Serious Basement Work
Liz, using a 20 ton jack to prop up the house. Though we heard some slight creaks and pops, nothing extremely loud (something we were expecting).
Posts Tagged "basement"
Closing the Basement Window
This is another huge milestone, to me and Liz. With this window filled, along with our new security door – the basement feels that much more solid, our house that much more private and secured. It’s a really great feeling.
A New Security Door in the Basement
Having a new security door in the basement is another one of those big milestones for us. It seems that there is a never-ending list of things that need to get done in the basement… but to have this particular item checked off the list? It’s huge.
Tuesday Night, Working in the Basement
Last night, Liz and I came home from work and went right into the basement to work. We’ve had several days off in a row, and it’s always hard to get back into the swing of things (particularly when coming home after a day of work).
Mixing Up the Wrong Cement
I had accidentally mixed up regular cement… and this set off a scramble for us to prep a metal pipe we’re intending to use as a support column. The goal was to pack it with cement, and Bob helped quickly set things up so that we could tackle this task instead.
Brick Work
One area that’s needed some help is directly below the basement stairs. You can see what it looked like originally from this post, and it’s now nicely patched up.
Plywood Painting
Our goal was to prep some of the plywood we have downstairs, before cutting it up and placing it over the ” target=”_blank”>the basement insulation. One side (the side facing outward, towards the insulation) needed to get covered in paint.
Working on New Year’s Day
Last night, Liz and I talked, and re-confirmed our plans to pick up work once more. So even though today is New Year’s Day, and most of the rest of the country is nursing a hangover… we decided to put in a few hours on the house.
The Basement Shuffle
Bob warned us that one of the biggest challenges in living in a house while you work on it is navigating all the stuff. You’re working where you live, and you need to move things out of the way, then back, and then out of the way again.
Friday Basement Work
Given our busy week, Liz and I ended up deciding to work on Friday, after work. Which is one of the worst days to have a “House Day.” But… we desperately needed to put some time in.
Cement in the Basement, Continued
With a full week ahead of us, Liz and I decided to dig in and spend a bit of time today working on the basement again. With Bob’s guidance and a practice run under our belt, we felt confident we could tackle a round ourselves.
Cement and Apple Pie
On Friday, Bob and Julie headed in to Chicago to help us work on the basement. With the powerwashing complete, our next step was to skim sections of the basement walls that needed some concrete/repair. Here, Liz and Bob are checking out the requirements for each bag (1.25 gallons of water per bag).
Powerwashing the Basement
New day, new power washer. Bob was kind enough to pick this guy up on his way over today.
Powerwash Prep
We spent a good deal of the day getting prepped for work. But unfortunately, when all was said and done… the powerwasher had some issues. There was water coming through, but there was a leak somewhere that Bob couldn’t fix without taking the engine apart.
Basement Prep
Friday night, Liz and I put in more time in the basement. We were looking to get some powerwashing done this weekend, which means we needed to clear the basementfloor and also get as much done as we could with the chimney.