This is an album of redoing the house and heating system install, adding an attached garage and building a furnace house to put the wood and stove in. Lots of tile and groundwork had to be done so follow along.
Album by Kevin Foust. 1 - 412 of 412 Total. 7153 Visits.
1 This is the house before I started. There is a hill rising from the smaller building side that rises 60 feet. I want to put a 36' x 50' attached garage onto the house so a lot of dirt and tile work will need to be done so there are no water issues.
2 The front of the house. To the right on both floors used to have an open porch at one time. It was closed in at sometimes with some pretty shoddy work. Wind blows through the gaps and looses heat like crazy. That and the window layout looks bad to me. Want to change the steps and lawn as well for easier mowing. Going to take out the fence.
3 Lots of changes getting ready to happen.
4 4 buildings to take down first. The closest one here is the original smoke house where they smoked the meat for preservation. It will be taken apart and reassembled for our cabin. It was very nicely built with mortise and tenon. The other 3 buildings were chicken houses. Here you can see the rise and how much dirt will have to be moved.
5 First up was tree and fence removal.
6 Once I get the buildings and trees done I'm planning on renting a dozer to speed the process up.
7 The garage will be the total width of the house. Where the lower window is here, will be where the walk in door will go. The upper window will be shortened and the roofline will go through the lower half of it.
8 Tearing the buildings down by pulling every nail out so I can reuse any good lumber. Steel was taken for scrap and scraps of wood were burned.
9 I work a full time job with lots of overtime so I'd work about 5 hrs every morning before work. People thought I was kidding when I said I went into work to rest! I wasn't.
10 Piece by piece I was getting there.
11 2 of the 4 buildings are now out of the way.
12 Next 2 buildings are next. The closest one was ordered out of a Sears catalog. Not too much good in it anymore as you can see.
13 The backhoe was going to get a lot of use on this project.
14 Another view shows the grade I'm dealing with. Surface water off the hill will need tile to get it away.
15 I started digging to get an idea on how much it would be. About 5 ft so far. I'd dig to loosen up, then use the front bucket to haul into piles. I had scraped the topsoil off and put it in separate piles. This is all subsoil.
16 The hill has sheet limestone under it and wanted to know whether I'd hit a solid shelf as that would mean more problems. I remember this time as Mom came down and told me the twin towers had been hit, 9-11.
17 Started the tear down of the next 2 buildings.
18 I was moving dirt and burning too so I could keep an eye on things.
19 Weather was pretty good for me. I'd work dirt when it was fit and do the buildings when it was too wet. Had to make the most of my time and work with conditions.
20 Buildings coming down. All the concrete foundations and floors were busted up and hauled over to another farm for creek bank stabilization. The Wagon pictured here was built by my Great Grandfather. Grandma made me promise not to tear it apart and I will keep my word to my Mom's dismay. She want's it gone. We called it the Gypsy wagon as kids.
21 Getting close and you can see all the dirt piles of different grades. Keeping the topsoil for final grading but will have all kinds of subsoil to get rid of.
22 Want to get as much as I can with the backhoe dug to close grade before getting the dozer. Planning on renting it for a week and I know the time will fly when I get it. I'll take the week off work so I can maximize the time. Note the water spigot.
23 Still have lots more digging to go.
24 I rented a D4 Cat. I have to push all the topsoil off the outer yard as I'm planning on pushing a lot of subsoil out there. Probably raise the grade up to 5 ft on a 1/2 acre yard. Yeah, lots of pushing.
25 Barely visible to the right you can see the topsoil pile. It's about 10 ft high. Started pushing subsoil out. Never ran a Dozer before but took about 15 minutes to get the hang of it. 6 way blades rule and they make it so easy to do.
26 Dad came down to help. He would run the box grader and backhoe, moving dirt piles and smoothing while I dug and pushed. Kept an eye on the garage floor grade and you can see the holder laying over in the center. Didn't want to over dig the depth so no stabilization issues on the underneath side of the floor.
27 basically made a trench and kept pushing in that lane, maximizing each trip. You gotta do what you gotta do. Good view of some of the piles.
28 Inch by inch it's getting there. This dozer made me have no tolerance for someone not grading something out smoothly. There is no excuse as it is just so easy to do with a 6 way.
29 Dad kept moving bucket load out to spread at the same time. I was able to get the depth needed and just started to hit the sheet, solid limestone so I avoided a major stumbling block.
30 Grading out the subsoil and getting close to being ready to put the topsoil back in place.
31 Gives you an idea of the grad raise. Hate to think how many yards were moved.
32 A little more back dragging and box grader work and will start the topsoil.
33 Digging into the side of the pile and pushing the length, spreading a layer as you go. Nice and easy. The inner yard will now be the same level as the outer. Was a pretty big difference but now there will be none.
34 Just like spreading icing on a cake!
35
36 Quite a big change.
37 floor grade is done and some piles to move but real happy with what we were able to get done. I'm keeping subsoil base here till the floor is poured and til work is done. I'll spread all that topsoil with the backhoe and smooth with it and box grader after it all settles in.
38 Had the county come out and put a tile in along the road. There was a corner post in there path and I told them they would have problems. Guy told me they got a hoe that can handle it. I laughed and said wait till you dig it out. I've dug these posts so I knew what was underground.
39 That's a 5' x 6' ball of concrete and rock PLUS the post which was 20" around, 5 ft tall. They couldn't lift it and rolled it onto their trailer. He told me I was right. ;)
40 Rain came and shut me down. Had 37 hrs on the allowable 40 so I was out of time till it would dry out enough. Happy with what I got though.
41 Grade looks pretty good after the rain. Blended in with old ditch bank and inner yard. Will make mowing loads easier. I'll let all this settle in over Winter and then resmooth with box grader.
42 Another phase done.
43 Here I'm doing a V grade along the side of the house. Getting the natural fall right for surface water to bring it away from the house. this will go around the backside of the garage too. You can see my "helper". It's a bucket I made up to keep the grade pole upright when working by yourself when using a transit. Don't have a laser transit so making do.
44 Before digging the footer I decided to dig the lines for the heating system and the suction system. This way I can spread and level the pea gravel base and not have to deal with the ditch or wall. I can then reach the edges and finish the rest with the front bucket. Little things like this save wasted time.
45 Two lines on the left are the heating system. Top pipe is smooth bore HI Q so I can pull lines easily if needed. Under that is a 4" field tile that slopes away from house for any water that may be around it. You don't want t try to heat ground water. Suction system uses PVC and solid field tile in a stair step size pattern.
46 Here is where the heating system pipes will enter the basement. Using the window opening to save some wall blowout.
47 Dug the footer to grade and will use the earth as a form. Was going to go poured foundation wall but the form rental was crazy high and with only a few block showing, I couldn't justify the huge expense.
48 Here you can see what I meant about doing the grade on the floor. Easy to gt the rest from the outside.
49 The block came in(Top left) and ready to pour the footer.
50 I had set grade stakes in the trench so this will be easy.
51 Was hoping to get this done before the rain and was able to do so.
52 This went pretty quick.
53 Now it's time to start laying the foundation wall.
54 Going to have a 18 ft door and 10 ft door.
55 There will be a cubby hole but outside wall will be in line with house. The septic tank is partially in that cubby s I can't mess with that. Used string lines to keep everything right.
56 This is where the 12 inch suction line comes out from under the floor. Filled the block in and around that.
57 As I put the tile in I pulled 2 ropes through at the same time for pull lines. put a cap on it till I do the rest of the heating system lines after the garage is done.
58 Put the other 4 spur lines out for the floor so there will be 8 total. getting ready to fill in the rest of the pea gravel and bring to grade. I just used a 4 inch hole saw and slipped the PVC in.
59 Filling it all in here.Exposed pipe fill be flush with floor as I'm pouring 6 inches thick.
60 I plugged all the block holes and put the plate studs in. Doing some tile work for drainage and downspouts now.
61 On the end I just used a standard T fitting. I stair step the sizes up as the volumes increase as it goes.
62 I made up notes and maps of the tile and will mark them on the ground once backfilled so I can keep the mixer trucks off them so they don't get crushed.
63 Lots of drainage work to do to make sure there are no issues later.
64 I ran this line out through the line to cut up some of the volume. Grade made it over 6 ft deep to have the fall needed. It's working though!
65 I used well over 1000 ft of tile till this project was completed.
66 To the left is the suction system outlet. It will lay flush with the ground with a concrete surround. Drainage tile for perimeter and hillside drainage.
67 They're everywhere.
68 With that done I'll start on the heating for the floor. Going to put in radiant floor heat in the garage with 2 zones. The small door and backside will make an L shape and the 2 car side will be another.
69 You want to keep the lines the same length so it will equalize the pressure and be even. What I did was cut strings the same length and used graph paper with a scale drawing and worked till I got a pattern with no overlaps. Then used it as a guide to lay the pex out.
70 There is an insulated barrier on the bottom and it came with sticky flaps to join together, I then taped the top side. On the edges I used styrofoam cut on 45 degrees tapering to a knife edge to the top of the floor. Insulating the sidewalls. Concrete chairs hold the Rebar which is 16" on center. Pex is zip tied to rebar.
71 Here you can see the sidewall insulation and taper. Rebar was all wired together. You don't want shifts with this as that would be a nightmare and ruin the floor by pinching the tubes.
72 I put in pipes for the grade rails to fit into so I'm ready to pour.
73 Lots of prep work in this one but you can't cut corners as it will come back to haunt you.
74 Decided I'd pour the slab Connecting the back door to the driveway at the same time. Going to have to have some extra help on a slab this size anyway.
75 Dad's in his inspector pose.
76 Poured this on a Saturday and had some friends come to help. Fred Allmeyer, Jonathon Moore, Dad, Jason Shiflrt, Jim Whorton and me. Jim brought his Power Trowel.
77 I put air pressure on the pex so that if it got hit I'd know it. You'd see air bubbles in the concrete and I had splices and tool to repair on hand just in case.
78 Everyone except Jason had done concrete work before so it went really well as everyone knew what to do. Makes a world of difference on a bigger pour.
79 Slowly but surely we were getting there.
80 Over half done a bull floating and pouring going on.
81 I told Jim to burn it smooth as I wanted easy sweeping. We're all working the edges for him.
82 All done with no leaks and very happy with the way it turned out. Took about 5-6 hrs total and grateful for those who helped out.
83 Started on stripping the house next to get ready for framing. Asbetos Shingles, 2 layers of 1/4" tar paper sheets, lap siding and then sub siding. LOTS of nail pulling.
84 As mentioned before, this window will be shortened as the roofline will go through there. I'm going to fully insulate too. I'll then renail the subsiding on, house wrap and siding on the outside will follow.
85 Smaller window opening in and insulation in place.
86 The county storage yard is about a 1/2 country block away from my house. I stopped a guy I know who works there and asked if the needed clean fill dirt and he said sure, They use it to back fill ditches and projects. They came over and got rid of a few piles for me. Ended up around 75 dump truck loads.
87 Trusses came in. I had to order them with an odd pitch to match the back porches roof line.
88 Dad and I started framing the sidewalls.
89 Started setting them up and left some sections of OSB out for doorways and a breeze.
90 Split some of it up in sections for ease of assembly. Just braced a we went.
91 Starting to look like something from the outside. I'm sure passer bys were wondering why all the doors! LOL
92 Front was easier other than the HUGE header beam the county wanted for the 18 ft door. They wanted a 6 ply engineered beam and had to have the makers engineer show them that a 5 was overkill. Still huge.
93 Tearing the roof off the back porch to tie in. I was stuck with the pitch as there was no going up with the windows and down would mean a lot of work. Hopefully it will look right when done.
94 Truss day! My brother Jeff, Dad and I got them on and just swung them up from the ground using a pole.
95 Getting close here. You can see how the peak of the roof misses the window.
96 Putting the OSB up on the roof.
97 Put in some cabinets for our friend Bob Humphrey and he wanted to return the favor so he handed up sheets of OSB for us. Thanks to him for lending a hand.
98 Felt good getting all that on.
99 Getting the fly rafters on for the facia to nail to along with the trim.
100 Put tar paper down and using full length sheets of metal for roofing. We use screws to attach and goes pretty quick with just 2 people.
101 Backside even better as there are no cut arounds and sheets are cut to correct length from manufacturer.
102 Roof is done so Dad came down to help put in the walk in door. Used the window opening for that and enlarged it. Will insulate the side and renail subsiding back on.
103 Once again, working outside when weather permits and inside when raining. Doing the trim work here. Bending aluminum to wrap everything so no painting needed in the future.
104 Put the corner trim on and used the premade eave steel under. This stuff is really nice to use.
105 This section is all done and ready for siding.
106 Siding Time! Straight sections with little cutting is nice.
107 Makes a world of difference.
108 Had framed up the inside walls during rainy days and was ready for the "fun" of doing drywall. I rented a hanger for the first time and made it very easy to do. I'll do that from now on.
109 This made hanging a lot better though but it's the finishing ahead that I dread.
110 Drywall is NOT something I enjoy doing but I'm too cheap to hire it done. LOL
111 This shows how the roofline turned out. Feels good to get this done before Winter sets in.
112 Got the small door in and ready to start on the big one.
113 This doubled the length of the house.
114 More digging to get the driveway to size and depth. Need it to slope away and down so more dirt removal.
115 Got it dug and got the gravel in place and to grade.
116 Tearing the old fence down so I can get the rest of the dirt feathered to grade.
117 You can see how much will have to be removed. Luckily it does slope away but it will need to go back a good bit to be right.
118 Too much dirt again so started hauling. dad said he could use a bunch so hauled about 40 loads over to another farm. A family friend, Dave Black, let us use his dump truck.
119 Dad was doing most of the hauling while I kept grading.
120 How I spent my January mornings! Did manage to get it all ready and put plastic down on the floor as I'll spray the paint on.
121 This is looking from the 2 car side into the single door side. I put a walk in door in this corner and another in the wall shown up against the house.
122 This is looking down the back when up against the house. I used 12 ft sheets for less joints.
123 This is looking at the house wall. On the left is the walk in door to the outside.
124 After spraying the primer then the white top coat I put on the cove base. I decided to have a rolling door/wall on the L section of the garage. Framed it out and used metal bracing to give it strength. Then covered the side with bathroom style white board. Light construction and easy to keep clean.
125 All done here and makes for a nice space.
126 Opened up and looking from the opposite end. I used barn door track to roll the door on. Finished the edges with stainless angle iron and bent stock.
127 Made up my own door handle pulls out of solid stainless.
128 Stainless sheet on the top with the rails screwed into the studs.
129 When Mom first saw it done she said it looks like an operating room in a hospital! I'll take that. ;)
130 Wrapped the bottoms to save damage and used stainless on the sides as well to prevent dings.
131 Made up cover plates that snap in and basically lay flush in the floor.
132 Too dark to see the garage door mount. I use 2x4's down that are nailed into the studs. Makes for a stronger, better looking mount than the normal holey angle.
133 Finished 2 car side.
134 I wrapped the wood with aluminum before putting the doors on.
135 Another stainless kicker on the drywall where it is on the house.
136 Used 1/2" under the door and cut it to match the slope. Then 1/8" angle to the sill so moving stuff in and out and foot traffic will do nothing to it.
137 Our county requires a lot of downward slope on a garage floor.
138 Door was moving around a lot more than I liked so I made up a center mount to keep it in place.
139 Here is the piano hinged access door to the attic.
140
141 With the garage done it was time to start on the furnace house. I dug the trench the lines to run underground to the building. Same smooth bore pipe and 4 inch drainage under it. All back filled with pea gravel for good drainage. Electric line is running alongside as well as the control monitor line for the stove.
142 Dug the footer for the building and left the center. Line slowly slopes in from underneath.
143 I'm going to do a monolithic pour on this. Meaning, pouring the foundation and floor all at once. Building will be 20' x 20'.
144 Got the pea gravel in the center and to grade. Covered the pipe up.
145 Used old concrete blocks and set them to grade as That is what I dug it to. back filled the rest of the way with pea gravel. Makes for a nice system and saves a step.
146 Front wall will be exposed and plenty high so I braced it good with the old lumber to prevent a push out.
147 I then covered it all with plastic and used chairs and rebar again, 16 inches on center. Put a grade rail in the center.
148 Started out by pouring all the footer walls till we were ready for the floor. Jason and Dad helping me here.
149 Jason and I running the rail and Dad is pulling out the extra.
150 Dad and I hand troweled it to a really slick finish. Once again want easy sweeping.
151 Weather finally got fit so I finish graded everything around and seeded and strawed it. When that was done, Dad came down and we started to lay the block. I want block sidewalls so I can just stack wood in there with no ricking or termite worries.
152 I'll stick frame the front and screw it all together so I can remove the stove if need be. I want the building to look like the rest of the building so I'll attach 2x's to the block and screw on the siding.
153 We kept at it and it didn't take too long. Dad has taught me a lot of things over the years but I laid quite a bit at my former job as well.
154 After finishing the block I put rebar in every other hole and filled every core with concrete. Steve Rodgers cam over to help Dad, me and Jason with the bucket brigade.
155 I can start the building when the weather breaks.
156 Over winter the grading settled in and I put the final grade on the outer yard.
157 After using the box grader, I started at the top and hand raked it downward.
158 Seeded and strawed the upper half and working on the lower here.
159 Blends in really nice and since it froze and thawed over Winter, it should stay nice and level.
160 All seeded and strawed now.
161 Used a lot of straw on this but was able to clean a few barns out.
162 We had a really dry spring and summer so I was watering it so I would at least get it started.
163 Came up nice.
164 Driveway is up next. Decided to do one section at a time as I could get it all ready and pour in the morning and still get to work to rest. ;)
165 Jason brought Martin Wong along as he wanted to help and learn with Dad and I. Poring this all 6 inches thick with rebar 16 on center as well.
166 I order ahead for the first load of the day and this gave me plenty of time to finish. Just putting a broom finish on this.
167 Bull floating it down.
168 Next section ready to go and Billy Joe Preston and Jason came to help.
169 Jason running the screet board with Dad while I rake.
170 I had set the stove in the building and decide to pour that section next. Dad was away so Jason and Martin came over. This one almost killed me as it was a hot load. Super hard to screet and when I went to bull float it was hard set. I never stopped and worked my tail off to save it. Don't know how you get a hot load with your first load but they managed to on this one.
171 It has some flaws in it but it was the beat I could do to save it. Was not a happy camper that day as I was beat.
172 Kept pouring sections on the other side.
173 Here I'm digging out a section for draining system. With the slope there is I want to catch the water coming from up above and run it underground.
174 It'l have a trench that will slope back to the garage and it a basin. the basin will tie into the downspout tile and be taken away. At least that's the plan.
175 Also going to pour this sweeping corner. Doing this for ease of mowing and driving in. Relief cut a board for the edge and staked it like crazy to hold the curve. It curves and slopes up too.
176 Bent rebar into a U shape, placed them into position and wired them all together.
177 This should keep it from cracking up.
178 I ripped sawed 2X's on a long taper and screwed them to the wood crossbraces you see above. In other words, it was hanging in the air and we forced the concrete around it.
179 There is the basin and the trench on the other side of it sloped toward the basin too.. When it sets up, I'll remove the wood. There is a step at the top so I can use grating in the groove and it'll be trapped there.
180 Gravel truck dumping for another section. They are getting to me by name.
181 This section has a pretty good slope to it. Jason came over again.
182 Poured the lower section and the smaller end. Don't want the trucks on this green concrete so I'll do one smaller section to save dragging as they can't reach that far.
183 Decided to do the finish grading on the dirt. Using the hoe and box grader again.
184 Had to trim some trees and take some stumps out. The fence is coming out too.
185 Getting it worked down and packed/leveled.
186 Brought in the top soil for leveling.
187 Makes a big difference.
188 Once the grass comes in, most will never know it's been done.
189 Ready for seed and straw.
190 With that section done I found the one I've been looking for. The LAST one!
191 Getting it down and happy to see it.
192 Driveway pouring officially done.
193 Since it was such a small section I did the drains on the back of the shop as well. Double outs are the downspouts and the bigger one handles all the surface water and downspout water, sending it underground through the middle of the driveway.
194 I went ahead and put the chips and dust on the rest of the driveway as well.
195 Nice long sweeping curve.
196 To the road and barn. Heavy trucks and mixers should be done for a while.
197 When raining, I work on the heating system in the basement. The guy I bought the outdoor wood boiler from gave me a sequence of what should go where and sold me the pieces. I then drew it all out so I wouldn't criss cross it and have a good flow. All that and leave spaces so I could add, if need be. I started by mounting a 3/4" piece of Pressure treated plywood that was covered by a piece of sheet stainless steel.
198 I want to keep as much mild steel out of that as I can. Brass, copper, poly and stainless pieces were used. Followed my drawing and started mounting stuff. This will do my Domestic hot water in the Winter too.
199 Incoming/outgoing lines come in with insulation trough a smooth bore HI Q tile. This was the best insulation you could get when I put mine in. They since have made better stuff. From here there is a large loop held up on the ceiling. You have to have that because the pipe grows and shrinks with temps. A cushion if you will. The orange are the lines to and from the garage floor.
200 The incoming water goes to the copper pipe on the far right and down to the floor. Hangers have insulation to isolate the heat.
201 I put valves and spigots so things could be changed out without draining. Spigots make bleeding the air easy. Water from the pipe feeds main pump which runs constantly. From here it goes to the water heater.
202 From the bottom of the water heater it travels up the side arm heat exchanger transferring the heat through the metal. Convection makes it work.(heat rising)It then heads back to the center pipe in pic 195 and goes back down to the floor.
203 It works it way back down to a zone valve which is controlled by the house's thermostat. If needed, it lets it through the plate heat exchanger. If not it bypasses it. Other lines (green ones)are tied into the oil furnaces water lines and circulator pump. Furnace is shut off but pump runs constantly so heat up/down is smooth with no noise. Important to have the flows opposite on these for best heat transfer.
204 From there if the garage floor needs heat in either 2 zones the pump kicks on and draws water from the system, pumping it through. The zones in the garage have their own thermostats and that is how they are controlled. Manifolds are to the left of the pumps and disperse the water evenly. You can control flow on them if you wish. there is a tempering valve where it comes off the main line before the pumps(T looking thing with gray knob)
205 Here is a close up of the tempering valve. You can't have 185 degree water hitting your concrete so you mix the return water with it to bring temperature down. Very hot water will mess concrete up. It's adjustable and the gauge tell s the temp and pressure too.
206 Close up of pumps and manifolds.
207 This the return lines from the floor. You can see the stack pipe on the return has a pipe plug in it. I designed the layout so if need be, I can add more zones and return lines. The slots can be turned to restrict them to slow the flow if needed.
208 Better view and a gauge there as well to see what is going on temp wise.
209 From there it goes back down and runs back up the long straight copper pipe to the outgoing line back to the boiler. You can see I put a T on the draw side and an open space in the center where another pump can be added easily. You need to put valves everywhere so pumps and valves can be change quickly with very little water loss.
210 The cathedral trusses I ordered came in so I started building. I got these so I have room to reach over to pick the stove out if needed and more wood storage to go high.
211 Sheathing on the roof now and put the tar paper on. Getting ready to put the steel on the roof.
212 I had set the stove in earlier and we are putting the roof on here.
213 I'm leaving the eaves open and going to put screen on to keep bugs out. I want a lot of ventilation and put a high powered exhaust fan in the peak at the back.
214 I drilled and screwed 2x4's on so I could screw the siding on. This way it'll fit in with the rest of the buildings. You can see the flue is done a swell. I routed it to the center to cut down on leak issues.
215 Working my way around with the siding.
216 Siding going on.
217 With the sides done I'll start on the front.
218 The front was all stick framed and screwed together in panels if you will. the walk in door will stay but the top and to the side of the walk in door can be removed to lift the stove from overhead if it ever needs changed out. The big door was made at the right height and width for a pickup truck to back in to fill it up.
219 Finishing up the trim work and need to make the door.
220 Never know it is really a block building with a wood stove in it.
221 The first Winter with the heating system was an eye opener. It used 28 cord of wood and the house was still chilly. I knew the house was bad but not to that extent. A major redo was needed and fast so my plan was to get it done in a year. I started on the back porch. I wanted to eliminate the window to the left of the door and the small one on the right.
222 The large window was bad and replaced the whole thing with a new one that was more energy efficient. The construction was fixed as well as it wasn't the best quality when done before. The door had been replaced a while back so it was okay.
223 After reframing the main section, I covered with OSB and got ready to install the new window.
224 Put the house wrap on and insulated any gaps I could find.
225 Went ahead and put the siding on this section and will tie in above the door when the rest of the side gets done.
226 The front porches are next. REALLY bad quality windows and very poorly done. Gaps everywhere as you can see and stuff just done plain wrong. Starting over with this as there is nothing to work with. I want to change the window layout so it looks like it belongs there.
227 Windows different size and lined up. Looks out of place and it is. This corner of the house was originally and open porch on 2 sides on first floor and one side open on the second floor. Both done at the same time and both bad.
228 Tear out commences and pulling the nails again. Corner post is the only load bearing I have to deal with.
229 Started framing in this wall for one window of the same size.
230 This side is done and ready for siding.
231 We had gotten a bunch of heavy duty shelving through Jason. It's like what is used at all the big box stores and really adjustable. Figured it would work great for a scaffolding system and started putting it up. Tied the corners on and one place in the middle.
232 Once all up I started the tear down. Getting rid of all the layers so it will be bare studs. I can insulate that way and replace or redo windows. I'm also shaving or bushing out any studs that are warped so sides will be straight. The windows will all be wrapped with aluminum around the frames for ease of maintenance.
233 Takes a while to pull all the nails and the buckets are adding up.
234 You're seeing the bare studs here with the inside walls showing. 10 inch sidewalls on the 1st floor, 8 inch on the second.
235 First floor on this side is insulated now. There was nothing anywhere. No wonder it took so much heat.
236 Put the OSB on and moved to the second floor with tear off.
237 All the OSB on and windows are installed and wrapped.Working about 5 hrs every morning here.
238 Once again using the house wrap and putting the siding on.
239 Movin' on up and getting close.
240 Back tracking some here as I'm doing the second story above the porch at the same time.
241 Same process.
242 Decided to put some black shutters to the sides to set it off. It really gives it a look I like.
243 Quite a difference from before.
244 With this side done I'll start on the front next. 1 down, 2 to go.
245
246 Getting ready to start on the front and have the shingles and tar paper off this side on the outside. You can see why the wind could be felt in here and things would move when it got strong. Everything including the door will have to be replaced here.
247 Just way too many windows here.
248 I want to make it look the same as the other so it doesn't look like an afterthought.
249 Nothing load bearing here either so that is not an issue.
250 Got some looks from people as they drove by but it will get even better.
251 This was the view as it was originally. They had a wooden railing but the porch was open.
252 Door opening and window in place and ready to move to the second floor. I'll move the scaffold around to be able to work safely and easier. The less ladders the better to me.
253 Starting to tear the rest off and open it up.
254 The window(smaller one( on the top right was original. It was a closet for the porch and always seemed odd to me to have it that way. It to had a railing all the way across originally but was changed around 1900.
255 All opened up now.
256 Framing went pretty quick and once again, Dad was helping.
257 One half done.
258 Got the bottom down to the lap siding. Got to be friends with my trashman and I'd help him load when he stopped. He never complained then and made it nicer for me.
259 My grandmother always said they had paid to have a few rooms insulated and up till now there was none. This is the ONLY place I found any. There was 4 partial runs in this wall and there was at least 2 inches on either side of the bats. It was doing basically nothing as it was not attached to either side and was 3 inches sitting in a 10 inch wall.
260 Should make a huge difference in next years heating.
261 Repeated on the top section, installed the door, siding and shutters. Made a huge change in the looks and function.
262 Moving around to the west side.
263 Got it the lap siding.
264 Got some rot here and looks like trouble.
265 It had water damage and some termite problem years ago. It was treated I guess as there were none active termites now. The sill plate beam was 12 x 14 inches and rotted basically clear through once i dug into it. Looks like the window leaked at one time and helped cause this.
266 Luckily the studs were pretty much okay. I'll just have to deal with the massive sill plate.
267 I cut out all that was bad with a chainsaw and replaced it with pressure treated. It'll help the floor inside as well. It was bouncy and now I now why.
268 With that out of the way, I did the first floor and started on the second.
269 No other issues were found so back to the normal routine.
270 All wrapped up.
271 Another section done and I can see the end. So glad I'll be able to finish this all before another winter starts.
272 Moved to the next and last section, good feeling.
273 One side of the L done and no issues.
274 No issues here either and ready for siding.
275 All the siding on and before I take the scaffold down I'll scrape and paint the Chimney.
276 Grass came in nice and house has changed dramatically inside and out.
277 I'm really glad I kept the same roofline with the porch.
278 Wood consumption went from 28 cord the first year to less than 13 cord average over 12 years.
279
280 Heading into fall and will start on the rest of the ground work now that the house is where I wanted it. Started by taking the last section of fence out.
281 Dug all the concrete edging out with the backhoe and hauled it away.
282 Brought in some dirt and packed it in by driving over it with a loaded backhoe.
283 The front along the road is next. I'm going to make new steps so it all will come out.
284 Some serious concrete and foundation on this. Rocks mixed in it too and it's all the backhoe wants to do to move them.
285 Plan is to dig it all out and rent a jack hammer to bust them up in chunks I can handle.
286 All out but I'm going to redo the sidewalks while I'm at it.
287 They'll be quite a few truck loads of debris for the washouts at the creek.
288 I'll bring out dirt from the piles and fill it all in to match the contour that is there on down. That way I can mow it easier.
289 The jack hammer was a lot easier than a sledgehammer! Took a while to load and unload though. dad came down when I got the hammer so I could get done in the 4 hr rental time.
290 Got it hauled away and started bringing dirt in. I'd put a layer and pack it in by driving over it like before.
291 I got it done and didn't leave a spot for the steps. I just filled it in as it was easier to get the contour. I will dig it back out later for the steps.
292 Feathered out the other side as well. Then seeded and strawed it. Time to water again.
293 When I had the hammer I busted up the front stoop and sidewalks. I'll get rid of this stuff now but will keep some for fill for the new stoop.
294 Made up the forms for the steps and stoop.
295 Decided to get fancy on the front steps and make it a sweeping, splayed step pattern. Using the earth for a form and man did that hoe pack the dirt in tight. Dug it out by hand and took a while to do.
296 I used masonite slick board for forms as it would bend easy and leave a nice finish for the exposed sides of the steps. Block spacers hold it open and I reused the funnel I made to do fill the block on the furnace house to pour into.
297 Start at the top and the concrete will force the form out. Then take the block out and slide the form down. Should work pretty well.
298 To do this I had to do it in 2 sessions. We did the stoop and the front steps side wall pictured before. Forms off the front stoop here.
299 I rented a Geogia buggy to move the concrete around as I didn't want the truck going through the yard. The buggy was JUNK!. It was worn out so bad you couldn't put a 1/4 load in as it would move itself. Had to unload the first one as we had it 3/4's full. Even with a 1/4 load you had to push up any incline. Was not happy but your stuck once the truck shows up.
300 Pouring this went great though. Sliding funnel worked great and the driver was impressed.
301 Poured on section of walk while we were at it to use the minimum.
302 Dad finishing the front steps side.
303 Set the forms for the rest of the sidewalk.
304 Was able to dig some of the center out with the backhoe but still a lot of hand digging. Made up a hanging form for the steps so we'll see if this idea works.
305 The inspector has arrived and I was lucky it passed.
306 Didn't get the buggy this time. LOL It was easier to bring it in with a wheelbarrow.
307 Form worked great and Dad is taking it off here to finish.
308 Finished up the dirt work around the new sidewalk and seeded it.
309 Turned out like what I had in my mind.
310 Here you can see how it is the same curve looking down the length.
311 All done but you can see we had a dry season and the grass was hurting.
312 Here is how the house number looks as you walk up. You can see it from the road pretty plainly too.
313 I wanted to come up with a way to show the house number. My goal was for something that would last and be maintenance free. I decided to put it below the front door.
314 The door surround was black and there was a space under it that is basically a kick panel if you will. What's more durable than rock?
315 I ended up getting a piece of polished black granite and had the numbers sand blasted in. Really turned out nice and it'll be there forever.
316 We had a dry summer so hopefully the grass will come back again.
317 Should look a lot better when we get some rain.
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328 These are pics of when we had the pond redone. It was leaking on the one side and was full of silt so it was time to clean it out.
329 Our neighbor is an excavator so we hired him to do it. They pumped all the water out first. The pond had flipped so all the fish were gone anyway.
330 You can tell by the grass level how low it was staying most of the time.
331 He brought his equipment over and was ready to start.
332 They cut the sidewall out in one place and hauled the silt out in dump trucks into the field. That way it could be dried out, spread and worked so it could be farmed. It was a LOT of loads.
333 Plan is to dig it a little deeper and haul in clay to seal it. He told us the hill sidewall would cause issues in the future and the only solution was to move it to where the field is. We didn't want to do that so we went ahead.
334 Quite a big, nasty, smelly pile for a while.
335 They brought in the clay and started packing it all in. They spread a layer and would pack.
336 In the process of packing here.
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339 Once the clay is in place they will fill the sidewall back in.
340 Sidewall back in and the rough grade is done on the outside.
341 We will do the final grade and seeding later ourselves.
342 The leak was on the left side. He said when the corp of engineers built it, for some reason they had a layer of wood trash and debris as a layer. This was allowing the water to go through. They dug back in this layer and pack clay back in.
343 They had put 2 big rocks in the center and we decided to take them out.
344 Ready for some water!
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348 Thought I'd add some old photos here in this section and you can see how the house and area were. This was taken in the late 1800's and are the previous owners of the farm. Their last name was dill. Notice the rock where the border was up to the road and the open porches.
349 The barn less the addition on the left side. Notice that the wind pump was also wood and was later replaced with the current metal one. By the clothes, the pictures wee taken the same day.
350 Early pic as you see the car but the addition is on the barn now along with the steel wind pump.
351 This is my Grandmother, Dorothy. She was adopted by my Great Grandparents Irvin and Cora Marion. She was their only child as Cora only wanted a girl. We think this is when she first arrived. Note the haystack on the left and the fence in the front. Notice no hog house across the road.
352 Second version of the wall. First one was stone. I think the earth kept pushing it out so they gave up on keeping it tiered like this.
353 This is Irvin and Cora Marion, My great grandparents.
354 I had to include the photo bomber. ;)
355
356 Grandma always had "free range" chickens wandering around.
357 My Grandmother on the left and you can see the porch open with the railing design.
358 This was Sport, Their favorite dog.
359 My Grandmother Dorothy and her Mother Cora Marion. No Chicken house yet.
360 This is the only picture I have found of them building the pond.
361 My Grandma and Grandpa ready to hit the town. Verbie and Dorothy House.
362 Bob Blankenship and their dog. He worked on the farm as a hired hand.
363 Grandma on Goldie the horse. The yard has changed and Catalpa trees were pretty small.
364 Grandpa and Grandma again and notice the lack of trees.
365 Barn with fences and the old watering trough for the cattle. Originally it was pumped full by the windmill. Then when the pond was put in they ran a gravity fill line underground. Then another line from there under the road to the barn over there.
366 My Mom Sonya at the front steps. Look at that hair!
367 My Grandfather pulled up in the yard.
368 Grandma always like taking pictures of her animals.
369 Mom is growing up. ;)
370 My grandfather with my sister Jodi and brother Jeff.
371 Grandpa, Jeff and me.
372 Grandma, Jeff and me.
373 Grandma, Mom, Jodi and me.
374 Grandpa, Mom, Jodi and me. I was kind of big for a 2 year old.
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380 Grandpa feeding the "sheepie". The water trough was filled by the wind pump. Then they used the pond on a gravity fed hand valve.
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384 Fences were basically not there. The sheep never strayed away though as the old ones taught the new ones what to do.
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386 Memories of getting hit in the face with branches as grandma never wanted limbs trimmed. LOL
387 The way it was. ;)
388 Cleaning up some wind damage with Dad.
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390 The "lawn mowers" with the gypsy wagon in the background.
