| To replace the beam, the first task was to build a
supporting knee wall on both sides of the old beam. The trick was to
figure out how to remove the old beam without the house falling in.
We banked on the old plaster acting as a bridge to "lock in"
the walls as we removed six to ten foot sections of the old beam.
It worked. Good thing we didn't remove the old plaster first! |
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| Next, sections of the old beam were removed. Here Jason
drops down a section soon to be replaced. |
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| Here you can see a section that has been removed. We
wanted to get the new section back "ASAP". |
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| Here Chris, Bob, and Jason lift in a new section of the
micro-lam beam, three laid up next to one another and tied together with
carriage bolts. This crew is great!
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| My daughter, Alison Dodds, points out the cracks in the
plaster after we jacked up the new beam into its final
position. That was okay since we were going to remove all the
plaster -- after it helped hold up the structure while we replaced the
main beam.
Okay, so there's a little plaster on the floor... no big deal. |
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| Then we had to dig new footings to support the beam.
Surprise! There was an original floor beneath! |
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| No, not one floor, but two! As we dug down, we found
that the original brick floor had been bricked over again, and then
concrete over that!
So, we had to extend the support pilings so the new footing would match
the original floor level. This was in the event that I will
drop the floor to its original level. This won't likely happen since
they obviously raised the floor to improve drainage, which is still
somewhat of a problem. |
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| Now the new supports are set. We decided to attach the
supports to the beam, loosely, get them plumb, and then pour concrete
around them, with reinforcing bars, of course. |
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| Finally the concrete was hauled in, bucket by bucket, and
allowed to cure for three weeks. Then, after the crew had gone and the footings were fully cured, I
gently let the house down on its final footings. From end to end, we
were within one quarter inch, and the house is now on a solid foundation
for the first time in probably more than 100 years. |
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