Thread: My Autumn and Winter project

Tweet

Well my wife is finally getting me to fix-up our basement. I've been dragging my feet because it isn't just making pretty rooms; the block walls are cracked and lean in. When I returned home last Spring the largest gap was open 3/8 inches (2 1/2 inch bowed-in), last week it was down to 3/16 (1 1/4 inch bowed-in) and now it's closed.

I got three estimates: $3,600 for plates, $5,000 for I-beams and $5,600 for installing a concrete wall on the outside. Without digging the dirt away the first two would not work. I have a four foot diameter tree which roots (some of the roots were fourteen inch diameter) were pushing against the walls, plus bad drainage and clay.

I did it myself using the I-beams and digging out the dirt. I hired three boys from our church who were raising money for a Mission trip; I gave them each $10.00 an hour. My total cost: boys labor - $485.00, three cans of spray paint $2.37, bolts and lag screws $30.00, welding and torching supplies maybe $20.00 and the angle iron and I-beams were free. I saved enough on fixing the wall to cover the whole rest of the remodeling.

The first picture shows the cracks, the second shows them closed up and close up pictures of the beam. On the other side of the basement it even got tighter and the crack can't be seen at all.

Oh ya I forgot to explain the notch in the bottom of the beam, it's to clear my Beaver System. The next two pictures show the boys, one in the trench and the other picture shows them unloading gravel from my son's truck. It was really handy having that truck around. On saturday I had it loaded with four ton of sand which I unloaded myself. Last picture shows that I actually did some of the work.

Tom, big job.....My wife is from Austin MN. I think I recognize the street in the pictures

Heck of a job, and well done Tom!
Hey! It's also the first time I look down to see ya!

I've been emptying out our shop of house things since moving here, and setting the Tudor frame back up, and going to mount the shocks & install the motor.
I've been busy with the wife in the hospital once a week for pain control & her doctors, she's looking at another major surgery, their talking going back up at the Mayo again, as no one seems to be able to do it but there again.

I'll send you an e-mail.

Pat

Looks like it was a heck of a lot of work, great having them young-uns around, huh???? Hope you didn't strain that shovel handle leaning on it so hard to pose for the picture, Tom!!!!!

If those boys are still raising money, I'd sure like to put an egress window in my basement....I don't suppose they travel quite this far for 10 bux an hour??????

If my safety guy or OSHA saw that excavation action, they'd have me in jail!

Originally Posted by 34_40

If my safety guy or OSHA saw that excavation action, they'd have me in jail!

I know what you mean however it was clay all the way down so no possibility of cave in and when digging in that stuff I didn't want the hole any larger than needed, in fact at the very bottom I couldn't even get through, had to have one of the boys do the tiling.

Originally Posted by Tom F

I know what you mean however it was clay all the way down so no possibility of cave in and when digging in that stuff I didn't want the hole any larger than needed, in fact at the very bottom I couldn't even get through, had to have one of the boys do the tiling.

I know that feeling. I do layout work from time to time for our roadcrew and sometimes need to do boring samples to determine what we might be digging in. Then I have to "encourage" the crews to be sure to use the shoring and call dig safe etc. etc. etc... But heaven help me if I ask them to do a dig like that one they'll have the safety nazi and the union steward all over my backside.

On the other hand. I've never lost anyone and don't want to start now!

OH, and any rain onto that clay and it turns to pudding! A greasy slimy mess that can kill in seconds. I've had to sit through to many training films and they always point out the hazards of clay. And a over excited backhoe operator who thinks he can just reach in and....... yuck! I don't mean to preach. It's just that picture struck a nerve and actually scared me to see those young guys in there. (getting off my soapbox now) ,

It looks great! Good Job with that Steel!

Before I started I sat down with the boys and gave them the safety pitch; I said safety, safety, safety and then went on with it. Each night I built a tent over the whole project to keep things dry, never had a big rain just drizzled at times. Today started the rains though but the good news is the hole is almost completely filled up.

Did you get your project wrapped up working outside in the clay? Lots of rain today in the Twin Cities so was thinking about you and your project.
Jerome

Nice work Tom. Looks well shored and sealed. With all the sand and gravel, did you have to truck away any soil, or did it mostly go back in as fill?

Project didn't get done before the rains started early today but did get the corragated egress metal shell buired. I put a tarp down in the hole 1 1/2 feet, and it had five, five gallons of water in it this morning so I made up another tent and that seem to be holding back most of the water.

I trucked away five, short box pickup loads of dirt to make way for the rock and sand.

Hope things are dry enough tomorrow to get the hole filled. Still will have a mess in the yard though.

Do it quick Today Tom, another front is coming in and it will be wet until Sunday.

Originally Posted by 34_40

If my safety guy or OSHA saw that excavation action, they'd have me in jail!

I am a safety guy and that scares the hell out of me!

You also might want to gusset both side of the bottom of the I beam. You lost a lot of strength cutting it like that.

Originally Posted by dmw56

I am a safety guy and that scares the hell out of me!

You also might want to gusset both side of the bottom of the I beam. You lost a lot of strength cutting it like that.

No gusset needed, the beams were used to straighten up the wall and they did their job. These are four inch beams and the estimate was for three inch. I'll be taking two of them out now that it's straight. A 2X6 studded wall will be going against that wall and am thinking about putting up a few 2x5 steel tubbing along with the wood.

There were two factors that made the wall tip; improper landscaping, roots and it didn't help having the wrong backfill. So now if it ever stops raining I'll get it landscaped properly. I also put in a vinyl moisture barier that will let it breath, two inches of foam insulation, and then covered the foam with groundbreaker.

The picture shows one of the roots which was firmly centered on the corner of the basement wall (see the notch on lower left), another of the roots had a fourteen inch diameter, had to used my floor jack to pop that one out.

I got the hole filled up (packed it all the way up) and covered the whole area just when it started to drizzle, hopefully this saturday I can haul out the extra soil. Some of it is quite soggy, now I'm glad I covered the grass with a tarp before I started putting dirt on it.