Ground breaking day is here! Before the excavator arrives, we have a little ground breaking ceremony. We have staked the location of the driveway and the house and the excavator is instructed to clear the ground only where absolutely necessary to preserve as much native landscape as possible. Our building loan is in place and our hydrology report is in the works. Once hydrology is finished, we will be able to get our building permit. Since our building permit isn't needed until our first inspection (when the rebar in the footings is inspected) we can begin grading the lot.
	Our oldest son, Steven, who is finishing his degree in mechanical engineering in December 2002, will be job foreman; learning the home building process from start to finish from Jon. Here Steven, left, and Jon are shooting grades with the transit in preparation for the excavator. We will be cutting from the top of the hill and using the fill to level the building pad.
	The driveway is excavated first. We have tied yellow plastic tape around the vegetation that we want preserved to make it clear for the excavator. Here, an old cholla cactus prevents us from bringing the driveway straight up the west property line so we have put a curve in the drive around the cactus. It will make for a more interesting driveway too. Our temporary fence will protect the cactus during construction.
	Once the driveway is cleared, work starts on clearing the building pad. The lot is an acre with street access from the south. The front 2/3 of the lot is in a flood zone, but there is a rise at the back with space for a small building pad. This is where the site is being graded. We have made arrangements with our neighbors to use their water, which will be needed to help compact the soil as we excavate.
	While the excavator works, we stay busy doing other site prep while staying nearby to keep an eye on the progress. Steven sets posts for the temporary fence that will protect the natural vegetation during construction. Without the fence, workmen are likely to drive and park where it's most convenient to unload tools, which will permanently destroy our fragile native grasses. The fence makes it less convenient for the workmen, but it's a small price to pay to preserve our landscape.
	Since our new home is only 4 lots down from our current home/office, we will use our mini motorcycle to shuttle back and forth quickly during the project. Here Jon and Steven are heading back for lunch. Don't worry; we'll be walking a lot too!