Lumber was dropped off yesterday for the kitchen/basement extension framing. I arrived home early from the office (for some late-evening phone calls), and found the delivery truck in front of the house, leaving off at least some percentage of the lumber going into the effort.
Framing is supposed to start today. (Again.) Pictures (if anything to pic) to follow.
Not a lot of outside progress to show, as the contractor has been having problems with crews on another job and is trying to get that situation in hand before getting the framing started on our end.
In the interim, since in theory the kitchen goes "down" in 2-3 weeks, we're prepping the garage for the eventual use of it as a temp kitchen. The picture on the left is some old cabinetry we'd installed when we moved in. Like a dolt I didn't take a "Before," but imagine the countertop covered with junk, an extra shelf also covered in junk, and the shelf with some small boxes for organizing in them also covered in junk. Huzzah.
Found some amazing things on that counter, including at least one box of stuff that had been cleared out of the back of one of our cars about 13 years go (it included a small diaper kit, and some incredibly small socks). So this is all turning into a good opportunity to clean things up and throw things out.
Which leads to the second picture, showing a garbage can of garbage and two cans of recycle, resulting from the effort. (There are also five smallish boxes of Stuff that are now packaged up for later storage.)
Current plan is to put a sink in that countertop, so that we've got a place for doing some washing up, and end up with a garage sink when done for cleaning up paint brushes and after yard work, etc.
Not much done on the kitchen while we were away. The slab has been poured (it's visible around the edges — though as of this morning it's covered again). We're assured the framing will start this week … sometime …
Today they carved through the foundation to put in the space where the door from the existing basement to the new basement room will go. This is being done now so they can verify exactly the level of the existing slab when they pour the new one in the next few days.
The other thing that's supposed to happen in the next few days is the final rough grading in the side yard, but that may be delayed to next week, as it's still damned muddy from the last snow melt.
Alas, we head off toward California tomorrow, so we'll be missing the day-by-day picture taking — slab, grade, driveway patch, and beginning the structural build — but Jackie (who's watching the cats) says she'll shoot some pix.
So two main construction activities today.
First, since they are going to break through the foundation of the existing house, at the basement level, into the new basement room, that side of the house needs additional support (the house not collapsing generally being considered a "positive outcome" for most construction projects). That means one more helical pier.
With the backfill all done, there was actually room for the drilling Bobcat to get in and positioned, so they did so, and drill, drill, drilled away. Eventually they pulled it back out and put in a double-helix pier, which will hold things up better.
Once done, they actually attached the pier to a remarkable metal widget, which was slid around the base of the existing basement foundation and then bolted in. This is what will cause the pier to support the existing foundation (huzzah).
Over the next few days we should see a final rough grading of the side yard to get the drainage as we need it (primarily, away from the house), then breaking into the basement so that they can see where the current slab sits, then, on Saturday, actually pouring the slab. for the basement extension. Woot!
The other project today was a "well, as long as we're paying to mobile a concrete crew" add-on: tearing out a portion of the driveway that the giant cottonwood "Old Tree Trunk" (as Kay used to call it) has pushed up sufficient to be a tripping hazard (as my sore toes can attest). The demo on that got done just fine; when they are here grading tomorrow they will haul off the rubble; when they pour the slab, they'll pour the new driveway section.
Progress!
So the existing basement gets impacted by the project with a door being punched through the existing foundation (behind the wainscoting) into the new basement room, as well as ceiling activity related to plumbing and HVAC for the kitchen above.
Since there will be a bit of initial demo in during the next week or so (to make sure that the new slab matches the old slab), we needed to clear the wall some, and while we were at it, we decided to get the majority of the downstairs clearing and getting-stuff-out-of-the-way that will be needed.
Mostly noteworthy for those who have seen the basement in various stages of clutter or clarity in the past.
Last day to see the full foundation (or to seal it from moisture), as Thursday/Friday will be backfill days, filling the hole and the surrounding bits with the dirt that's been left behind in the side yard and on the driveway. More progress!
+Kay Hill did a little bit of exploring of the construction. I got out quick, though, when she started quoting from "A Cask of Amontillado."
After the backfill, we'll be sinking the last helical pier, by the house (where the existing foundation will be broken into to put in a door to the new basement), and then pouring the slab. They'll actually be doing some cutting into the house after that (where the door will go), so that they can line up the new basement slab with the old basement slab.
Getting more excited …
Every family has, I think, catch phrases and made-up words (often from childrearing deays) that mean things only to them.
We've got a couple in our household, acronyms in fact. And both are getting a workout during the construction project.
KIAMO (kee-YAHM-oh): An old D&D group term for "Kill It And Move On," we use it these days for "no worries, just deal with it."
WAWGANK (WAH-gank): This has been a mantra in our household the last several months, every time either +Margie Kleerup or I have been in the kitchen wrestling with the dishwasher not actually washing things right, or the stove not lighting, or cabinets that are fully of junk, or things that just aren't they way they should be. It stands, of course, for "When Are We Getting A New Kitchen?" and it's a term we hope to retire soon …
The crew came by and took down the wooden forms, so now you can see the concrete that was poured. Neat! We have our own bunker!
Next, once it's set (not sure when that is), they can start backfilling dirt around (and in) the bunker. That will even better help define what all this is going to look like.
Concrete has been poured! We have an actual structure, not a hole in the ground! Huzzah!
I think I now have more insight as to how it is that jobsites that involve concrete end up with concrete *everywhere* #kitchenproject
No new pictures of big holes today. Instead, the city inspector came by to check out the piering and foundation rebar setup, and signed off on the work, meaning that concrete will be poured on Monday. Wowzers!
(Below: we have permits and inspection papers posted on the house, just like a Real Construction Site!)
A lot of these pictures are looking similar because progress has been incremental this week. Rebar put in, rebar taken out and put in again, rebar welded. So … here's the world of rebar.
The structural engineer was supposed to come by today and give his blessing on the piers and all, but he put it on his calendar wrong, so he's coming tomorrow instead. Also coming tomorrow is the city inspector to confirm that everything is all done up right for the concrete pour that is now scheduled for … Friday! Woot!
Timing is actually perfect, as the forecast for the next week is highs in the high 50s, lows just above or barely dipping below freezing, and no precipitation. That could change, of course, but it seems like a good opportunity for the concrete to go in, set, and dirt to start getting backfilled. Huzzah!
Not a lot of visible progress outside, as, around the Thanksgiving holiday, the crew has been working on putting in rebar around the forms in the excavation for the foundation of the extension.
Meanwhile, Margie sealed a deal for the fridge we had planned on buying (a floor model with a very minor blemish, ad a substnatial discount). And we moved pictures and breakfronts from the dining room in anticipation of vibrations from the framing coming up once the foundation is poured.
Progress!
Forms are getting in place for the foundation pour. I can actually start to see what this is going to look like, which is keen.
They've been putting tarps down on the ground overnight, both to help insulate the ground a bit and to (especially, I think) keep the light overnight snow showers from getting the ground all muddy again.
Progress!
Things have been quiet a couple of days. Four of the five piers are in, but the fifth (against the house, where they are cutting the existing foundation for the door) will have to wait for the framing and backfill of the foundation to provide space for the Bobcat to maneuver.
Looking forward to the backfill, because the large pile of dirt on the driveway is getting a bit bothersome.
Meanwhile, here are some miscellaneous pix to keep your fierce interest in this fascinating project at bay.
The weather cleared and armed enough to get the helical piers started for the additional spaces. These are steel rods, square (1.5" to the side), which are bored into the ground down to the bedrock, a helical disk on the very end. When the torque of drilling down with them hits the required resistance, you've hit hard enough rock to support the building.
The estimate from the engineer, etc., was that the piers should go down about 15-20 feet, with a base quote for 25 feet on the estimate. In reality, these are ending up going down 35-45 feet before they hit something that produces enough torque to indicate a solid groundwork.
The extension of the house will rest on five of these piers.
It was slow enough going today that they'll need to come back tomorrow to finish the last two. After that, the crew can start building the forms for the foundation.
The longer piers mean additional cost to the project, but it's not exactly something you can say, "Aw, let's skip it." Them's the preventing-the-breaks.
Not much activity this week, since it's been so bitterly cold. Today the GC and Assistant came out to prep the excavation for helical piers to be sunk on Monday. These piers, down to the bedrock, will anchor the house addition and keep it from crashing down into the neighbor's yard, so it's a Good Thing.
The other activity was to extend out the slope down into the pit so that the pier excavator can get back out again after it does its work.
After that, then we start seeing forms built for the new foundation and slab and all that jazz. Then (once weather permits) concrete gets poured. Much concrete.
We reviewed another draft of the schedule, and things will start moving pretty quickly Real Soon Now.
( #WAWGANK is our new catch phrase around the household. "When Are We Getting A New Kitchen?")
"There's a hole in the yard like a great brown pit …"
So here we are, with the primary excavation finished. Not much progress Monday, as digging up finished on Sunday, and now we're waiting on the guys to install the helical piers which will hold up the new piece of house, which is a Good Thing.
The schedule for that is "this week," more detail TBD, none of which is aided (though really only inconvenienced) by dropping down to sub-freezing for the rest of the week.
It's still hard to visualize how this will all look in the end.
