Foundation Wrap Up

The foundation is DONE! Yay! Just a few last minute things to put back together and life goes back to normal for us and the kitties. Here's a couple pics of the concrete being poured. 

And here's the finished foundation! This is what $25,000 worth of concrete looks like. I think it should be a little more shiny for that kind of money but apparently we're just supposed to be happy it keeps water out of the basement. 

Of course we had to add the final touch. :)

The Foundation Saga...

...continues. 

The kitties have been acting WEIRD since we started construction on the foundation. They don't really understand all the noises and vibrations going on beneath their feet. It was pretty bad the first couple weeks but they seem to be getting slightly more accustomed to it. they act more annoyed now rather than scared. Lucky still spends most of her days in the cat tree or the closet. Mu-shu is still being kind of aggressive toward her. We'll be happy when this is all over and they can be comfortable again.

So here are some pics of the progress in the basement. There was a little drama when the guy heading the construction told another client she could come over and help herself to our bricks. she wasn't super polite about it and it really kind of bothered Jonathan and I. 

But it was all cleared up eventually and we were able to go through the bricks and pick the ones we wanted to keep. Here's the neat pile of 300+ bricks I set up in the back yard. I think I will pay the neighbor kids to clean them. I certainly don't want to do it. I would like to use them to build a little fire pit in the back yard eventually. Then we let our awesome neighbor Benny come over and grab all the bricks he needed for his driveway. THEN we told the construction company that they could do whatever they wanted with them.

Here's the back door entrance to the basement. They hadn't pulled the bricks out yet so it was kind of neat to see them there. I must admit that the mortar between the bricks seems to be very sandy and loose after 115 years. I'm sure the house would be ok in a small to medium earthquake with the slab and cap that we already had, but in a really big one we might have been in trouble. 

Here's the outside of the house. you can see the trench under the house where the bricks used to be. And there's thew supports under our bedroom. It's a little weird inside the house when Jonathan walks around a little heavy the whole place shakes just a bit. 

Last Friday we woke up and there was a Bobcat in our garage! They were hauling away dirt, bricks and concrete. I tried to get Jonathan to go out and get a pic from the front of the house but it was "too early" so he just look one from the window. ;)

Here's another image of the trench from the rear of the house. This is where the laundry and the old toilet usually live. You can see the water and sewage pipes. 

Here's a pic I took of the front of the house. Hey, it looks a little like the place Ted & Heather are buying! heehee! The guys had to remove the garage door so only big heavy plywood is keeping the place safe.... except for the part where the entire lower part of the house is missing all the way around and anyone can climb right in. Good thing we live in Alameda! Low crime!

Here's Jonathan in the basement surrounded by bricks and open trench.

So one of the things that we'll actually be able to SEE after this whole thing is finished and we've paid the big huge bill is the mud-sill. The mud-sill is the pressure treated piece of wood that lines the whole bottom part of the house and sits between the wood and the concrete. this is the old one before they pried it off.

And in this picture you can see the new mud-sill! Notice the lack of splintering and rot. 

That's all for today! They tell me it should be all wrapped up in the next couple weeks. We're soooooo glad that things will be getting back to normal. 

Foundation, Doorways and Fine China

Gwydion found this awesome little settee at a garage sale over by his place. We swooped in on it and now have a spot in the entryway for people to take their shoes off! The kitties like it a lot too. 

On Saturday we invited Dan, Irene and Natasha over for dinner. We used the wedding china and glassware for the first time! It was pretty. Not as pretty as Natasha though! I got a good couple hours of play time with her. It's so awesome living close to our friends. 

And the doorways are finished! the door from the entryway is all framed out. We did not splurge for the molding. It would have cost way too much. Maybe later when we have money again. The old front door into the living room is now covered over as well. Andrew actually made the lines in the panel by hand with a dremmel so that it matches the rest of the living room and dining room. Very straight lines. I think we can start entertaining the idea of paining in the near future. Joanthan and I have some ideas. But we have to scrape off A LOT of bad paint first. It's peeling off the wall in sheets all over the place.

And this week we started the foundation! Well, Carroll Construction started the foundation. They spent this week shoring up the house from underneath, taking the first couple layers of shingles off and pulling a few loose bricks out.

They had to take out my laundry sink. BOOO! I went to the hardware store and got a garbage can so we can still wash clothes during construction. The washer needs to drain somewhere! Then I get to take the water out back using a smaller bucket (one bucket at a time....) and dump it in the lawn. Not much fun but still serviceable.