Water and Sanding

We were supposed to have left for Florida this morning, but last night our flight was cancelled.  But in the end, it might have been for the best.

We had a lot of water in the basement this morning.  The sump pump has been acting up.  Sometimes it doesn't turn on, and sometimes it doesn't turn off (and smokes from overheating).  That's obviously not very safe, so Colin spent this evening running new pipes to the outside and installing a new sump pump. 

Meanwhile, Justin (who was surprised to see us) sanded the floor.

Spring Thaw

Well, we were wondering if they construction had any effect on the amount of water in our basement, and I think we received our answer this morning.  We have just about the same about of water as usual.  I think the addition and the drainage will help with summer thunderstorm seepage (no more water squirting out of the walls).  Unfortunately there is a lot of water that comes down off the hill.

The real problem is that the hole that our sump pump tube went through to get outside is gone.

For now, the water will have to go out through the bulk head.

Spray Foam and a Weekend Away

Friday morning our house was reminiscent of a scene from E.T. with plastic sheeting everywhere and a crew of people dressed in white coveralls.  Alyssa braved the fumes for a picture.

Because of the fumes, we left for the weekend.  We stayed in Burlington Vermont and skied at Bolton Valley (even Evelyn, with a new harness). 

Sunday we checked out the foam in basement.  Because of the structural concerns with the brick, the foam is just in the joist voids and at the gable ends.

Brick Pointing and Flooring

Busy day getting ready for spray foam.  Colin has finished wiring Evelyn's room and the outlets in the addition.  The mason concentrated on pointing the gable ends. 

The old closet has been demoed and the new header is in. 

Another dusty adventure was ripping up all the flooring in the dining room.  Some of the floorboards have dry rot and some in the old hallway are wonky and have been shimmed.  Might need to be replaced.

Unfortunate Basement Discovery

This morning we made an expensive discovery.  In preparing for the spray foam on Friday, Colin moved the lumber pile, exposing a section of the brick foundation that is  failing.  (You can see the daylight in the picture.)  A mason is coming tomorrow to investigate further and do some pointing at least at the gable ends. 

The guys spent most of the day prepping the basement for foam. 

 

We also have a new living room doorway.

Prepping for Foam and Painting a Mural

We had a busy weekend organizing the tools and prepping the basement for foam.  This meant moving everything into the two corners where they won't be spray foaming.  The kids had a lot of fun painting the hallway wall which will be torn down this week.  Charlotte mixed all the colors in the rainbow using just the primary colors.

Last Support Post and a Drip Edge

 It was another rain/freezing rain morning that turned into rain.  Justin and Keefe spent a good part of the morning in the basement replacing the last metal post.  Then the rain stopped and the sun came out.  They installed the drip edge for the roof, and will be ready to roof next week.

Posts - Day Two

One thing this blog cannot convey is the incredible noise reciprocating saws, drills, hammers, saws and compressors make.  The kids had a two hour snow delay this morning and were trying to watch TV but couldn't hear.  The guys added a post in the living room to support the beam and a post to support Charlotte's dormer.  They tried to inset the living room post as much as possible, but there was thick plaster and mortar where the old chimney connection was that they had to put it outside the drywall.

They framed for a post in the basement to support both, but before they could install it, the plumber had to divert the main water line (and reconnect our sink).  While the plumber was here, he also kindly fixed the upstairs bathroom drain which was dripping about a table spoon of water after every shower.

Rainy Day

January 24 - In anticipation of today's rain, the guys spent all of yesterday shoveling roofs and waterproofing other projects.  Justin also snowblowed the work site and took the trailer to the dump.

Today, Justin checked the roof and received a lumber delivery from Oaks  Brothers.  Oddly, we had a steady trickle of  water in the basement, where we have never had water before.

Finishing up in the Basement

It was bitterly cold this Monday morning.  The guys worked in the basement.  They removed the redundant, old posts and added a smooth topcoat of mortar to the new footings.  Short work day today.

Ready for Snow

We're all set for the snow.  The plywood roof is on and covered in waterproof paper.

Earlier in the week, Justin, Keefe and Rory worked in the morning when it was too cold to be out side.  They put new blocking on top of the foundation to sister to the sill, which was showing signs of some rot.  The 'firewood posts' have been replaced with pressurized posts secured on concrete.  The new posts with new footings and a new laminated beam (adjacent to the basement stairs) are now in the rear section of the basement.

Upstairs Header

Well, the chaos has begun to move upstairs.  This morning they built a temporary supporting wall so that they could put in the new beam.  Evelyn was really concerned and confused when she saw it.

Outside today they installed the header beam upstairs and worked on the living room roof.

Beginnings of a Second Floor

The temperatures this morning were below zero, so the guys started in the basement, pouring the concrete footings for the new posts.

Then, when it warmed up a bit, they went outside build the decking for the second floor.  They then stripped the siding off the second story.  Evelyn thought it was pretty funny to see the guys outside the window.  We opened it up to say hello.

Stinky

A few months ago, a structural engineer looked at our foundation and basement.  The structural joists could be better supported, and improvements need to be made for the addition.  (The weight of the upstairs is literally being supported by the sub floor by the top of the basement stairs.)  The guys cut holes in the  floor to prepare for new footings, which stank up the whole house with a horrible chemical smell.  Unfortunately, it is really cold today, so we were limited in how much we could open the windows.

The front room joist is held up by what looks like an old piece of firewood. The log on the left isn't even touching the foundation.  These will be replaced.

 

Our sink had to be disconnected to replace an old metal post.  The wall is temporary.  When they took out the metal post that used to be at the bottom of the stairs, the whole house shook violently.

Digging Day

And so it begins.  By eight o'clock this morning at least five pick up trucks had descended on our front yard, and soon a large group of Carhart wearing workmen were banging away in our basement and digging outside.  The digging went fairly smoothly (it seems that the urban myth that our side yard was a gully filled in with soil from across the street might be true based on the sandy, relatively rock free soil).  The main issue was that our sewer pipe is exactly where the footing was supposed to be.  The decision was made to have the footing six inches above the pipe.

In the basement, the men built forms up against the brick foundation.  Because we only have a single layer of 150 year old brick holding up our house, the structural engineer recommended that the foundation wall be reinforced with concrete.  The new concrete slab will also be exerting a lateral force up against the wall.  While they are down there pouring concrete, we also asked that they create a small knee wall.  It turns out that our basement floor is four to six inches below the bottom of the boulder foundation.  They also demolished buried cinder blocks that held up the oil tanks we removed last year.