Saturday, November 12, 2016

House Update

Foundation Work
Here is a boring job but our foundation needed a touch up in areas. This process is called repointing.
As you can see it looked nasty! There were parts that had been messily touched up in the past. The concrete abutting the brick was gross too. So we decided to have everything redone!
This corner had been our biggest concern. The mortar was gone in parts which allowed drafts to come into the basement. We expect it to be warmer down there this winter.

First the bricks were ground down to clean them up.
Then the mortar was redone using what looked like a large pastry bag! 
The old concrete skirt around the foundation was removed and new concrete was repoured. This is angled away from the foundation eliminating the need for gutters.
We are very happy with the results! This will not need to be touched again for decades which will be a nice selling point when we sell the house in the future.

Besides the obvious of keeping the draft and water out, we will no longer see weeds growing up between the concrete and brick. Woohoo!

Next the guys will be moving into our basement to work on the field stone foundation which is under ground.

I hope you enjoyed this peak at foundation work. I had no idea how they were going to fix the brick so it turned out to be interesting. Now I am curious to see the process that will happen inside!

Thank you for stopping by! Happy week to you. ~Val

18 comments:

  1. really like the concrete skirting! very efficient and effective!

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  2. What a difference! Nice job at angling it away from the brick wall!
    Have a great weekend :)

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  3. looks great Val! and what a great idea to slant it so you don't need the gutters

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  4. Wow! I love what they did, and I am with Antiquity Travelers, such a smart idea to slant it so you won't need gutters. Something I will keep in mind for my home. Happy weekend, Val.
    hugs
    Lenya
    FashionDreams&Lifestyle

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  5. This looks like quite a job, Val!
    The result is fantastic! Such a big difference.
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  6. Looks very neat and tidy, indeed! Always satisfying when drainage issues can be resolved in aesthetically pleasing ways ;)

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  7. I can see why this is not one of the "fun" things about home ownership, but it's necessary and you will be happy you did it when you are snug and warm this winter. I will say though that it sure does look nice now that it's done! I love your house. I don't think I'd ever want to move.

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  8. It really turned out nice Val! It's so important to invest in your home. It's easier when you resell it and you'll get even more for it. I'm glad I invested in mine. My contractors just finished doing some outdoor stuff (windows). They'll be doing sidewalk, steps and piers next year. It's so worth it.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  9. Great before and after! It turned out really well :)

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  10. Looks great. That will be nice to not have a drafty basement!

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  11. Wow Val!! Good for you guys! This is brilliant! Nice job! You should be very proud of yourself! You are putting a lot of love into your house!!! Big Hugs!

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  12. You guys stay busy with those home repairs! It turned out gorgeous and luckily it's functional and won't need to be done for a long time too :)

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  13. An interesting lesson in pointing and foundations Val! It does look much better now :D

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  14. You're so right! That newer foundation work is great. Solid.

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  15. Very interesting! Thanks for showing. Have a nice week and holidays!

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val