The 1st floor mudroom is still occupied with construction stuff. I told the tenant that I’ll be needing the mudroom for the next month, and they were okay with it. But now it must be organized to be useful.
1403 3 Ave N property
This is a house built in 1906 at 1403 3 Ave. N., Coalbanks (later to become Lethbridge), AB, Canada. It was the same year the Lethbridge Viaduct (commonly called the High Level Bridge) was built. It is one of the only two-storey houses built in the area. It’s been added on to four times but still maintains close to its original look. I bought the house in Dec. 2021 as a rental property. It has a 3-bedroom suite on the main floor and a one-bedroom suite on the second. This blog is an account of all that we (FT and I) have done to make it rentable. Read about the main or 2nd floor (“up”) by going to that category. Comments are welcome (but moderated)!
gravel on trailer
Floyd came early today while I was shovelling the last of the gravel onto the trailer. In completing the main suite of 1403, the trailer had to be freed of gravel and road crush. It’s been sitting in the rear waiting to be moved and used at 520.
When we got back, we began work on the list. I think there are now 40 or so items on the list to complete.
lift complete
Finally! The house is finally level and stable.
I thought about it all last night – whether to rent the jack hammer again for $40 and chip out more concrete to put align the bottle jack with the stable part of the sill plate and rim joist. I wracked my brain to find another way.
The way, it turns out, was simple. The house was stable, yes, but it was still holding the add-on down. So, I screwed the new screw jack stands up and pumped the bottle jack until they are both up high enough to add the last course of bricks in between the foundation and sill plate.
The five little red screw jacks at the end in question were easy to screw upward one-at-a-time. Together, they had enormous lifting power.
The gas line, with the hole through the rim joist elongated, sits stably on the rim joist hole.
While down there, I talked with my sister in England via WhatsApp. Between jacking and bricking, I weeded.
Now that the lift is complete, on to the main floor living room drywall and window.
drywall – but before that…
I picked up more drywall for the living room from Home Depot.
But, before that, I wanted to check their spray foam bottles and applicator. It seems that that little plastic thing stuck in the applicator was not part of it but likely broke off from another spray foam bottle.
Before any drywall is put up on the final living room wall, several things must still happen.
- Insert living room window glass into its frame, seal it, install window frame into rough opening.
- Reframe rough opening if window does not fit. (That corner of the house had been lifted, so most certainly the rough opening shape has changed.)
- Insert bricks under add-on sill plate. Raise the room enough to do so.
So, that means no drywall, taping, or mudding yet.
LR beam support stud, jacking SE corner
The living room support stud was there, right where I left it.
I got some long drill bits from Canadian Tire again for pilot holes – #6 and #7, I think. The first five wore out from fatigue (or misuse).
The second support stud went in. I used 3½” screws to mount the first and second stud to the existing balloon studs.
front jacking dry-run, new beam supports
Dave arrived shortly after I did, and we kicked the front forms from the footing.
Before putting the beam in, I inspected the balloon studs and floor joists. One is badly worn, rotted. The rot should be cut, and a shim should be added.
The beam I was going to use fell short. It must span five studs / joists.
front footing continued
We continued with concrete work. We mixed cement, gravel, sand (or road crush when we ran out), water, and sweat to create more footing for the front (southeast) of the house at the veranda.
It was a fair bit of work. Perhaps it could have been deeper as it will difficult to fit the screw jacks in there when completed.
Rebar was worked into the top layer, running the whole length. It will be a week or so before we are able to put the full weight of the corner of the house on it. When complete, we can finally go on with drywall, windows, etc. in the main and second floors.
Now on to the next task.
front footing cement mixing begins
We put gravel in the front of house footing area today in prep for concrete.
Downsizing! Here are the old and new Quikrete bags. Previously, they were 30kg (66 lbs). Now, they are 25kg (55 lbs). So, for the same price, we are getting 83% of the product. Another way of looking at it is that it is 20% more expensive for the same volume. I guess another way of looking at it is that they are easier to carry.
front footing trench
The footing work continued on the front of the house. More large rocks were found while exhuming the dirt. There are enough rocks now to start a rock garden of some sort, except that they are not exceptional – just ordinary rocks.
The trench is almost deep enough.
More rotten wood must be removed.
