More footers

Martin framed and poured the footer for the back wall of the house. YEAH! The last wall to be done.

He then covered it with plywood, hard insulation, and tarps because fall has arrived with frosty mornings.

Water proofing

Martin spent a day painting on this black, tarry waterproofing.  Then I had the pleasure of removing the last of the dried on mortar globs and helping him paint the rest of the exterior foundation walls with the tarry stuff.

Backhoe work is done

The neighbor with the backhoe came back.  He wasn't able to dig out more of the main part of the basement because the sand is so loose.  He did however dig out the full basement where the kitchen addition was.  Our kitchen and downstairs bathroom will be above this space.

bulkhead masonry

It's done.  All of the block work is done. At least until the rest of the basement is dug.

backhoe woes

Our neighbor with the backhoe spent a day removing the stump in the back yard. In the process, he broke one of the hoses on the backhoe, so now the hydraulics don't work.  Once he gets it fixed, he'll be back to dig out the full basement under the kitchen addition.

Now for the backhoe

All of the foundation that we can do up to this point is done.  The neighbor with the backhoe is due back this week to finish digging the basement on the north side. Then the last wall of foundation will get put in and we will have to work on finishing the basement.  We are planning on putting in half walls in the center and concrete slabs for floors and shelves.

Last footers, for now

These are the last sections of footers that need to have the foundation wall built on them. As soon as the walls are up, then the rest of the basement gets dug and we start again on the newly dug sections.

the PROCESS

There is a process for mixing mortar for laying concrete blocks. As a "mason tender" it is my responsibility to do this process repeatedly.  I have to admit that there are some steps that I need help with or that Martin doesn't trust me with.

First I screen sand into 5 gallon buckets. This is pretty simple since I can just dig sand from where we are working in the basement. For a half batch (in this series of pictures), I dump one 5 gallon bucket of sand into the wheelbarrow.

Then Martin adds the mortar mix. This is the part I don't get to do because I don't know the correct amount (trust issues here).  The mortar mix tends to be clumped up, so we screen it too for easier mixing.

 Then I get to hoe the sand and mortar mix together so it is evenly mixed.

 Once Martin deems it fit, I make a well in the center and very slowly add a small amount of water at a time.  Slowly I work in dry mix from the edges until it is too difficult for me to mix.

 Then Martin gets to take over. This is the "I'm not able" part. I just don't have enough umphf.

 I then get to haul shovel fulls to the mortar tub Martin is working out of. My job is to keep water handy so Martin can add it to the mortar mix as it starts to dry and to keep the tub with just the right amount of mortar in it so Martin doesn't need to slow down laying block.

my latest job

All along the footers of the foundation walls is dropped, dried mortar.  Things need to be placed on or painted onto these footers, so the dried globs needed to be removed.

I got volunteered. That's what happens when you don't have enough skills and knowledge to be doing the "fun" work.

I have chiseled off about 66 feet of these lovely droppings. There are lots more footers to be done, but I don't have access to them yet. How much do you want to bet that my job next weekend will be to chisel off a bunch more.

almost ready for the backhoe again

Finished wall on the east side. This is the four foot "bump out" from the original footprint.

 The bulkhead stairs.

Martin is working on getting things set so he can put stairs in soon and then put the bulkhead door on.

The southwest corner.  The footer needed to be poured.  The mason should be back on Monday, October 21st to lay the block in this corner and to finish the west wall.

After the mason is done, we'll ask the neighbor with the backhoe to come back. He'll finish digging out the north end of the basement so we can pour some more footers and lay more block.

the house is half settled

Martin and the mason have been working like crazy the last couple of days. Two foundation walls are completed, including the corners.  To do the corners, the supports had to be removed. The east foundation wall is done, including where the kitchen addition used to be on the back.

 The west foundation wall should be completed tomorrow, weather permiting.

 The house has been lowered so it is sitting on the new foundation.

mason tender

I got to be a mason tender for a day.  Thank goodness I was tendering for Martin and not for the professional mason who has spent a couple of days working with Martin.  I got to haul water.  I was allowed to screen sand for the mortar. I hauled blocks from where they were stacked and restacked them so they were handy for laying.  I passed blocks to Martin as he needed them.

I filled the little holes where the ends of the blocks met in the wall.

I mixed the sand with the mortar mix in the wheelbarrow.  Martin got to mix it once water was added, because I just don't have the upper body strength.  Once the mortar was mixed, I was allowed to keep Martin's mortar tub filled.

I have to admit, I prefer teaching to being a mason tender.