Basement Foundation Inspection

With the basement down to the bare concrete we see there are cracks in the concrete in the 46' long south wall.  There are cracks diagonally from the corners of the window opening down to the floor and a long horizontal crack that extends half way up the whole length of the wall. The cracks have not opened up yet and the wall is still straight but the contractor recommended steel bracing as a preventative measure.   This will require a permit from the city and an engineer's report. 

Yesterday we had a  structural engineer here to inspect the cracks in our basement foundation walls.  He said the bracing is not urgent at present but in future wet clay soil expanding could be enough for the foundation to start deflecting inward.  The recommendation is for 5'' C channel steel bracing on each side of the window and at 4' centres along the south wall.  

 

The example diagram shows I beam steel bracing but the concept is the same with C channel steel bracing.  The bottom of the steel brace is cemented into holes jack-hammered into the floor and the top of the brace is bolted to the floor joist above.  Fortunately our wall is still straight and not buckled at the crack as in the diagram.      Along the wall we will have 10 or 11 of these steel braces.  I will have the engineer's report in about a week and then will submit the city permit application before having the work done.  

 
And so continues the ongoing saga of our basement renovations ....

Weather Ups and Downs

This morning the temperature was -36C with -48C windchill so it was a good day to work from home.  As the day went on the temperature was coming up but also the wind got stronger and gusting.  The temperatures were above zero in Alberta  and close to it in western Saskatchewan  so with the large temperature difference the wind is blowing some snow tonight.  We are supposed to be up to -4C tomorrow so these cold temperatures we had today are blowing through quickly.  

Now that the basement walls are down we just have bare concrete walls which have next to zero insulation value.  So with the cold weather our furnace is working overtime.  It will be "interesting" to see what our heating bills are like next month.

Basement Renovations Part 1

As I posted previously we had a contractor come this week to completely tear out the basement walls, ceiling and flooring to get rid of mold. Ahead of time almost everything was packed up and moved out to the garage or upstairs. Big things like the washer, dryer and freezer were left, as well as the treadmill and a sofa-bed that they covered with plastic.

The workers arrived on Tuesday morning to start the work

By Friday evening the basement was down to the bare concrete

We stayed at a hotel while the work was being done.  They had sealed off the upstairs from the basement but we were better off to be out of the house during the demolition.   So we were at the hotel from Tuesday until Friday.  The contractor crew will be back on Monday to do some additional cleanup.  How and when we rebuild will be another story.
   

Drastic Measures

We are in the process of moving everything out of our basement before a crew comes to rip out everything from walls to floors to ceiling.   It is a huge project going through everything and getting it ready to move upstairs or to the garage.  A lot of things we are throwing out, recycling, or donating to reduce the stuff to be stored.  Due to my health and Janice's allergies,  Elaine is ending up with most of this work. 

It started over the last several months when Janice was still staying in her bedroom downstairs  and having more and more serious allergic reactions and ended up in emergency at the hospital twice in November.  We were suspecting the allergic reactions were from mold so had her move to a bedroom upstairs.  We had an environmental investigator come to do an inspection for mold in the basement.  We thought it may be from some water seepage at floor level that had gotten the carpets wet in one corner of the basement earlier in the spring/ summer.   But the inspection revealed a much more extensive and serious mold problem.  The way the insulation  had been done in the headers between the floor joists without sufficient sealing of the vapour barrier, condensation and frost from humidity could get behind the insulation and eventually over the years formed mold in the walls.   The environmental inspector recommended everything be completely ripped out to the bare concrete and the mold cleaned up to be sure we got all of it.   That is the project we have been getting ready for likely to start the middle of next week.

The contractor doing the work, Lawrence Environmental Services, is specially trained and certified to safely remove mold.  Scot Lawrence has 28 years construction experience and is a recognized expert in mold remediation.  We are quite pleased to have found someone with his experience overseeing the work to get our mold problem resolved.  They will seal off the basement from the upstairs and have fans with filters to apply negative pressure and filter out the dust and mold as they do their demolition in the basement.  Then they will clean the concrete and the headers between the floor joists.   This is an expensive process but we feel it is well worth it to ensure our health and safety in our home.        

Tomorrow we have some people coming to help carry furniture and boxes upstairs and to the garage.   After some final preparation next week we are planning to move out of the house for about a week to a suite at a motel while the work is underway.  Some people take the opportunity when moving to sort, organize and thin  out their belongings.   This is something that this project has brought to us as we move out of our basement.  This project  is a drastic measure but we feel it will be well worth it in the long term.  I will do more updates as the project proceeds to future phases to rebuild the basement again. 
   

Happy Christmas - New Years - Birthday

 

Today is Elaine's birthday.   Since her birthday is right after New Years we usually buy her birthday presents at the same time as Christmas presents and she opens them then as well.  Others in her family have birthdays in this same season so they have combined celebrations.  Last Tuesday when we went to Saskatoon for the Christmas gathering with Elaine's family it was her brother Kelvin's birthday the same day so we had birthday cake after the Christmas dinner.   So the Christmas, New Years and birthday celebrations all seem to merge.

Yesterday after church Elaine and Janice and I met Mike and Nicole at the Hotel Sask for brunch for Elaine's birthday.   She got her birthday present from Mike and Nicole there and we had a nice time visiting along with our meal.

We have been celebrating Elaine's birthday ever since Christmas and today we wish her the "official" Happy Birthday. 

The Gate of the Year

King George VI in his 1939 Christmas message ended with these words:  

In the meantime I feel that we may all find a message of encouragement in
the lines which, in my closing words, I would like to say to you: 'I said to the
man who stood at the Gate of the Year, "Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put
your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and
safer than a known way."'
 
May that Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.

He was quoting from this poem;


"God Knows" -  "The Gate of the Year"

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart bestill:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.

Minnie Louise Haskins  1908

Queen Elizabeth handed a copy of this poem to her husband, King George VI, and he quoted it in his 1939 Christmas broadcast to the British Empire.  The poem was inspirational in the early days of the Second World War. Its words remained a source of comfort to the Queen for the rest of her life, and she had its words engraved on brass plaques and fixed to the gates of the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the King was interred. Queen Elizabeth was also buried here in 2002, and the words of "The Gate of the Year" were read out at her state funeral.

Family Christmas Gathering

On Tuesday we went up to Saskatoon for the day  to a Christmas gathering of Elaine's family  at David and Sonja's home. 

This is some of the group during the gift exchange.  

Elaine's parents

Janice and Chanel

I wore the new sweater and scarf I got for Christmas

It made a long day since we left home after 8AM and got back about 10PM.  The weather was good for traveling and we had good food and visiting.   All in all a great day. 

Christmas at Home

We had our Christmas dinner here today as we have usually been doing on Christmas Eve. Mike and Nicole came to be with Elaine and Janice and I.   We celebrate on the 24th so Mike and Nicole can be with her family on Christmas day.  Janice made the turkey for today which she enjoys doing, and Elaine made the dressing and potatoes, etc for the meal.  

After dinner we had Chris and Maryanne on Skype while we opened our presents.  Janice had her Macbook hooked up to the TV for this.  We could see their presents and they could watch us open our presents.
 

    

The family gave me a Rider cardigan made from rugby jersey material and a matching neck scarf.  I love it. It is just perfect for me.

We had a great day today. On Christmas day we will have a quiet day here and graze on leftovers and goodies, etc.  Then on Tuesday Dec 28 we go to Saskatoon to be with Elaine's family for  a Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas everyone from Elaine and I.