13 March 2017
First on the agenda; old business. My wife amended my executive decision about what we're calling our house and property. We are going to call the property Riverbend Farm. The house will still be called the Old Doc Phillips House.
New business. I actually put a new sill beam together last week. It was a very welcome emotional boost after all the demolition work we've been doing. It also went surprisingly easy after all the strategizing that I have gone through in my head about how we were going to lift the house up. The remnants of the old sill beams were strong enough for me to jack the wall up enough to give clearance for the new sill beam. I used 6, 4x4 posts set at an angle to support the top plate (a 2x4 board nailed to the tops of the wall studs that the ceiling joists rest on). I have to credit Brad, the concrete guy, for suggesting this.
Then I simply lowered the old sill beams down leaving the wall framing hanging from the ceiling.
I went back and forth about what to replace the sill beams with. I considered old reclaimed 8x8 timber, new pressure treated rough sawn 8x8 beams, new pressure treated finished 8x8 (actual 7-1/4"x7-1/4") beams, and 6x8 beams built up from 4, 2x8 pressure treated boards screwed together. I decided on the laminated 2x8 boards for several reasons, in no particular order: First, the actual size of the finished beam would be 6"x7-1/4" which matches up most closely with the existing beams that we are leaving in place. Second, building the beams in place is much easier for a single person than maneuvering solid 8x8 beams 12'+ feet long. Third, it was the least expensive choice. Fourth, by staggering the boards I can end up with continuous beams with no lap joints. Fifth, just like the shed, these will be out of sight. We'd rather invest the saved money in period hardware and furniture where it will be seen and appreciated.
At the corners of our bumped out dining room wall, I staggered the overlap to make a stronger joint.
Once the beam was finished, I was able to raise it up to the bottom of the wall framing and then a little further to take the load off of my 4x4 angled support posts. The blocking on the top of the piers is temporary until I get the final height of the beam set. Then I'll use more block and brick to come up as close as I can to the bottom of the beam before shimming.
When I removed the last of the "repair" piers from this area, I was surprised to find some messages from the past written in to the tops of the concrete footers. The "LSS", which is upside down in the picture, we're fairly sure was Linda Steadman Swofford, the previous owner of the house. We have no idea who JMA or SJK are.
Another footer was more intriguing.
You'll have to catch the my next blog entry to find out what is in the time capsule... ;-)
First on the agenda; old business. My wife amended my executive decision about what we're calling our house and property. We are going to call the property Riverbend Farm. The house will still be called the Old Doc Phillips House.
New business. I actually put a new sill beam together last week. It was a very welcome emotional boost after all the demolition work we've been doing. It also went surprisingly easy after all the strategizing that I have gone through in my head about how we were going to lift the house up. The remnants of the old sill beams were strong enough for me to jack the wall up enough to give clearance for the new sill beam. I used 6, 4x4 posts set at an angle to support the top plate (a 2x4 board nailed to the tops of the wall studs that the ceiling joists rest on). I have to credit Brad, the concrete guy, for suggesting this.
Then I simply lowered the old sill beams down leaving the wall framing hanging from the ceiling.
I went back and forth about what to replace the sill beams with. I considered old reclaimed 8x8 timber, new pressure treated rough sawn 8x8 beams, new pressure treated finished 8x8 (actual 7-1/4"x7-1/4") beams, and 6x8 beams built up from 4, 2x8 pressure treated boards screwed together. I decided on the laminated 2x8 boards for several reasons, in no particular order: First, the actual size of the finished beam would be 6"x7-1/4" which matches up most closely with the existing beams that we are leaving in place. Second, building the beams in place is much easier for a single person than maneuvering solid 8x8 beams 12'+ feet long. Third, it was the least expensive choice. Fourth, by staggering the boards I can end up with continuous beams with no lap joints. Fifth, just like the shed, these will be out of sight. We'd rather invest the saved money in period hardware and furniture where it will be seen and appreciated.
At the corners of our bumped out dining room wall, I staggered the overlap to make a stronger joint.
Once the beam was finished, I was able to raise it up to the bottom of the wall framing and then a little further to take the load off of my 4x4 angled support posts. The blocking on the top of the piers is temporary until I get the final height of the beam set. Then I'll use more block and brick to come up as close as I can to the bottom of the beam before shimming.
When I removed the last of the "repair" piers from this area, I was surprised to find some messages from the past written in to the tops of the concrete footers. The "LSS", which is upside down in the picture, we're fairly sure was Linda Steadman Swofford, the previous owner of the house. We have no idea who JMA or SJK are.
Another footer was more intriguing.
You'll have to catch the my next blog entry to find out what is in the time capsule... ;-)
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