Tuesday, I dug out the footing for a post that will take much of the load from our mud room, my shop, and the loft running over the western two thirds of the house. This created a small rock pile with which I am still wondering what to do. Wednesday I built the form and then mixed and poured the concrete which comprises the 900 lb footing.
Thursday I figured out a way to cut a true (flat and perpendicular to the axis) end to the section of old telephone pole I will use for the post.
Friday I painted some of the steel, installed a transfer switch for an emergency generator I haven't purchased yet, and fed some of my blood to the bugs while removing turf from another 4x8 feet of raised garden.
Saturday I wasted the day with Jean ( Mrs. Cherdack) buying porch furniture. I guess we did need some, after all we DO EXPECT SOME COMPANY this summer.
By this time, I faced the fact that I would have to remove part of the wall running across the western quarter of the basement which was falling down and was in the way. This requires placing another post, which means another footing ( ugh, how I hate working with concrete).
Sunday I removed the section of wall, piled the larger stones at the other end of the basement, and dug the hole for the footing.
I then mixed the concrete and poured the 250 lb footing. The footing, visible in the upper photo, is covered with black plastic to keep the water from evaporating as the concrete cures. What surprised me is that I got the anchor bolt exactly where I wanted it located, in the center of the footing. I'll have to wait several days for the concrete to cure before installing the posts. This will be followed by jacking up two sets of floor joists, replacing the central beam under the shop; repairing a few joists; adding 18 joist hangers and adding two rods running north/south under the shop to ties the sills in. After that I'll let the contractor reinforce the foundation walls, install some drainage, and cover the basement floor with a membrane and gravel. Here's a shot showing the magnitude of the job: the basement is 80 ' by 25'. The basement extends 18 feet beyond the step ladder ( shiny silvery thing) visible in the background.
Oh the joys of owning an old house, but I must admit I wouldn't want a perfect place, and certainly not a new one built as they usually are today.
During this time I have been tightening the two 3/4" diameter rods I installed under the mudroom and, in conjunction with the metal band mentioned in an earlier post, managed to pull the west end of the house together by about 3/8". The rods are probably exerting a couple of thousand pounds of force on beams to accomplish this.
Here is a photo of the infamous metal strap that behaved like an overcooked noodle that is now firmly in place, trying to pull the western sill of the house toward the middle.
Monday I made some minor adjustments to the footings, tried my hand at fertilizing our maple trees ( probably did it all wrong), painted some steel, and went for a 34 mile bike ride amongst the hill towns around us.
On another note, I am becoming increasingly conscious of the invasive plants in the northeast, which tend to form dense growth that eliminates native flora. We have lots of oriental bitterroot climbing all over our smaller trees and wild shrubs. It can shade out and strangle even fairly large trees. I have seem several patches of Japanese knotweed nearby and in the Catskills. This bamboo like plant can reach over ten feet high and spread explosively. It would be a worthwhile thing to volunteer to work with organizations working on removing these pests from our fields and forests; I certainly plan to do this.
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