This is really the groundbreaking. Friday, May 11, 2007. The photo on the left is the completed excavation. The view is to the northeast. The photo on the right shows the excavation in process, looking to the south. The bucket is close to where the basement walkout will be located. In our part of the world, winters are quite cold, so the footings need to be quite deep to prevent frost heaving. This looks deep enough, don't you think?