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| Building the addition to
our 65 year old Swedish circa 1750 farmhouse in Athens, Vermont |
Finishing the Foundation and
Basement
(Tar, pipes, stone and more concrete)
Now the preparation of the foundation and basement to make it waterproof and usable. |
Hüse pu
Hülen (house on the
hill), |
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The new cellar hole that was started in 1999 has now been covered with the joists and decking that will eventually become the first floor of a two bedroom hideaway with a large "great room" in southern Vermont. | |||
With the tarp off the deck can bake in the sun. We have a spell of 85+ degree weather and start the process of preparing the foundation for a dry basement by waterproofing the exterior and installing drain pipes to carry away ground water that seeps down the hill to the south. The deck as shown to the right will also be waterproofed with a water sealant so the tarp can be left off in a rain storm. |
Ready for a night of dancing. Just don't
fall
off! |
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The main water distribution manifold feeds the old and new parts
of the house independently. Provision is made for an inline filter and bypass
. Drain to outside is included and all lines are pitched to drain into the
black pipe |
The laundry drain is also installed in the lower opening |
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Before the space between the foundation and the ground can be filled we have electrical, water and sewer pipes to install in addition to the foundation and roof drains. This is more complex than normal since the old and new sections of the house can function independently with one part heated and the other at below zero (F) temperatures. |
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We also meter the electricity to each part the house separately and bring lighting and heavy duty power circuits from the generator building to each part in separate sub-feeds. This reduces voltage changes in the lighting circuits that make lights get brighter and dimmer. |
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<<< Radon gas is also a problem where a home is built on or above ledge rock. And we have plenty of that! More perforated pipe is installed under the basement floor to carry this gas outside. Rigid foam insulation is also installed beneath the concrete floor to keep the basement warmer when heated and to prevent the footing from freezing when the basement is not heated. |
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The new basement will have a 12 x 22 foot photographic darkroom, a den and bathroom in addition to the usual furnace and other utilities. Drains for the foundation, roof and darkroom sinks and floor are placed below the basement floor along with water lines to the Ham Radio Shack and Bunk houses. There will also be a room designed to use the heat in the ground to keep it from freezing even when the rest of the house is at outside winter temperatures |
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We completed the 'roof' on the tank room on August 31 just in time for my birthday. Supports were in place for three days then the tank room became the dryest place at basement level. A hot tub was installed in this room on September 4, 2001. It will eventually be on tracks so it can be moved out through a garage door and used outside in summer or winter then moved back inside when not in use. | |||
| Above the concrete roof is poured. Beyond and to the left in the
photo is the Ham Shack the doubles as the cattery and bunkhouse #3.
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We completed the design for main and loft floors Elevations and floor plans are done and the framing drawings and cutting specs for the walls and ceiling panels were ready in mid September. Our roof is R-38 and walls R-32 |
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Now to put up the house -- |
What about the rest of the house? Like the first and second floors? Our neighbor says keep it the way it is and use the deck for dance parties. We don't plan to do that! The house will have a main floor and two upstairs bedrooms opening on a balcony overlooking a great room at the north (view) end |
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Decking the Hole Copyright © MMI by Gordon M Pugh.
All rights reserved