Belle Renovation Update
Serious is an understatement when it came to the work at Belle over the last few weeks. And yes, we now have three Superheroes!
When we bought Belle in 2005 we knew that the front original foundation was.... how do I say it nicely.... needing some love. Over the years we kept a watchful eye on it and daydreamed about the day when it could be fixed the "right way",
When we started this epic journey back in February of this year. we knew that our 2 Superheroes would have to show the world their true super powers when it came time to work on the front foundation. But what we didn't anticipate was that they would add a Superhero .... they did...and his name is John... he is the "cement guy".
Let me tell you the story.
So first our two Superheroes had to clean out the basement so that they could work. Sounds easy? Ha! There were 8 old refrigerators, the old furnace (which was about the size of a car), the oil tank which we thought was empty (surprise!), and a few old hot water heaters..... normal right?
Ok, basement empty... check. Now it is time to "lift" Belle.
Very very slowly they cranked the joists and lifted Belle 1/4" higher then she should be. Talk about a margin of error. These joists and i-beams took the entire load off the old foundation so that they could start breaking it down.
And then it was time to dig... and boy did they dig
And they dug, and dug and dug. Enter Superhero powers.....
And then Belle floated with grace and attitude...
How do you tell a house that it is going to be okay? Yes it feels like we just ripped off your legs... but really, we are going to give you a new legs that are stronger, better and younger! I don't think she is buying it...
Enter Superhero #3... John.
I have never met John, but I feel like I know him from Jay's nightly text updates. John is a man that is later in his life and it appears that he gives our 40 year old Superheroes a run for their money on a daily basis. I guess once a Superhero, always a Superhero regardless of age.
So first they had to pour the "footing"... which basically means the wider part of the foundation that the taller part will sit on. In goes the cement....give this girl a footing!!!
Once the footing was dried... Superhero John worked through the weekend to get the prep work done to prepare for the new foundation. Re barb? Check. Cement? Check. Superheroes? Check
Okay, lets do this! First the wall that will hold in the cement (I forget the official name) and add more re barb!
Go Superhero John! Go Superhero John!
May I have some cement please?
And that my friends is a brand new, super strong, amazing foundation... that will easily last another 160 years! Oh Yea!
Add a little strange black stuff that looks like it will help, and some additional insulation to help fight back the water (hard for West Coast friends to comprehend) and a whole bunch of new "clean" dirt...
... And that my friends is a brand new foundation for our 160 year old house! Oh yea! (insert Jen doing a happy dance)
Okay so that is the first half..... we still have to do the other side. This week, Belle will be placed very carefully back onto her NEW sill and then the entire process has to start over for the other half. Ugh.
Hopefully my Superheroes rested over the long holiday weekend... since I see a few tough days ahead. But again, if you are a superhero... can you really have a tough day?
