical rebar to keep things sturdy.

The hardest parts -- making sure your cement footer surface is totally level and laying the first couple blocks -- are now done. We just need another hour (maybe less) to lay the rest. Once you get over those initial hurdles, the rest of the job is pretty easy. It was just too hot last weekend to keep going.

In case you were wondering, yes, the kitchen section will jut out about a foot further than the log section. A necessary evil, but I think it will look fine once it's all done and we build the porch and all that. Fortunately the roof has just enough clearance to allow us to bump out that front wall.

Anyway, these blocks are pretty amazing. You can build your entire house out of them, and they are ridiculously lightweight and super energy efficient. According to the website, Arxx blocks combine 5 steps of conventional building into one: structure, insulation, vapor and air barriers, sound barrier and fastening strips. I'm not sure of the exact statistics, but their energy ratings are insane.

While every project is different, I know we're saving thousands of dollars worth of concrete by using them. Instead of making our own forms out of plywood and filling the entire ditch with cement, we just have to fill the channel in the blocks and surround the structure with packed gravel. Easy peasy.

I can't wait until we get this foundation finished. Then we can remove those embarrassing support posts. That won't fix anywhere near everything that's ailing the front of the house, but it will be a welcomed first step!