As Hard as Concrete

Week 3: This was a week of progress. The foundation walls for the new addition were poured and they look great. The external weeping tile was also installed. The next steps are to Waterproof the foundation with a product called Rub-R-Wall and then place insulating Foamboard around it. It is a 2" rigid foam board that will help keep the basement insulated. We are hopeful that the waterproofing will keep any seepage out. Any that does get through should go to the new Sump Pump. We had Ferd, our Architect, come out and redesign the plans for the addition of a new steel structural beam, because the previous owners decided to compromise the structure of the house to add duct pipes. We submitted the change to the Village and now await their approval before installing. The installation will involve jacking up the structure to remove the beam, then jackhammering out the current concrete piers and braces. Then the 3 new concrete pads will be poured and the new steel piers will be installed along with the steel beam. Once this is done, then we can start the removal of the concrete slab. Here are some shots of the "pool" we had from the severe rains I talked about last week and then the new walls.

The new pool due to the severe rain. They had to pump out the water again to be able to continue.







Here is the rebar that is connected to the current house and will tie into the new foundation. This will help to support the old house as well.






Here is more rebar that is on the bottom of the foundation walls. There will also be some on the top to help support the concrete.







This is the formboards and the crushed gravel they used on what will be the floor of the new basement. It took a crew of three about three days to setup the formboards. It takes patience and a lot of measuring to get the walls the correct height and widths.





Here is another shot of the formboards before the concrete pour. It looked like a maze.







Here is a wall that has been poured. There are heavy duty screws and bolts that are put into the concrete and they will connect to the bottom plates of the walls to hold them upright.






This is a shot of the external weeping tile. It is a perforated black corrugated pipe with a sock membrane around it to keep out silt and dirt. This should contain any water and move it to the sump pump to be discharged. There will be more crushed gravel above it and then covered with back fill dirt.




Here is the concrete without the formboards that were removed on Friday, only 24 hours after the pour. The concrete will dry in a day, but to fully cure, it takes about 28 days. This shot shows what will be the stoop for the new front door. It will be filled with crushed gravel, a lot of crushed gravel.





Here is a shot of the inside walls showing the two window well openings.






Here is another shot of the walls with the bolts. This will be the new mudroom.







Here is a shot of the side of the house with the new foundation.








The Foamboards were delivered awaiting installation next week.