Project Detour

Whew, another week of excitement and fun! We started Sunday off by cleaning more debris from the crawl space – margarine containers etc that the previous owner used to feed the cats that were living under the house. We also cleaned out the spidies from the garage so we could hang the floor plan and the project timeline for easy reference. We cleaned ourselves up and spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening at Corrie & Dean’s for Mother’s Day dinner.

On Monday, we completed the rim joists for the back of the house. Thankfully, we were able to re-use some of the floor joists that were not rotten to fit in. It would have been a more difficult job to do with todays lumber dimensions – a lot of shimming would have been needed! A beam is needed to support the floor joists in the back part of the house so Barbie & I set about laminating some 2x8’s together and got it in place and levelled up.

 

 

 

Monday was a long day but we accomplished a lot. When we woke up on Tuesday, we find a few inches of water in the crawlspace from the overnight rains. Crap! If this is going to happen every time it rains… well, I’m sure you can imagine. Anyway, we were not ready to put in the weeping tiles around the house but it appears it needs to be done sooner than later. This throws a wrench in our plans and pushes us back some. We have a neighbour that mentioned he would help with knowledge and equipment when we were ready to put in the weeping tiles. I wander over to his home and ask him to have a look at our water problems and see what he thinks. Well, the next thing I know, we’re digging test holes and discussing plans to dig a trench around the house and install the tile and backfill with gravel. One of the test holes revealed an old ‘grease pit’ where they drained the kitchen sink into. The top was broken so it was not hard to open and wow, did it stink! We get it all cleaned out so we can place a plastic barrel in it with the sump pump.

We realized we needed to get a ‘locate’ done for gas and other underground services but when called, they would not commit as they require 7 days notice. Dave calls in a favour and the next thing we know, I am out in the pouring rain at 9:30PM with amber lights flashing talking to a ‘locate’ guy. He said this was not an emergency situation and there is nothing he can do. He spoke to the dispatcher and there will be the proper ‘locators’ out the next morning to identify where the services are.

Barb sidelined herself because ladies do not work out in the muck but she kept herself busy working on some quilt projects and made herself a little quilted bag to hold her measuring tape and pencil on the mitre saw.

 

After the rain stopped a little, we noticed the locate paint marks, showing us where the gas and telephone lines were. It has been a week of cool and rainy weather but we manage to dig the trench on Wednesday and avoided the gas, water and sewer lines successfully. Now Barb & I had to shop for the drainage pipe and parts so we can start moving gravel and laying in the pipe on top on Thursday. This seems like last minute stuff and it is! We gat back to the house around 10 PM with the drainage supplies and more lumber. Terri and Mark plan to come by on Saturday to help build the vaulted ceiling in the main area of the house and we wanted to be sure we had the supplies.

 

Thursday morning, our first task was to get the sump pump set up in the cement tank that we found Tuesday. At least we can start pumping some of this water away to help dry the ground up some. We are up to our ass in mud and mire around the house. My arms are a little longer now after pushing the wheel barrow through it to dump gravel in the trench – now I have to wear gloves all the time to avoid scratching my knuckles on the ground when I’m walking!

By Friday, we have the pipe in the trench and start back filling the gravel – the pump is running a lot and moving out lots of water. The water in the crawlspace is slowly disappearing. I knocked a small hole at the base of the foundation and plan to dig a trench inside to help catch more water to ensure we do not have standing water again under the floor.

Saturday, we get our money’s worth out of Terri & Mark! But, there is no way to get in the house! The front door was closed due to the moat around the house and there was no floor in the back. So, before they arrived, Barb & I installed some floor joists and laid some plywood so we could get into the house through the back door. After removing the old ceiling rafters and some discussion on how, the new ceiling was in and looking great. With some time left, Terri & Mark moved lots of gravel to areas that were not accessible by machine. With Barb shovelling gravel into the wheel barrows and Terri & Mark hauling them and me raking – yep, I had the easy job – we moved a lot of gravel in short order.

Just reliving this week, I am exhausted so that’s it for now. Hope all is well where you are….