Filling the Large Hole Part Deux

We no longer have a hole! Huzzah!

The hole has been completely enclosed, and, once again, the basement is pitch black. Here is a photo story line of the final process to plugging the hole. This has been a FIVE WEEK sidestep in the house project, but we can FINALLY get back to some constructing.

When we last left, the foam walls had just been installed and braced and were ready to take in the concrete.

As you can see, there is some rebar (that metal bar) sticking up through the concrete. This was important to help put the top plate on the walls.

This plate then becomes the base for the floor of the addition, also the ceiling for the basement. Which, if you recall the video of Tyler’s explanation last week, also required some beaming. Hence:

Not only is there a large beam through the center of the addition, but you can see the the beam from the original house has also been replaced. There will be quite a bit more weight on said beam, so it was necessary to beef it up. Plus, it wasn’t really in the best of shape.

These beams are supported by these metal posts that crank into place, which will survive longer than wooden posts in a basement with moisture. Amazingly, cranking up these posts changed the pitch (I don’t know if this term is accurate) of the floor in the main house. The low spot (due to years of sagging) has slightly moved. Which is a good sign-because it means that when we place the new posts in the older part of the basement, the floor should level out pretty well.

Once the concrete walls had cured and were basically set, the floor was built. New lumber was used for this process (You can see repurposed lumber for the supports for the walls and the ever present string!

We had quite a bit of help in this phase. Both sets of parents and the landlord helped with this process. Everyone was happy to see the hole disappear.

Measuring and prepping the floor with J. and J. and stopping for a lunch break.

Once the beams were laid, it was time to lay down the plywood/floor. Plywood obviously won’t be the finished floor, but this is what we need down to frame the addition.

Next, the floor was lined with foam. Like I said earlier if you’re gonna do it, do it right. Entirely right. Every tiny little step.

Blue foam around outside of plywood floor.

Then came removing the wood braces, wrapping the foam walls with this heavy-duty moisture barrier material and filling the hole three feet of pearock before filling it the rest of the way with dirt. With so many people working in a small area, I thought a video representation might help explain this process best.