Late yesterday afternoon, to our great surprise, The Digger showed up at our Augusta County building site. And, that means one thing; the footers of the foundation of the house were being dug. It sounds unexciting, but without the footers, no foundation. No foundation…you guessed it, no house.
So, late into the night and throughout most of today the excavation crew dug and pushed and measured the earth around what will be our home until they got it just right: the proper length, width and depth. Transom levels ensured the accuracy, skill and pride ensured the job would get done right.
As I watched the work from the sidelines, one of the crew, Mike, approached me, figuring I was the soon to be owner. He said that he had heard that I had wanted each and every worker building our home “to sign a board”. I explained that we’d like for every worker constructing our house to sign a wood board that we planned to hang in our home. Each tradesman, craftsman and laborer would be a part of this house and we wanted their efforts to be remembered and recognized. Mike said he had never heard of something like this, no one had asked for this before. He liked the idea and signed it and then passed it to the other members of the crew. Was the board really going to be displayed, he asked. “Yep, probably in the front hallway”, I answered. “What if you run out of room on the board”? I’ll get another board! “You know”, said Mike, “I don’t often get to see the finished house. I just dig the foundations”. Well, a house without a good foundation wouldn’t be much of a house, would it, Mike. “No, sir, it wouldn’t”, he said.
We look forward to Mike and crew coming by to see the finished house – and their “board”.
The Augusta County, Virginia Inspector will check the footing trenches, hopefully tomorrow. Once approved, gravel will be put into the trench, followed by poured concrete. Then the block foundation can begin to be laid by another crew of skilled tradesmen. Maybe, we will need an extra Signature Board”!
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Bill
southern redeux 
Love the idea. Love your blogs too!
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The idea came to me after remembering the hidden signatures or initials that I would find on pieces of antique furniture that I was restoring. Usually written in pencil, these signatures were of the craftsmen or apprentices that took a certain pride in what they did. These signatures were found only in one of a kind or “limited edition” pieces from small factories rather than the large production companies. Our home is similar to these furniture pieces in that the Argenbrights build only custom homes rather than tract type housing. I can’t wait to be doing furniture restoration again in my basement workshop.
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