Waterproofing

The two major activities today were to finish the CMU wall and to install the Blueskin waterproofing membrane and insulation.  Blueskin is adhesive waterproofing membrane product that Mike Holmes, among others, has been recommending and using for years.  Glad we are able to incorporate it into our build.

On top of it is the 2" EPS Type II insulation board.  It is attached to the membrane using construction adhesive so as not to create penetrations in the membrane.

The final layer (Miradrain dimpled drain board) will be installed tomorrow or Saturday depending on when they're able to dig for and lay the footing drains and gravel.  It gets installed using nails but the nails only penetrate an inch or so into the foam board only.

So, the layers in order are:

• concrete wall
• waterproofing primer (dark red)
• Blueskin membrane
• insulation board
• Dimpled drain board
• backfill

The plumber will most likely begin groundwork tomorrow.

Reno Day What?

Losing track of days for sure!  Not much appearance-wise changed today other than they started the CMU wall that joins the old space to the new space, and they chipped away most of the form blowout on the interior wall.  All of the rain yesterday caused a slight collapse in the old well.  They are going to be removing most of the dirt and then filling it in with concrete to stabilize it.

Lots of decisions were made today that help get us through to next week with a definite plan in place for being able to finish foundation-related work and switch to framing (finally!), all weather permitting.

Plumbing inspection is scheduled for Monday and the plumber will take care of everything from here on out.  I will of course be checking his work on a daily basis.

Waterproofing begins tomorrow, weather-permitting.  Concrete company is handling the work but I am supplying much of the material.  I had to drive all around town today to pick up some special adhesives and primers, but that's all taken care of now.

Weather is going to be the biggest factor in the next week or so, as I believe rain is expected tomorrow, followed by extremely cold temperatures (probably too cold to apply the waterproofing).  So, the waterproofing may be delayed, but the plumbing should be done by Monday.

Start of the repair of the interior wall "blowout" where the form busted open during the pour:

Panorama of the new CMU block wall:

Mini sinkhole where the old well was:

Panorama of the basement space:

Gravel delivery:

New basement walls

Wall forms removed today.

Wall Pour!

Today feels like a momentous day, but really the forms (i.e. general shape of the walls) have been in place for a while now.

In any case, the concrete pour went according to plan as far as I can tell.  No word yet on when the floor will have the gravel installed, which is a requirement before I can start laying down drain plumbing.

I assume they will return on Saturday to remove the forms.

I haven't ventured down into the "pit' yet to see if all of my electrical boxes stayed in position.  Not much I can do about it now in any case.