Recent content by pbellamy

So been a few weeks of hard labor but starting to make progress… dug down and filled cracks in foundation with poly and added an external water sealant (black tar-like paint) Vertical rotten siding is now replaced with horizontal cedar to contrast the original blue. I’m super pleased with the...

I fixed the refrigerator… cost me some elbow grease and a $100 door seal… fingers crossed as it’s a $10k replacement and I’m not planning that type of investment! I thought I was going to have to replace it as it’s 20 years old and I figured calling out repair guys was crazy (they quoted...

So a quick progress update… I’m currently putting cedar shiplap up. Going for 4inch horizontal as it will match the fences I’ve previously built and will contrast the blue vertical siding on the rear of the house. design wise I think it will make this Part of the house ‘pop’. So routed planks...

I’m drowning but it’s a happy drown. I currently have projects all over the house. One thing has led to another. My wife wanted to paint a wall in a basement bedroom and re- tile the lower level floors. So… the walls showed damp on a meter. So I ended up ripping out all of the walls to find...

Yeah, I’ll be laying rough down until I have the whole area dropped… compactor rental is a really good investment especially for such a large area… I think I’m a few weeks away from that yet!!!

Yea excellent. I’ve separated out the rubble and layers of gravel, sand, earth as well as small and large concrete. My intention is to use it to provide a good, appropriate level to relay block paving. Bottom line new patio will level out at 6 inches BELOW grade not 12 inches above!. big...

Yea right now my plan is to use railway ties as a cap and block pave (replacement patio) to match the work I’ve done at Hyde back of the house. My plan (still formulating is to carry the general feel of the lower patios to this area. pictures of rear patios attached to give an idea.. so...

Ha! I don’t have 20 scouts available but I have managed to clear and separate the rubble so far… and yes Tylenol is a majorpart of this project! Current state below: still wondering if I should clear the rubble from inside that block wall… this afternoon is all about tar paper!

Thanks for that! All super helpful… so here’s where I am today. (See pics) I’ve dug out EVERYTHING to below grade. By dug I mean broken Up a ton of concrete and removed 3-4 layers of aggregate materials Which I’m keep separate so I can reuse… To replace the siding I needed to get to the...

So here’s the plan… im super pleased I took out the concrete beam. I could not have removed the rotten siding and plywood with it in place. there was a carpenter ant infestation which I’ve dealt with but obviously need to assess damage to the beam. It think I got it in time… I’m going to...

Great questions… I’m assuming it’s a non starter… I’m just dreading digging out the patio to the right grade…

OK busy day… I took off a large section of siding and a 4 x 8 ply board. I also decided to lose the concrete beam as it was bugging me and it came out with a fair amount of levering and did no damage to the base concrete. so here I am… thoughts wooden beam has some ant damage… I guess I...

I think you may have a more optimistic outlook than I! :-) yea tomorrow I’m going to remove some siding and check behind…

Yeah framing is below grade. I’m about to remove siding to check (but the concrete beam is in the way!). House is built into a hill. This is the highest elevation so particularly at risk of water running to it from higher up the hill. Yes it’s a slab but this will be a concrete wall with wood...

I’m thinking the same! My current thinking is to take the concrete beam out so I can get to the rotten siding and check the wood behind it… It’s a significant concrete beam though. About 12 inches deep.I think it was a botched attempt to raise the grade, but even that seems odd as it’s so far...