A Short Week

On Sunday, Terri & Mark planned to stop by on their way home from the cabin. Barb & I had to get some stuff done before they arrived so we would have a productive afternoon when they get here. We had poured a cement column under the beam that the floor joists connect to and the beam had to be raised a little and steel placed between the beam and the cement column. Our 20 ton auto jack came in handy so Barb didn’t hurt her back lifting the beam! Once the beam was level and supported, we then nailed on more joist hangers and a few more joists so the plywood we had down was a little safer to walk on.

When Terri & Mark arrived, we smoked into the rest of the floor joists in the back of the house and got them all installed and levelled. With that done, we continue to open the floor around the perimeter so our insulation contractor has access to the foundation to apply the spray foam insulation. Because this is old lumber, we are trying to save it to put it back down – if we tried to fill in this area with todays lumber, the floor would be uneven. This slowed us down considerably but got it done.

It was a short work week for us but we got a lot done anyway. Dawn, our second daughter was having gall bladder surgery and we wanted to be there when she came out. So, on Monday we ran a bunch or errands and picked up more supplies for later. We stayed at Terri’s overnight to get an early start in the morning for Napanee. We arrived just as Dawn was coming out of recovery. The hospital was releasing her around 2PM and we drove her home and sat with her there for a short time before getting back in the traffic for home. The ride back had two bad rain storms and we arrived back in Fort Erie safe but tired.

Bright and early Wednesday – well, bright anyway, we continue to open the perimeter across the front of the house. There once was a deck across the front. As we opened the front edge, we could pass a car through the opening into the house! Joking aside we did see Raccoon paw prints on the joists.  Don`t know how anyone could have lived here under these conditions! Barb & I built a header from side to side and added a nail strip for the new siding. The sides are ok but joist lookouts had to be added to support the floor after the spray foam insulation is applied. Trying to think of everything that needs to be in place or removed for the spray foam is tricky. It was a little tight for nailing but having a pneumatic nail gun sure helps.

 

 

On Thursday, we looked over the main part of the house attached to the original front porch.  We found an interesting issue with the 1st 2 floor joists. The one on the west side of the house was not nailed to the beam or any of the floor boards and the floor joist on the east side was not there! After securing the joist that was there, we set about replacing the missing one and securing it so it could not go missing again! The main beam across the front of the centre portion was a bit weak in places so we sistered up a new piece side to side to it to give it more support.

 

 

 

Saturday, we decided that we were going to get the sewer cleaned up and move our temporary trailer hook up to the outside and the opening closed for spraying. Wow, what a job that was! I had our nephew-in-law plumber, Jessie, on speed dial for help. I just about used up a complete butane tank on the heat torch trying to melt the lead bead around the cast sewer pipe. I managed to chip a small amount out and gave up with the heat. Got the grinder out and broke that. Tried putting the cutting wheel in a drill and broke the cutting wheel. I think someone was working against me here! Finally, I was able to cut the 90 degree elbow off flush with the hub with our reciprocal saw. Now what, I still have to get the old pipe out of the hub – I see a small gap where I was able to pick out some of the lead and oakum. I inserted the reciprocal in and after some fight to hold on, I was able to cut the lead bead all the way around the hub. Some more heat, a little hammering with the crow bar and my hammer and finally, I was able to wiggle the rest of the elbow out of the hub. Now it is ready to start building the new sewer system and build a dump station on the outside for the trailer.

In the meantime, Barb installed all the blocking in the stud walls around the front of the house by herself. I provided some assistance with the nail gun but she did all the other hard work and heavy lifting – like I said in the past, I have a great construction partner, not to mention a wonderful wife!

That’s it for this week, we hope all is good where you are and please enjoy this photo of our Oleanders back at the Plantation, courtesy for Ann & Bill.