Wednesday, October 2
The Kitchen Renovation begins....
Here are some more pictures from the activity today:
It did not take long for "Dennis the Menace" from Lincoln Tree and Landscape to make a big mess of the side yard. He excavated a hole for the new foundation, and found the sewer pipe that brings all of the waste/wastewater out of the house...and he left intact- for now!
The north side foundation of our house has been exposed after 74 years of standing in place. Note the lovely side stoop entrance with the brick steps, raised paneling and screen door. Definitely a lovely side door.
Things move along very quickly during the first phase of construction, therefore the impact is huge.
View to the left from the door......View looking straight...............View looking right...
Note the sewer pipe coming from the house and the view of the street. A dramatic view!
Thursday, October 3
A very busy day!
Dennis was back again this morning and here is the view during the process of breaking through the basement wall:
Note the house jack in the middle of the garage bay. Halsey placed it there last night and jacked up the house for support during this process. He was so efficient that the pantry door would not open! (the pantry is located in the corner closet between the window and suspended door).
This is something that is exciting! Here is cross section of the foundation walls here at #2 Old Ayer Road- note the cement and the stones that must have been mixed in.
Truly spectacular.
It is an idea worth holding on to - this material may not be able to be re-used however the idea of the cross section of the foundation, or a rock is definitely one that has been re-occuring so far on this renovation journey! (*A post regarding my pre-construction field trip will described soon.)
So, imagine coming home from errands in the middle of the day and discovering this:Yes, that is the side of the basement that has been taken away. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN- you may ask.
I will tell you....
Dennis is incredibly adept with the excavator. He took the giant bucket and used it like a huge hand. A concrete cutter (not pictured) came with a giant saw, and
cut through the concrete wall in three different sections.
Dennis took the bucket, eased it into the basement hole, hooked it on wall, and gently pulled the wall from underneath the sill of the house.
This happened in slow motion, very cautious and precise.
WOW.
Back to reality, we had no outflow of water from the house allowed due to the removal of the sewer pipe for a little over 24 hours, but, we have all been camping, and we have some generous friends who gave us access to their homes so we could take showers if we chose before school and work. (Thank you!!)
It was a little crazy timing but the planning actually worked out that Platt Builders held an employee gathering at the shop with the Vesta Mobile Pizza truck- it was fun and...
It saved me from cooking and making a mess in the kitchen while we had no water!
Friday, October 4
Preparing for footings...
The excitement continued today as the weather turned from gorgeous 70's to the beginning of cooler temps and showery conditions. Dennis was back to hook the water/sewer pipe back to the sewer line, as well as the drain pipe for the gutters that runs into the back yard. It did take most of the day, but by Friday evening we were back "online".
Saturday, October 5
Final prep for footings
Another reason to be impressed by Dennis and Lincoln Landscape is that they were back on Saturday to finalize the prep for footings. The hole is very clean, the footings are marked with white spray paint and the area will be ready for the concrete crew scheduled for Tuesday.
Here is the view from the sidewalk - corner of the lot line on Saturday afternoon, October 5! It is my plan to continue with these two views from front and back of the house after every day of "action" to see the changes.....
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