Underpinning

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Yes, our basement is now a muddy pit.

01/24/04 Beginning to underpin the foundation

At this point three of the four corners of the foundation have been dug out and underpinned with concrete, and the fourth has been dug out, but no concrete has been poured yet. Note the white one foot ruler in some shots.

Why, you're asking yourself, would anyone be crazy enough to dig out their basement and underpin the foundation? The floor in the basement was not level: in the center of the basement, ceiling height was 7'4", but at the edges right up against the foundation, the height was only 7'1". The floor needed to be level, so that would mean the 7'1" height would be what we get after leveling the floor. Put drywall on the ceiling, and underlayment and wood flooring on the floor, and you lose about 3", for a final ceiling height of 6'8". A bit claustrophobic, wouldn't you say? Also, much of the floor needed to be removed to install new drains for the new bathroom and washing machine area, and the entire perimeter needed to be removed to install drain tile for a sump, and it just started to make a lot of sense to just dig down and gain more ceiling height. We should get a final ceiling height of over 8 feet.

The gallows humor we have now every day as we drive home is whether we'll come home to our house, or a pile of rubble.

01/26/04 Underpinning work continues

01/27/04 Concrete poured

Waterproofing contractor is coming out Monday 02/01 to schedule the work of installing sump pump and drain tile around interior of new foundation.

02/05/04 Digging down

They've completed a large portion of the underpinning and are starting to dig out to lower the floor level. They are digging by hand, filling 5 gallon buckets, dumping them into a wheelbarrow to take to the dumpster. Waterproofing contractor and plumber will be starting on 02/25. The dumpster is number 4, about to be taken away.

02/06/04 Floor almost lowered

You can see the furnace, water heater, and support post sitting on little 2 foot high "islands," and me standing 2 feet below the old floor level. My left hand is about at the level where the old floor was.

02/14/04 Floor completely lowered

Old steel posts have been removed and replaced with temporary wooden supports. Furnace and hot water heater are sitting on stilts. Underpinning work continues (almost done).