The big renovation: 1908 home

Seems like you've stumbled on an ancient Indian Head burial ground.

When is the Oregon Historical Society taking over the dig?
Where are the grid markers and dirt sifters on this historical dig? Suppose the workers have to go through metal detectors after work now.

Mika said:

When is the Oregon Historical Society taking over the dig?
Where are the grid markers and dirt sifters on this historical dig? Suppose the workers have to go through metal detectors after work now.

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They're too scared to go into the basement.

I am holding my breath.

Is that D.B. Coopers parachute ?

Given that glimps I would be too!

A curious aside; are you doing any painting now? If so what are you driven to paint, or if not and have the desire what is calling you to the canvas?

Mika said:

Given that glimps I would be too!

A curious aside; are you doing any painting now? If so what are you driven to paint, or if not and have the desire what is calling you to the canvas?

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Paint... ah, yes. Some, but not much. The time just isn't there right now. On the plus side, despite devoting nearly nothing to marketing for the same reason, good things are happening. Work is selling, some shows are coming together and, today's surprise, out of the 100 artists juried into Open Studios (out of far more than I ever expected), I'm one of a handful up for a city purchase award. A piece of mine might get to live in City Hall for the forseeable future.

Some updates...

There a little more to the coin story, but I'll save that for later.


The rains have arrived. Through the muck, the concrete crew got to work, finishing the excavation and setting forms.





Note the giant glow of daylight under the old rear foundation.


Someone, presumably around the time of the burying of those coins, dug out part of the old crawlspace. They went so far as to lay a floor of sorts.


They didn't, however, know what they were doing. Nope, not at all. They dug out the crawlspace and tried to reinforce the concrete as they went along. Their solution - brace the wall with some scrap lumber, then pour some concrete between that bracing and some rough forms. This means the back of the house is, in some places, supported by a whopping 2 inches of old concrete and rotten lumber.


The contractor had some ideas. While I was out of town for the board meeting, they poured...




We have concrete!!! What you can't see is that they filled that entire void with reinforced concrete. The house hasn't been this stable in generations. There are a few tiny voids under the mandated vents, but everything will get a nice skim coat to blend it with the original foundation.

Foundations are building on. The framers arrive on site and start sorting through the project. But there's a problem. It appears the concrete foundation was poured a little out of square. Enough out of square that trim and siding would have been a bear.

Mistakes are made. What matters is what you do afterwards. The project manager was taking steps to address the problem immediately. I was presented a few options and chose the most direct solution.

In the many houses I have remodeled I never found buried treasure, but I did find seven silver certificates under the edge of the floor covering on my dad's '56 Chevy. They were worth quite a lot more than face value.

Scott, any job worth doing is worth doing twice.

P.S.
Congrats on the sales in general and the jury selection. They would be foolish not to select one of your works. Good luck with that competition.

Mika said:

Scott, any job worth doing is worth doing twice.

P.S.
Congrats on the sales in general and the jury selection. They would be foolish not to select one of your works. Good luck with that competition.

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Foolish?
Thank you. -blush-

Rubble is good.


Who would have guessed that framers build stouter and truer forms than concrete guys. 3



With the concrete in place, the decking goes in and the next stage of demo begins.




Hector was out with a sore back yesterday, but with a smile and a "I'm too old for this ****" laugh, he's at it again.

custom made rubble

Scott,
Off line for awhile with computer BS.Love watching your progress pics.OUCH on the concrete.Check the mint marks on those coins,you may have that rare mint mark that makes you rich or at least richer.
Bruce

We'll probably keep the coins, but, at the least, I'll do what I can to make sure none are sold without some solid research.

-gulp-













Remember, I'm aiming for Christmas dinner in the house.

And you were smart enough not to specify a year.

This is all so cool, mostly because it's not happening to me.

I pushing for the happy ending.

Rapid_Roy said:

This is all so cool, mostly because it's not happening to me.

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Oh Boy... Can I relate!

Excuse me while we pass these beams through your living room:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_popper/3105909295/" title="Setting up by GrafikFeat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/3105909295_18b047c681.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="Setting up" /></a>

...and proceed to lift your house eight feet. (During Seattle's worst winter in 20 years).

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_popper/3235311147/" title="_POP0010 by GrafikFeat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/3235311147_20f3320875.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="_POP0010" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_popper/3355081113/" title="Christmas Morning by GrafikFeat, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/3355081113_1fabcaaf21.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Christmas Morning" /></a>

Good Luck and take tons of pictures!!
You can always delete what you don't use!

Floor plans, man. Throw some up!