Back at it...

Well it's been awhile since I've made any progress reports. Things have been slow so that's the reason for the hiatus. I'm glad to say that things are back to business now. It's going to be so nice to have this done and I can finally say that I see light at the end of the tunnel, on the basement part anyway.
This week, Charlie and George started AND finished digging out the old floor AND got half of the new floor ready to be poured!! It was neat watching them dig out the old clay from under the house one skid loader bucket at a time. A lot of hard work went into that old basement...most of it by hand, I'm sure...and I'd love to know what my ancestors think of the work being done now...using a skid loader. To get underneath the house with the Bobcat, they had to dig out a ramp. It looks like I have an underground parking garage entrance.

After they got the old dirt dug out, they brought in rock to get the floor level. When the floor is level , they lay down a plastic barrier and then lay the re-rod. This is the last step before the concrete is poured.

This week, they are going to dig in the plumbing I am going to have in the basement; such as a shower and toilet drain, couple of sinks, a couple floor drains, and a washer. I'm hoping they can get that done tomorrow and Tuesday and then hopefully, maybe, POSSIBLY pour the floor after Christmas and before the weekend! Stayed tuned and I'll keep you up to date.
I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Incredible Floating House, Part Duex

Yes, work is still going on. I didn't post last week because not a lot got done with the rain we got. This week was a different story.
The guys got the old walls knocked out on the south and east side in one day. The walls were up when I left the house that morning and when I got home that evening, my house was "floating" again.

They also got footings poured and the new Styrofoam forms up in 2 days. I was super impressed by how fast and how much progress was done this week!! They managed to get those things done before another rain shower moved in Wednesday.

With the rain that came through on Wednesday, I thought there was no way that a concrete truck could get backed up to the house and get the walls poured. Well, take note, I was WRONG!! Thursday afternoon they were pouring the walls! I do have to admit that my yard doesn't look like the turf in Kinnick Stadium anymore but things are getting done and that's what I want!!

I'm not sure if they are going to start digging out my old floor this week or not. Stay with me to find out!!

Week 5 Progress

Pretty original blog title, huh??
Well....the rain really slowed progress down this week. Bailey's did get here on Thursday and Friday though to start closing up the north and west walls. I will say that really helps by keeping the north wind out from under the house. When I say that they are closing up the walls, I mean that they are taking 2 x 12 studs and putting them on top of the concrete walls that fit perfectly under the house to support it. They then cover the studs with plywood. The plywood will be covered with a stucco texture when it's all finished to make it look nice.

I also took some pictures in the basement showing the old walls and the new walls. I still think it's amazing that the old walls were all hand stacked. A lot of work went in the basement 103 years ago.

Not sure what is on the agenda for this upcoming week. Stayed tuned next Sunday to see what got accomplished this week!

WALLS!!

Progress progress progress!!!! I LOVE it!!! This week consisted of getting the Styrofoam forms built around the north and west side of the house and getting the inside of them filled with concrete. It only took a couple of days for Bailey's to get the forms up. These forms are light weight and just snap/hook together.

As you can see, the middle of the forms are hollow. Concrete is then poured in them to finish the walls.

The newly poured concrete has to cure for a few days before they go ahead and do any other work to the walls. Thank goodness they got things finished up this week when the did. Right as the last cement truck was leaving, it started raining. It rained and rained. I ended up with almost 3 1/2 inches in my rain gauge. The yard was a muddy mess and there would have been no way any work would have been able to get done. Things are almost dried up now and there is another good chance of rain on Tuesday of this week. I'm just praying we don't get into a wet spell. Working in the water and mud won't be fun for anybody!!
I'm not sure what is on the agenda for this week, but I'm sure this time next week you will see more major progress!

The "New" Old Floating House

LOTS AND LOTS of progress this week!!! The north and the west walls of the basement were taken out this week. It makes for a COLD house but I'll deal with the cold if it means getting a new basement!! It's really incredible how my house is sitting right now. The only thing really holding it up are a few basement jacks. It looks like it's floating. The concrete footings were poured on Friday. This week the Bailey's are going to start forming the new walls with the Styrofoam forms that will be used. Not sure what all that entails so this is a learning process for all of us :). Stayed tuned...

This Tough Old Dirt

Found out this week that this basement isn't going down without a fight. After 4 good days of work around the outside of the house, it was discovered that the 103 year old dirt around the foundation is just too tough for the mini excavator that Bailey's brought in. A bigger excavator will make an appearance later this week and work should really take off. What the guys did get accomplished was digging trench to run the tile that will be set around the bottom of the foundation and the new tile that will drain my gutters.
So stay tuned until next Sunday to HOPEFULLY see some major progress being done. It's an exciting time around here and I'm glad you all are in it with me.
Enjoy my 4th annual fall colors shot :). How awesome is it that I get to wake up and see those trees every single morning?! My great-great grandparents were pretty smart cookies about choosing the location to build their, now my, dream home.

Support System

Work has officially started on the basement, no turning back now!! This week consisted of getting the support beams set under the house. They also dug some footing holes and removed all my ductwork. Hopefully it doesn't get too cold!! Thank goodness I have a couple of infrared heaters!
I talked to Bailey's today and they are going to start digging tomorrow. So work should really take off. Stay tuned for weekly updates from now on! It's going to get EXCITING!!!

This Creepy Old Basement

This only means one thing....I'm getting ready to start another new project on This BEAUTIFUL New Old House!!! This isn't going to be just a tiny new little project either.
This spring after the amount of rain that we had gotten, I was sick of running my sump pump every other day pumping water out of my basement. The most water I pumped out at one time was 18 inches. Most other days it was ONLY 2-4 inches. On days when it would rain and rain, I could see water seeping in through the cracks in the old limestone. It was enough to bring a girl to tears. So I had it and decided that this old house needs a new basement!! I talked to Jeff at Lockridge and he got me some quotes from guys that do this sort of work. I decided to have Charlie and George Bailey do the job for me. They have a fairly new way of pouring new basements under existing houses. They just support the house with beams while they work on 2 walls at a time. They say that it is less stressful on the house than jacking it up. And Lord knows that this house doesn't need anymore stress. She's already been through enough and I'm not going to subject her to anymore than what she needs. I am very confident and have no worries. These guys know what they are doing and have done a few basements like this before and say that it works really well. I'm anxious to see how they do it.
Enjoy the pictures of the 103 year old basement. The limestone at the bottom most likely came off the farm that the house sits on. Kind of sad knowing how much work went into laying it and now it is being replaced. Sometimes things need to be done though. I didn't do this much work to the house and then have an unusable, leaky basement sitting underneath of it. So I figured since I'm still young (27 is young, right??), I might as well just replace it now before it got worse and prices got higher. Stay tuned for more frequent updates!!