Backfill

This week, they've started to add the backfill and establish some of the main water lines. The contractor found a good water line, and was able to reroute it (although I'm not sure why it appears to be sticking out in the middle of where the garage floor will be). For slab-on-grade foundations (such as ours will be), the crushed gravel or stone is a good alternative to soil for its high strength and permeability.

You can see that the subgrade at the back of the house is about 10 inches higher than the grade level on the street-side (entrance) of the house. Additionally, for slab-on-grade foundations, the slab should be sloped; in this case, it will be about 1/8'' per every foot.

Some things we should ask the contractor tomorrow:
1) Can they do insulation on top of the backfill before pouring the slab
2) How are they tamping the dirt
3) Where is the sewer going exactly