House Addition Project 2006

[jjs777]

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I met with the contractor and I dont want to remove all the work thats been done already...so I have compromised a bit here - although I think it will work out for both sides

the forms and footing will stay in place

as it stands the slab would normally be poured to just cover the footings but that would mean I have a 7'3" ceiling height in my basement/living space

to get closer to the magical 8' foot ceiling height in basement we will do the following

they will dig by hand several inches below the existing base of the footings

throw crushed stone in...a bit less than originally planned (but this is ?ok? as he said I have excellent subgrade material now)

then pour the 4" slab (concrete floor) in between the footings

this should net me an additonal 8"

so 8" + 7'3" should get me close to 7'11"

but then this is where I make out a bit

the kitchen I have is mostly being left as is structurally speaking - but has never made me quite happy as it slopes down over 1.5" over 12'

thats the kicker...after we realized they didnt dig deep enough I was assuming the ktichen would stay at that slope....it would normally cost too much to fix it (labor and onconvenience)

but the contractor has agreed...due to his mistake of not digging to the as planned depth...to jack up my kitchen to make it level whereby netting me another 1.5" of ceiling height in my new basement

so 7.3 + 8.0 + 1.5 maybe now gets me at least 8.0 ceiling height which is that magical number for me again

the only thing this compromise does to me is this....when I am standing on the slab in the future there will be a part of the footing left exposed about 8 inches in height and the depth to the poured walls....

not a big deal....maybe I can use that to my advantage somehow and place the hydraulic baseboard heating strips on top of it - I dunno

-john

[jjs777]

the new sliding glass door opening in the concrete walls is enough to fit a bike through ......hint hint hint

02/21/06
two cement trucks at once to pour the walls - wow!

02/23/06
forms removed

[jjs777]

......

[Cropover20]

You can forget about going to the track this year and maybe next year, you are going to be spending every moment doing the finishing work. Glad to see the project moving full steam ahead.

[jjs777]

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[Ciaran]

Looks like your extension is coming along now, that snow storm blew me away though. I am a structural draftsman and find it interesting to see the different building methods you guy use over in the states. The one thing that is the same is dodgy house builders, you get that everywhere. The amount of times that I get calls from residential builders that can’t read standard drawings is insane.

One thing I have never seen before is pouring the slab below the footings. Even if the sub grade is good you could have problems with the floor settling at a different rate to the walls over time. Talk to an engineer and get them to check it out. Might think about doweling some bars into the sides of the footings and getting thicker mesh to help prevent any serious cracking.

Still plenty of room for a garage too. :cool

[jjs777]

.....One thing I have never seen before is pouring the slab below the footings. Even if the sub grade is good you could have problems with the floor settling at a different rate to the walls over time. Talk to an engineer and get them to check it out. Might think about doweling some bars into the sides of the footings and getting thicker mesh to help prevent any serious cracking.
:cool

thanks for the comments....this helps me in asking more questions with the contractor - I'll see about talking to a structural engineer or two to get some second thoughts

You mentioned the slab going below the footings...

I just want to clarify with you in case this makes a difference

the slab is to be 4 inches in total

with the footings a total of 10-12 inches already poured and set

this means the slab will be about 2 inches below and 2 inches along the sides of the footings

[Ciaran]

I say below the footings because usually the slab rests on top of the footings with the walls (strip footings, like yours) or the footing and the slab are done together in one pour (raft slab).

I don’t do cellars very often here but i had a look at some of our standard details and they showed a 200 thick slab (~8") with mesh top and bottom but it was also carrying 190mm reinforced blockwork.

I don’t doubt that your house will stand and not fall down or anything major like that. Its just the idea of the footing is to create a rigid platform for your slab, walls and roof so they all move relatively or together. Apart from solid rock, soil moves due to moisture content. It will also settle as the pressure from the building above compacts the ground. Without footings you can have one part of the house settling or rising while other areas remain static, cracking your walls, making doors and windows jam and the like. Or in your case the floor and walls settling at different rates due to varying pressures, maybe cracking your plaster board and architraves?

It may not be such of a problem if you have uncreative clays, ground is fairly solid or even if the slab is poured a couple of months after the footings. Its just allot easier to sort these things out now than it is further down the track. Remember the builder is always going to want to do things that are the cheapest and that required the least effort, not always a bad thing but not always the best.

My one bit of advice would be to contact that structural engineer and see what he says.

[jjs777]

[jjs777]

after raising my kitchen up to be level...we found insect damage - likely carpenter ants


frickn little bastards


I think the damage is from quite some time ago and there is no new activity or any evidence to support such...but I'll be hiring an exterminator just in case

[jjs777]

Its been a while since I last posted - mostly because I have been raising the kitchen myself - in effort to save money.

I also changed the interior plans somewhat - and that changed the type of I-Beam and the floor joists - which changees height as well of the overall structure / ceilings etc.

Used mostly pressure treated wood as it is under the kitchen where there is still the possibility of ground moisture.




the old beam under the kitchen and new beam in background - previously there was just some field stone under one end of the old beam - I dug out 3 feet and laid concrete and cinderblock w/steel post for added strength and support








the old coal entrance under the kitchen - the 2x8's enclose the interior accessible shelves in my office



the left edge of the kitchen after ripping out the old sill - the old sill was insect damage and rot





The inside of my office - where I poke a hole into the wall where the old coal loading window was (in the cellar) - I'll use this space for the dvd player and tivo etc - this whole thing was overbuilt with 2x8's and almost 4 bags of concrete on the outside perimeter and base


My new wonder ladder - including dvd on how to use the thing



The steel I-Beam #87 - all 26 feet of it and 2600lbs.



Was lifted into place quite easily with the hitachi. Ya know every house should have an I-Beam like this. It will be lagged and welded into place in the next day or so. Thats Corey helping guide while i do the important recording of the event. Corey is MUCH stronger than he looks.

[FZRDude]

The inside of my office - where I poke a hole into the wall where the old coal loading window was (in the cellar)...... this whole thing was overbuilt with 2x8's and almost 4 bags of concrete on the outside perimeter and base

That is an awefully small office for such a big guy...

[jjs777]

Framing crew and lumber material arrived today 05/23/06.

Rim and first floor joists done.

[FZRDude]

Coming along now and looking good....

[Cropover20]

Looking good John. I will be by later this week to check it out. Huh,,,what did you say? I can bring a truck and haul away as much ply wood I can carry. Thanks but I'am all set.

Ps: My next project looks to be a 4 car garage. So I have decided to stay put. Can I have a loan?

[jjs777]

check out

http://www.coolhouseplans.com

then on the right hand side look under the 2nd bold heading for

Garage Plans Only


This is a great site to look over possibilities for garages not to mention house styles.

The best part is it is cheap for the plans rather than hiring a architect for a canned solution.

[jjs777]

....the framing crew owner is spanish with portuguese crew. Very hard working guys.

Oh heres the best part...Corey walked over...and was listenting to what they were talking about. He's like....hey....that not spanish thats portuguese. lol....Corey knows portuguese from his portuguese girlfriend.


So I had him translating for me for a while.

[jjs777]

Made it to the second floor...starting to look like the plans a bit more.

[FZRDude]

Okay, I have a question. On the upstairs.... How the heck are the stairs gonna work with that door to the outside? Are the stairs headed towards the door or away?

OR

Are you just going to relocate the door somewhere else?

[jjs777]

As seen in the pics...the upstairs door will exit to the immediate left in a hallway that leads to a outside door...which then will lead to a set of EXTERIOR stairs to get to ground level.

To the immediate right of the upstairs door - there will be a set of stair that lead upward to the 27'x35' loft.