Getting Started: Pre-Construction Activity

There is no end to the kinds of preliminary activities that must take place before the first earth-moving equipment arrives at the scene. And every locality has their own unique twists on the way things get done, which can be confusing at times!

Here Lesley pores over a map to try to determine the best route for construction vehicles to take into the property from Flats Road. They can't take the scenic Foothills Parkway without a special permit, so Montvale Rd down from Maryville seems to be a route of choice. But you wouldn't believe that road!

Lesley's field office at the property

Lesley's field supervisors keep a close eye on things. From left to right: Cody, Kelsey, and Kerby.

This guy is doing a septic survey, and everything looks good, he says.

Lesley meets here with a Blount County contractor to discuss her building project and what they can do for her. Contractor shopping is a lot of work!

There are so many different ways of conceptualizing a log home in the mountains! It is an exercise in communication, for sure.

The idea is to for everyone to be on the same page but this is sometimes easier said than done...a 1st floor garage to one person is an in-ground basement to another...until a meeting of the minds occurs.

But is there service up here, that's the question!

The Chestnut Tops sign becomes a familiar landmark as Lesley toots back and forth between her property and Townsend on a daily basis.

Quotes, quotes, quotes...and this is just the beginning of them! This one, by the way, came in way-yyy too high!

Lesley has already decided on Anderson's top line of clad double-hung windows. These and all interior and exterior doors have to fit Barna's openings in the log package – hence all window and door decisions have to be made upfront, before the first log is cut.

The same is true for window and door hardware. Decisions, decisions!

Eagle Brand it is, but not from this guy... Lesley later found the right guy with the right price from Anderson's Lumber in nearby Alcoa, TN