Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We came back up the mountain from Christmas early to take Charley to the Vet. We ended up tearing out the rest of the floor so we could maximize the use of our help. Mom, Wade and I dug out the kitchen floor down to an acceptable depth. LAST FOUNDATION DIG!!! Dad and Maranda de-nailed the rest of the hardwood flooring. I discovered some pretty bad plumbing leaks from a conglomeration of terrible patch jobs spanning back 40 years maybe. I finally discovered where the puddles under the house originated. We got all the rotted floor and trash hauled to various dump and burn piles. I got the footer formed and poured on Monday. 14 bags of quickcrete. We have a snow storm on the way...Charley is 17 pounds. Pretty productive year for us.

Kitchen Destruction

Got all the stove moved into the bedroom, the fridge slid out of the way, and a utility sink plumbed in so I could begin the demo. I had to start with the kitchen sink and cabinets because they were built in place. The hardwoods came up next followed by yes another section of rotted floor.

Finally a Surface and a Smile

I got my bedroom girder bolted together and Brian stopped by to help me move some wires that were in bad shape. I don't do wiring. We picked up our latest addition Charley from Jarvis burg on the 9th. The temp was a record high of 64 degrees. ASU plays for the National Championship on Friday. I finished the rough in plumbing that passes under the bedroom to the future bathroom, insulated the floor, and was finally able to sheet the sub floor. It is so nice to have a room back.

.......diggin......

Wade and I dug out the rest of the bedroom floor so I would have a crawlspace. I busted a waterline in the process...whoops. Wade also planted four Black Walnut saplings before we headed out to the ASU / Western Game. I got the 6 mil plastic put down as a moisture barrier and some left over insulation in one wall. At least that should stop a little wind. I was able to use all the treated lumber I have been saving as floor joists in the bvedroom. I have been saving them for almost 1 1/2 years so it feels good to do my part in recycling. Thanks to Larry Norris I was able to cabbage a lot of various scraps. I even got to recycle the joist hangars for this room.

Stop the Breeze

Finished the form work under the front of the house and poured the concrete completing the run. I used treated 6x6 4' on center to shore up the original 8x10 wormy chestnut beam. I used treated 2x6 studs between the posts, insulated with R 19 batts and covered it with 3/4" treated plywood. I build a 3' x 3' access door and then sealed all the remaining cracks between the block and the framing with great stuff. This should hopefully seal off the wind seeing as how we have had a giant hole under the front of the house for a few weeks now. Temps are down in the 20's at night lately.

Solid

I got a new perimeter band on the footer and a new sill plate installed. I cut out the last remaining rot from the bedroom cleaned out the rest of the trash. I bolted two treated 2x10's together and got it jacked up under the center wall of the house. I used metal hangars to secure it to the new band on one end and the locust beam on the other. Now it is time to move back to the front of the house.

Patchin Holes

I replaced the old sill with a treated 4x4 and bolted it to the new foundation. I sealed th hole in the side of the house with plywood so not to draw much attention from the road. I have to tear out some of the kitchen so the foundation does not have a break under a load bearing wall. I got the floor torn out and the rest of the form work done. I also had to do this so I could complete the bedroom floor system before tearing out the kitchen floor. We went to the ASU game on Saturday and got to stand on the 30 yard line with the team courtesy of Dr. Derrick and his wife Liz. The leaves are at their peak and it was about 60 degrees.. perfect. Despite the partially destroyed kitchen, Maranda and Daisey still found the space to slice and dice the garden spoils into homemade tomato sauce. We were able to can both red and a low acid yellow sauce for my Grandma.

Still Diggin

I got the sill plates removed from the back of the bedroom. The porch slab that backs up to it had lots of rocks and debris that caved in when i pulled the plate out. I cut out some siding to dig the footer but hit some solid rock fast. I think it was an old cornerstone so I formed over it in place. I found some old Listerine bottles and other trash in the rubble. Maranda and I formed the footer and poured 25 bags of concrete after coming home from the ASU--Gardner Webb football game.

Tribute

Not much to do this week because we lost our little Divot on the 11th. He was hit in the driveway and did not make it. He was the best little dog...he loved to chase butterflies and he loved his daddy Chewy. As if the house was not broken enough, we had to add two hearts to the list. I am off th NYC for 10 days for a job at the New York Botanical Gardens.

Master Suite

We spent the last week ripping out the floors in our old bedroom. There was an awful bounce in the floor at the bottom of the stairs which turned out to be some serious rot. Because the back of the house was originally built on the dirt all the old sill plates and joists were shot. I pulled out six of them without using any saws. Most of the floor pretty much collapsed when the hardwoods were taken up.

I am losing square footage

Spent as far as Thursday this week gutting the downstairs bedroom. We tore out the stairs and all the sheet rock and poplar paneling and hauled it to the dump with all the other crap that has been there since last October. I was able to salvage some of the yellow pine T&G and some chestnut studs but not much else. We discovered an old date written on the sideboards of the old house. It read C.C.L. November 17th, 1917. Not sure what to make of it yet. I got a drop in from Dan Sheffey from ST. John and Brian from work...two very different perspectives.

Higher Ground

Maranda and I spent a week tearing out the old oak hardwood floors upstairs with the hope we could reuse them later. Each piece only had about 3 fasteners in it so taking nails out was a breeze. The only treasure we found to speak of was an old Trojan condom box someone had stuffed under the floor. None of the neighbors want to own up to it. I also managed to salvage an old chestnut door which I will reuse. The ceiling joists are shot so they will have to be replaced. I thought it would be great to store the flooring in the shop until I realized it would take up all my floor space. Oh well here is to lack of planning...you're guilty too.

Back To Work

I took an 8x8 locust beam and used it as a centerline girder under the house. I had a 22' section which worked out very well to take out the 5" sag in the floor above. It popped all the drywall and door frames when it was all said and done.. but who cares it is all coming out anyway. I finished clearing out all the rubble and trash from under the house...plates, a small broom, pottery shards, hangars , and old paper batteries...the usual stuff.

Sweeter Things in Life

In the midst of our work it has always been important not to work our lives away. We save time for our families, our garden, Chewbacca, and our latest addition...Divot, Chewbacca's son.
The pups are good company when I don't feel like working by myself.

Stop the Draft

I tore off the front porch deck to replace the old sill plate with a concrete footing and an insulated wall. There was open space under the front of the house so cold wind could blow under the house and up through the cracks in the floor. I poured 45 bags of quickcrete to finish the pour and installed treated plates and posts for support. I bought a laser level which proved to be a much better investment to date than this rotten old house.

Dig Dig Dig

The winter and spring of 06/07 was spent mostly on excavating by hand the crawlspace under the house. I started with 5 gallon buckets but after a month or so it took forever to get one out. The hours and beers spent deciphering my problem resulted in what you see here...more backs, more recycle bins, and a yard full of dirt, rocks, and trash that would make even the blindest moles salivate. We would gain a foot or two each whack but it finally paid off when I realized we had made it under the kitchen. I have a great appreciation for old timers after this operation. The end result was taking a 12" crawlspace to 3' and raising the price of Advil stock $10.