Building my New Cottage in the Woods has been one of the most difficult processes I’ve gone through. Part of my problem is that I’m aware of all the problems resulting from less then a thorough analysis of the positioning of the foundation.

Is the home going to sit in a mud puddle for all of its life? Time after time we re-positioned the layout – up the hill/down the hill/over to the right/over to the left/raise the level up/sink the level down/twist it slightly clockwise/slightly counterclockwise. . . My head was swimming.

Factor that with the finish quality of the foundation. The truth is that a slightly rough foundation will do just fine at supporting the structure, and the pressure treated 2 X 6 sill plate can be shimmed to fine tune it. Couple that with the smoothness of the wall, once again really not important, but it drives me crazy, because following subcontractors will see roughness and decide that close is good enough. And for me it’s not. I was blessed to have an excellent foundation contractor, who also cares about aesthetics.