~Framboise Manor~: crawlspace horror

Thursday, March 20, 2014

crawlspace horror - part 2

jambaloney here!

it is STILL frigging winter!

** update - it is 2 weeks later and we are seeing brown - i can't believe this post lingered that long - but we HAVE been busy - my bad!!**

we have been busy with fundraising and i have been working part time so i haven't been back under the crawlspace recently, but here is what i did a few weeks ago - (only 5 more of these babies to go)!!

i did crawlspace part 1 - and outlined the footers i made ... here is a completed one!

just need to seal the ends...

end cut - this stuff is like breathing radiation, but it DOES keep the pt lumber sealed!

oh ya - here is the sewer pipe, duct-taped to the gray water pipe, sitting on a rock...

sewer pipe sitting on a crap of railway tie..

rusty iron bar keeping gray water pipe from sagging.... YES i wil get back to fix this stuff!

here they are taped together - notice bike stuff?? haven't ridden since i have been here - THAT will change!!!

so here is a bottle jack on a temporary footer in the first spot i wanted to support.. right in the middle of the kitchen..

here are the shovels i used to flatten the ground in the crawl space..

i jacked up the railway tie and then put my footer on the flattened ground and jacked that up - sorry - no pic on that - it was cramped and i spaced that step... you want to put the jack in the final spot to compress the ground where the final support will live BEFORE you put it in place... otherwise it will just sag again.. this is a 4 ton jack - plenty strong enough!

here is the jack back in the temporary place and the permanent footing ready for support..

so i jacked it up really high... and measured..

then went a cut an appropriate length of tamarak

which i nuded in place

if you read my previous post, you will know that the railway ties have "turned" a bit, hence the gap..

which i shimmed with low-grade ceder shingles - you can get a ton at home depot for 10 bucks - not so great for roofing - but nice wide shims!

the last pic looked crooked - hey this is 12-15 inches or crawl space - i did use a level..

so here is the finished product and the jack off to the next spot..

special added bonus - i slammed out a shelf for the greenhouse that day.. from discarded stuff i got in large garbage pickup...

this is for big plants...

all done!!

spring is on it's way..

cheers all!

18 comments:

RobMarch 20, 2014 at 5:35 AM
Good job Sir. Lots of work done and lots more to go.
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PioneerPreppyMarch 20, 2014 at 9:09 AM
That looks like a dirty uncomfortable job to say the least.
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StephenMarch 20, 2014 at 10:05 AM
Very nice job.
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Gorges SmytheMarch 20, 2014 at 10:28 AM
FIX the plumbing? The situations you showed are the kind of work that I SPECIALIZE in! lol
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JaneofVirginiaMarch 20, 2014 at 11:33 AM
Jam, You never cease to amaze ! Your handiness is only met by Kymber's cooking skills ! Love to you both,
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Sandy LivesayMarch 20, 2014 at 3:16 PM
Jambaloney,

We should call you Mr. Fixit, Bahahahahahaha!!!!
You do wonderful things to recycled items. Kymber's going to be so happy with this new shelve you made for heavier plants.
Sending hugs and love to you both.
Your Friend,
Sandy
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Sgt 73rd RegtMarch 20, 2014 at 7:36 PM
Interesting plumbing and structural supports on your house, I take it the former owner/builder was into DIY! Our house sits on a large slab of sandstone which lets the water gather into a big pool if we have a lot of rain, need to look at this one day but I have problems with crawling into confined spaces, plus my shoulders don't really fit through the manhole! Why do they make the hatches so small??, if i was building a house i would make double doors to get underneath the place.
A plumber was under there a few years ago fixing the sewer pipe, said he was lying there and watched a big old Blue Tongue lizard stroll past him, grab a frog (we have lots in the garden and apparently under the house) and then keep going out the manhole. He couldn't stop talking about it.
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1st ManMarch 20, 2014 at 10:09 PM
You never cease to amaze me. I try to do as much as I can but honestly, there are times (like what you did) that I would just have to hire it out. Of course if you were down these parts, I'd hire YOU! Ha. Nice job.

Glad/hope warm weather is coming for you soon!
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Mike YukonMarch 21, 2014 at 5:36 AM
I certainly don't envy you working in a cramped crawlspace and what seems like an endless winter for you. But hang in there it will be worth it in the end.
I like your new greenhouse to start your plants in for the garden. I'm sure K will come up with many home garden recipes from it!
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kymber here and talking about jambaloney.

i've always called him my angel. my rock. my best half. the best part of what i have always wanted to become.

he has a soul as big as the biggest mountain, he is strong, he is in incredible physical condition, he is 51 and yet most people think he is under 40. he is humble and modest, charming, gorgeous and will help anyone with anything at anytime. he never grumbles and only every now and again complains or is a tiny bit cranky (nothing that a hug can't fix!). he can cut both sides out of 70 tires in minutes, build raised beds from scrap wood that he drags out of the forest, weedwhack 800ft of our road down to the river, and haul more wheelbarrows of dirt, mulch, rocks and seaweed than is probably medically-advised. he's learned how to braid, make bread and no one makes better rice - not even the chinese. he supports my every, crazy endevour. he went 44 years without a driver's license and got his license after being trained by my crazily-wonderful french canadian friend in 2 weeks. she never stopped talking the whole time. in french.

he has biked everywhere his entire life, at one job he biked 24km EACH WAY. that's to and from! 24km to work AND 24km from work! oh and just accidentally has an honours degree in philosophy.

i believe that he is Our Lord's most beautiful and perfect creation. but i might be biased. he can very accurately shoot a ben pearson cougar re-curve from both the left and right. and his aim is dead on.

he is bow-legged and only 5'7", but has the most incredible eyes. and a tiny mole on his upper lip. he writes the most romantic "insta-poems". he tells me he loves me several times a day. he calls me "babe" and "honey". and he means it.
he loves hot sauce and spicey things like cayenne and banana peppers, he buys (or now picks) me flowers, he left a lucrative, high-paying IT job and his family to follow me here to this remote little island. he builds me shelves and washes all of our laundry with me by hand.

oh and he was baptized Anglican. and was an alter boy. sheesh. somehow, through my intervention, i am turning him into a pagan-christian-fundamentalist-confuscian. look, even i can't figure that out!

the name jambaloney is a nickname that i gave him over 10 years ago. he still uses it. he can be reached at "jambaloney@gmail.com". he loves comments or emails. and he loves me.

if i were given the opportunity to wish one thing for the world - i would wish that every woman on the planet had a jambaloney. i know that i could save the world this way. i have friends who have asked me to clone him. i am trying. believe me, i am trying. one day i will perfect the science involved, and when that happens, i promise all of you a jambaloney.

i love him more than...breathing, lobster, boiled dinner, fresh bread out of the oven, bugging out, singing back up for Madonna (ok...i made that one up!), fresh sheets on the bed, a glass of red wine after a long day, sunflower seeds, lavender, growing my own potatoes, T.S. Eliot, dancing, my babies (who are really just cranky old cats!) and the Bible.

i love him more than i love Framboise Manor. and i really love Framboise Manor.

About kymber

(this pic might seem odd. trust me, it's not. 20 yrs ago kymber went shopping with a girlfriend from the military and bought this dress. then she hooked up with that girlfriend recently. they caught up through email and one day kymberz friend mentioned that specific dress. kymber said she still had it (kymber still has her prom gown for crying out loud!). the friend did not believe it. so we had to take a pic of kymber wearing the 20yr old dress for her friend. kymber always likes to add accessories...and well, we had the bunny ears laying around. ya know, cuz everyone always has pink bunny ears laying around. ok, that's it...i am out of here! jambaloney)

what can i say about kymber?? A LOT!! most of it will have to wait for blog entries ‘cuz i just don’t have enough space here to do her justice…

so i’ll have to do my best… first and foremost, kymber is my partner and i will love her forever. she is the best partner anyone could ever have, i am one lucky guy!! she is 46, she is sweet as can be, smart as a whip, super cute, exceptionally feminine, strong as an ox, honest, kind, empathetic, wise, an amazing dancer, a master wit in speaking and writing….i could go on..i will!

at 5’ 1’’ she packs a wallop – a true force of nature - she is a master gardener and chef and spent 10 years in the Canadian Military – she has done 2 tours of Alert (the north bloody-cold pole). she is a UN-certified Korean linguist and spoils our 2 cats rotten. she also spent 12yrs working in the federal government, as a communications analyst at SolGen (now PSEPC) and Fintrac. she loves nature in the true sense of the phrase..the wildflowers, insects and birds here at framboise manor keep her entranced and captivated for hours.

anyone who is her friend knows that she will stop at nothing to help and heal, dedication and loyalty are an integral part of who she is and she is dead serious about anything she puts her mind to. yet she maintains the most delicate touch and a smile on her face always, never afraid to live and love no matter where and when.

she is the most genuine human being i have ever met! and she has encouraged me to embark on the most crazy and exciting adventure i could imagine… thank you babe - i sooo love you!!!

(and she can be reached at kymberzmail@gmail.com)