Regardless of the weather tightness, the removal of the four feet of bricks will take a load off the two sills that HAVE NO FREAKIN' SUPPORT BENEATH THEM! Goes a long way to explaining the sag in the north kitchen wall, no?
The removal of the chimney was the last thing on my "honey do" list that my
Wires and plumbing moved? Check
Rear (north) wall exposed so we can asses the situation? Check
Lolly columns installed to support main beam and prevent further sag? Check
Remove old, unused chimney stump from roof and attic area? Check
Now comes the hard part. Figuring out how to shore up the two sills so as to prevent their further sagging. And seeing if we can get a leverage point so as to jack up the rear (north) wall which has sagged some two or three inches over the years.
Further reflection: The sags were here when I bought the place. If I had inspected more carefully, I might not have purchased the Bolt Hole but would have certainly negotiated a lower price. Even so, the location--adjacent to state "forever wild" lands--and the size of the land--34 acres--probably would have swayed me. This old place has its problems, but....
(I'm saving the pictures to upload at a future time. Dial-up and all that.)
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The humidity disappeared today. Great weather to work outdoors or in the attic. The temperature rose to around 80 degrees but with the lack of humidity and the steady breeze that blew, I found myself quite comfortable. Aside from the tar all over my hands, one dinged up nail on my left index finger (another reason to use screws!), cuts from sharp metal edges on several fingers despite wearing gloves--most of the time, a couple of sharp dings on the noggin when I forgot just how low the rafters in the attic were, and all the dust from the old crumbling chimney, that is.
Tomorrow will be even cooler but there's a slight chance of showers late in the day.
If Mark shows (and he says he will), it will be time to move some of the 6" x 6" timbers into the basement to prevent further soil slides that caused the undermining of the sills. How many people can say they've had to build a retaining wall IN their basement?
To think, all this started when we decided to rebuild the front porch. A task that was projected to take half a day. HA! Nothing like working on a century-old house. I should have paid more attention to the original This Old House. Norm and Bob were always running into the unexpected.
2 comments:
A corollary to Murphy's Law: everything is more complicated & takes longer than expected.
Yeah...I would like to have 34 acres next to some 'forever wild' land. But then I get to thinking about it I realize that it is all I can do to keep up on sweetthing's half acre..
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