Week 5.5: Done (nearly)!

We are done! Well, except that we're waiting for windows to finally arrive in a few weeks. But for now, at least, we are done!

Last week (and one day this week) was all about the foundation, and wrapping up the odds and ends.

For the foundation, they added concrete to that soft spot in the back corner (doesn't need to be replaced outright because it's right next to the brand new foundation from 2014), put in some more bolts, and then covered the entire interior face in a plastic mesh, and put a kind of stucco over the top to stop the surface deterioration. 

Here's a section that shows the finished stucco coat, the in-progress stucco, and the mesh:

They also added a coating of stucco to the exposed exterior face of the south side of the foundation, just for good measure (all the other exterior faces are covered or are not accessible).

They patched up the big critter holes:

And they also attached long boards to the studs, to help with structural stability in an earthquake:

Then it was a couple other odds and ends, cleanup, and then good bye!

Looking forward to putting everything back together in the garage this weekend, and life getting back to normal.

Then onward to the garage door and new house numbers! 

Week 4

Slow (excruciatingly slow) but steady progress in Week 4!

Bolts are being epoxied in all around the foundation:

Uhhh:

Well, I guess we can say the foundation is sound right there, if it won't let go of that drill bit!

Meanwhile, the side is done:

And one poor guy in a little knit cap with a pom-pom toiled away on the front all week:

Finally, Friday came. The front porch still hadn't been done, but we decided we liked it like that, with just the lighter blue of the tinted primer:

Here's a picture of it in the morning, with the light on it. A little easier to see the difference:

Thanks to all who voted!

We are putting in a new garage door soon. We had been talking about a wood grain type finish to match the front door, but it might also look good to have it be the same color as the porch. Or maybe keep it the same navy as the rest of the house. Decisions, decisions!

Should be finishing up next week!

Week 3

Progress is feeling painfully slow, but, really, we're in the last mile with all this.

We think.

Siding on the front got done:

All the trim details got done. Here's a close up of how nicely they did this little step area:

Repairs were made to a small area that was missing shingles for some reason:

And then on Saturday and Sunday, the painters came. They (nearly) finished the wall between the houses. They painted this front area a dark brown, to blend with the original shingles below:

They painted the back part of the wall -- the part that abuts the neighbor's deck -- an off-white, to match up with their outdoor space:

And they finished prepping and priming the front:

The final color will be a navy blue, similar to the garage. Six passersby told the painters they liked this color -- sort of a Wedgwood blue. Sorry to disappoint, neighbors! 

And while all that work moved along (more or less) steadily, Mr. Bunkport was poking around the foundation. He thinks that, yes, the soft spot with the crack will need to be replaced (about a four foot span), but the rest is sound. He drilled some test holes for the earthquake bolts, and will be doing The Big Test next week to verify that the bolts will hold in The Big One.

Here's the first hole -- goes through the mud sill (the piece of wood sitting on the foundation that the rest of the house is attached to) straight into the concrete:

Fingers crossed!

Week 2

Another week complete!

There was an issue with the order for the siding on the front, so we weren't able to make much progress there. The workers put up everything they had left on the porch, and moved on to the side of the house.

The space is very narrow -- just about 2 feet apart. Too narrow to get ladders in there, but too wide for them to be able to stand on the neighbors' roof to work. So they built this scaffolding:

The view from our bedroom window:

We got some unusually hot weather last week, and the house got very stuffy inside. In the evening, when we opened the windows to let in the cool nighttime air, the scaffold came in very handy:

The work proceeded quickly after that. First the moisture barrier:

Then the siding, over the course of two days. 

Next week, we should have the front done and painted, and after a test of how well the bolts will hold in different parts of the foundation, we should know more about what needs to be done there. Mr. Bunkport began the week feeling pessimistic about the extent of foundation repair needed (the words "candidate for replacement" was uttered...YIKES) but he ended the week saying very optimistic things. Fingers crossed the test is successful!