Putting plywood up means we won’t have as much air going into the basement. And also allows for certain four-legged friends to be near the space, without fear that they might tumble down into the basement.
Not a very sexy project. But a small step towards making the first floor a little more normal.
Today, both Liz and I had our separate projects, with both of us working with long lengths of boards.
I’ve been out the last few nights after work, trying to lay down a few deck boards before the light disappears. It’s been a bit slow going, as I’m fitting one piece… and then measuring the next, and then cutting the length I need.
With the hinged cellar door installed, it’s time to put decking down. This was my first attempt, and I was trying to ensure that I didn’t end a board right where the seam would be for the hinged door.
Ready for the install. The two supports from yesterday are near the front, where the hinged door/floor will rest. We also put two small plywood spacers along the side, to ensure there’s a small gap between the door and the existing deck.
Continuing work on making the hinged cellar door. I made a small jig, based on the shape of the hinges… and Bob cut the profiles into the deck itself.
I know it’s technically a “wand,” but to me it still looks like a gun that makes “pew pew” noises.
A work day today that mostly comprised of a lot of “smalls.” No big, singular tasks that take the entire day – a combination of small little things, here and there.
The AC unit, in place! It was a little tricky getting this thing up high enough… but we eventually got there. Bob and I had to put it in place, make some marks, and then take it back down. After he drilled in holes for the base/feet… we had to put this thing back up again.
We’ve got another unit going in, but it won’t be quite as tight a fit as this was.
A little slow going for me. But incorporated a few big clamps, and getting fancy with the spices.
While I was working on the porch demo, Bob was getting our refrigerant lines set up in the basement. We unrolled a pretty long line over the backyard, and fed it back in to the basement.
Today was a big supply run. We were out in the suburbs, running several errands over several locations. It was… a lot.
One thing that we’ve yet to fully address/fix is the fact that our cement floor doesn’t quite lead water to the french well. When water collects down here, it routes directly towards the basement door… and we’ve gotten more water/flooding ever since we set this area up.
It didn’t really hit me until much later, when Liz pointed out that today… officially… we were done with all our soil backfill.
The bricks will likely sink a bit, in the coming weeks. And we’ll need to readdress the soil getting compacted down. But for all intents and purposes, all the soil backfill we need to do is done.
Spent some more time with the rotary hammer, trying to clean up this small outcropping of cement. It was slow going, but I definitely had a better handle on things after our prior attempts.