First floor framing

The framing is starting!  It has taken a while to get to this point, but it is exciting now that it has begun.  Also, the inside has been cleaned out.

We had delivered  today a bunch of structural lumber and some of the tongue and groove subflooring.

Also, the interior stairs are starting to take shape.  We have to modify the bottom a bit so as to include a 90 degree turn.

The plan is to get the first floor framed up, then build the 2nd floor above the new construction, and then remove the attic area and build out the rest of the 2nd floor.



Cleaned up interior:

The steel beams and center column.  As there are no interior load bearing walls in the new basement, this column supports much of the load from the 2 floors above.

Building materials being unloaded.  Most of the I-joists and  the dark brown rim joists are about 30 feet long.

New LVL spanning the larger living room/dining room opening

New interior stairs.  Again, these will be modified eventually so that the last two steps are at a right angle.  The third from the last will be an intermediate landing.  Note that this photo was taken yesterday, before the beam and joists were in plac

Rim joists

Early Christmas

Christmas came early this year...

I probably shouldn't be that excited about sewage and sump pump equipment...but, definitely looking forward to getting this stuff installed and functioning so that we have a water and leakproof basement!

Window Wells

Not much at the jobsite today.  The concrete company had extra decorative window wells leftover from another project that we are going to use for ours.  They look much nicer than the traditional silver metal ones, and have steps built in but we are getting them at a sizable discount.  The steps are mostly just needed for the egress window, but we are going to try and figure out something clever with plants and/or planters for the kitchen sink one.

The concrete floor and steps that were poured yesterday look to be unaffected by the cold weather last night.

They got one of the window wells into place and partially backfilled.  The other one will go into place when they return to do the final backfill.

Unfortunately, we found out today that the framer cannot do any work for a week and a half, so the concrete company has to wait at least that long before they can return to do the final backfill.

So, for the next 1.5 weeks there won't be much of anything going on at the site.  Oh well...

It's hard to tell, but the window well will sit about 4-6 inches above final finished grade once everything is all said and done.

The top is a plexiglass cover with metal bars and a metal frame.

The bottom of the window well is mostly gravel.  We will add a bit more.

This is the view from the kitchen sink location looking outside.

Basement slab pour day

Today was the last concrete pour day.  They did the basement floor and the exterior basement steps/landings.

Lots of steam coming off the concrete once it was poured and the sun started to come out.  Interesting phenomenon!

The heater was kept running all afternoon once the pour was completed, but due to fire safety concerns the best we can do overnight is to wrap the entire foundation and hope for the best.  The contractor ensures that all will be OK and I've decided to just let this one go and hope for the best.  It's only a slab, after all.

These are shown in reverse chronological order.  The top photo was the last one I took, around 5:15 just before I left.  They had everything tarped over, heater going, and were just working on finishing the surface.  We had the light setup as it was completely dark inside at that point.

Almost perfect placement of the first step light:

 1st layer of housewrap.  Usually only one layer is needed but in this case the contractor wanted to get something in place to protect the OSB that was put up almost 2 weeks ago.  We are planning on using a drainwrap product later on that is way better than the standard home wrap shown.  Note the use of cap nails however.  This is the RIGHT way to install homewrap.  Lots of contractors will install with tack staplers but this is not the correct way.

Daytime photos of pre-pour basement

Just a few new photos, better than yesterday's.  Inspection today for the slab passed.  Everything is now covered by tarps in anticipation of this weekend's precipitation.

The plan next week is to pour on Tuesday or Wednesday, then cover the entire area, and the contractor will bring in heaters to keep the newly-poured areas above freezing overnight.

This is the prep for the footing for the post that will be near the interior stairs.

Where the old basement meets the new basement...new space is fully waterproofed and the gap has been filled with gravel.

Condensed water vapor trapped underneath the vapor barrier...

Basement nearly completed

The slab insulation, vapor barrier, and wire mesh are all in place.  Also, the formwork for the stairs is ready.  Tomorrow is the slab inspection.  With everything cleaned up and the shape of the stairs visible, it is really starting to look like a real basement!

The big story moving forward is going to be the weather.  As of right now we MIGHT get a day next week when it's either not too cold or not raining that will enable us to pour.  Otherwise, we have to wait until after the holiday.

Anyways, here are today's photos, taken with a flash because I arrived at the site after dark.  Ignore the apparent waviness in the photos of the slab- it is just the wire mesh, which is not very rigid.  The foam board is sitting on a flat compacted bed of gravel.

Taken from the top of the stairwell landing, looking down:

Semi-closeup showing the wire mesh, insulation board, vapor barrier, and gravel:

They did a good job cutting the foam board to fit around the pipe openings:

Stairwell formwork/rebar detail

Waterproofing and Drainage complete

All of the footing drains and the window well and stairwell drains have been completed and the sump basin is in place.  All of the drains have been wrapped in filter fabric.  The ground under the slab has been cleaned up and prepped.  Tomorrow they will install the vapor barrier and the insulation board and then it will be ready for slab inspection and pouring.

The excavator made its return to the jobsite to begin the backfill.  Backfill will be completed once the first floor subfloor is in place (to brace the walls).

Overall the backyard is starting to slowly starting to get cleaned up and the major dirt piles removed.

 Sump basin in place

 Stairwell drain

Stairwell dirt slope - tomorrow they will finish building and setting the forms for the steps.

This is just a closeup of the exterior waterproofing layers:  membrane, insulation board, drain board, and filter fabric.  Can't get much more waterproof than this.