Delay

Apparently there's been a new delay with the SIP's from Porter SIPS.  According to Drew, the general contractor, Porter had questions about the loading from the planned green roof. I'm glad they are wanting to make sure the SIPs can handle the load but both Drew and i commented that that is what Tom and his engineer figured out. 

So, it looks like it won't be till August for the installation of the SIPs.  

What a drag. At least we are weather tight and access to the basement is easy. 

Been doing a bit of work in the back yard - pulling out rocks, cement and bits of debris from the soil so that we can rebuild our hills.  Plus i want it to be safe for Missy J to be able to play. 

I asked Drew if he could begin work on rebuilding the front porch while we waited on the SIPs.  He's gonna try to make this happen. 

Front Framing

Light rain today but a small carpentry crew framed the area under the front porch. It was a very loud job with lots of banging. Sitting up front with my feet on the table i could feel the whole front move just a bit as they pushed the new beams in to place.   Also hear a couple small creaks that indicated the entire front shifting.  Just hope the existing cracks don't get worse. 

I'm wondering how the space will be insulated. Where the new wall meets the old wall it is uneven and lots of gaps.  They also did not put anything down between the seal plate and cement. 

They took down the old siding that was hidden away under the porch. Underneath was newspaper....from 1920.  Not the first time i've found old newspaper in odd places in an old home.  A house in college had it wrapped around a pipe under a room that we insulated. That paper was from the early 1900 as well. 

In the back, Drew made us a new "door" to the basement. Just a giant slab of plywood that covers the larger opening. 

Foundation Done

Kanohi and kicked around the house today waiting for the concrete crew to show up and finish.  Just when we decided to go to the park they arrived.  

The two person crew took down the plastic, pulled the remaining forms, picked up, swept and filled in around the foundation walls. 

I wanted to talk with them to make sure they scraped up the construction debris and didn't just bury them. I also had them leave the excess soil as we can use it to build more hills.

Last week when they did the final pour i scratched our names into the stoop.  One problem....michele pointed out that they will be obscured by the support column!  

Floor Pour 2

Could not upload all the photos in the previous post so there's the rest.

The are out of order.  

After they did the skimming they let the concrete set for a couple hours before brushing it by hand to give the final finish. 

Drew, our GC noticed how the old basement floor was done. 2x4 sleepers, plywood, leveling compound, then the tile. As a result the original concrete floor is 4" lower than what you see now.  So, someday if we fix up the basement we can gain a couple inches in height. 

Floor Pour

I was mistaken on the tubes for the radiant floor.  The pipe coming up are for the connection to the radiant floor that goes in the landing area. They will still have to run a long pipe to tap in to our hot water system but at least i understand what was going on.  I suppose it is better here as it will be under the stairs, accessible but not taking up space in the room. 

The big action today was the pouring of the floor in front and in back. My field visit was canceled due to the threat of rain so i got to watch them pour.  I never knew how deftly a concrete truck could pour a set amount. I'd always though it was a big dump or nothing. The operator was able to pour small amounts at the request of the concrete guys. 

The front is completely done.  They just need to remove the forms and it is ready for the porch to be replaced and the new walls installed.  Hope the framing happens soon.

The photos are of the pour in back at various stages. The crew is very good. The put a small amount of concrete down and pulled the wire frame and tubing up so that they were not sitting on the plastic water barrier.  They even installed a plaster spacer along the point where the new floor abuts the old foundation underpinning.  This was not in the specifications for the basement but they went ahead and did it.  This will prevent any water that seeps in from rising up and into the basement.  It should flow down into the gravel beneath and out to the drain tile. 

With the threat of rain all day they built a canopy. Next week they'll be back to back fill around the walls, remove excess dirt and bring in topsoil to rebuild my berm.  

My only concern is the soil. I'd like to have the clay put back and then the 6' of topsoil but the dirt is all mixed up and there's rock and a bit of debris mixed in. I imagine they'll just push the dirt into the trench and be done with it.  I'm going to try and pull out some of the debris prior to next tuesday.