Pouring Cement Foundation of Your Home (As Owner-Contractor) Includes Window Bucks and Window Wells

When building your own home (or any other home for that matter) you must know where your windows will be placed in the basement. In addition you need to have the window bucks and window wells ordered and delivered before the forms are set up, because the window bucks must be placed in the forms exactly where you want them as the forms are set up. I ordered both the bucks and window wells myself, and had them both delivered before the foundation forms were set up. You will probably need to pay for them at the time of delivery, unless you have an account with the provider.

After the foundation is poured and the forms are removed, the cement sealant is applied by a sealant sub-contractor. Then the window wells will be attached to the concrete by whomever you designate to do the job. Be sure to sign a contract with the sub who will do the sealant, stating what he is expected to do, how much he will charge, and how soon he will do the job.

You can see the tar sealant and the window wells in the picture.

While acting as the general contractor of your own home, by paying for the window wells and window bucks yourself, you will likely save some money.

It is very important that the placement of your windows in the basement be decided before starting your housebuild project. You need to be sure to consider where the deck(s) and outside stairs will be placed out from the main floor, so that a basement window is not infringing upon the same space.

We had that problem, and had to relocate the deck slightly to the left of where we had intended it to be. Instead of the deck being off from the family room, it actually is off the kitchen instead.

The windows in the foundation of your basement are placed with window bucks and protected by window wells, and are absolutely necessary to remember when building your new home as owner-contractor.

Linda Baxter is a musician, playing piano and organ and conducted a small choir for 14 years. She arranges music and enjoys creative ways of teaching piano to students. She is a stay at home Mom of nine children, (22 grandchildren now) who acted as General Contractor for building their retirement home. She hired and paid subcontractors, was overseer of all construction work (with the help of her husband, RL), and did most of this from her "armchair".and telephone. She freely shares her experiences on her website, http://www.home-built4u.com, hoping to help other potential owner/builders escape some of the pitfalls she and RL experienced, while being their own General Contractor.