After a bunch of digging, the site was ready for the house-lifters who arrived with a flatbed truck loaded with 6- by 6-inch and bigger wooden beams. The men hauled scores of these honkers into the backyard… …tossing them around with such ease you’d think they (the logs; not the men) were hollow. Then the house-raising guys started stacking the beams like Lincoln Logs… …higher… …and higher… …until they bumped into the top. Resting on […]
Read moreMonth: November 2005
The Very Foundation
The next step is to finish the excavation and build forms for the foundation. Unfortunately for those who had to wield the heavy-duty jackhammer, the scheduled half-day of breaking concrete became a day and a half. That was some stubborn cement: The guys wove an elaborate web of rebar, in some places artistic and elegant: In other places, form followed function: It seems a pity that all this artistry will soon be buried.
Read moreThe Hole I’m In
As a first step in getting ready for a new foundation, Robert & Vidal started digging. Miraculously, I managed not to break another foot as I wandered around back there. Felicia (the dog I was fostering) supervised, and occasionally helped out by moving work gloves, tools and small lumber bits to new places. I guess you don’t truly understand how big a slope is until you dig it up and move it.
Read moreBreaking Up Is Hard To Do
As a first step, Robert and Vidal got to demolish stuff. When they tore off part of the siding, they exposed the outline of the original 1913 exterior stairs, which was cool: I guess it’s good that I didn’t know until now that for the past eight years I’ve been practicing my Irish dance steps on unbraced plywood. Here’s Robert fixing that:
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