Backfill Complete

George and Carlos worked hard tag teaming the huge pile of fill left at the back of the house in order to get the narrow West side backfilled.  We are on schedule to start framing tomorrow, thanks to their hard work.

Foundation inspection passed

The City inspector was in today, checking out the waterproofing and inspection.  He gave us the go ahead to do the backfill, so by the end of day tomorrow, we should be completely back filled up to the walls of the house, which makes me breath a little easier.  Fingers crossed, we start carpentry on Wednesday.

We have walls!

The foundation crew was in early to strip all of the forms and haul them out of here this morning.  We're left with beautiful looking foundation walls.  In a few days, we'll be solid enough for backfill, then we can start carpentry at the end of next week.  Can't wait!

Pouring the Walls

The guys from Rock Concrete did the last finishing touches this morning - installing the brick ledge at the correct height, double checking the rebar and connections, and making sure all of the window boxes were secure.  Then it was time to pour - video below the pics.

Walls formed

The guys from Rock Concrete were at it bright and early today as we started forming the foundation walls.

Despite the extreme heat today, we managed to get the job done.  With a little more clean up left, we are on track to pour tomorrow at noon.  Well done guys!

Footings stripped, survey and gravel

It was a busy day today.  Early on, we had the footings stripped and the wood thrown in the back (there's no other place to put anything on the site yet - pretty crowded).  Then came the waterproofers installing their exterior weeping tile.

Then, the surveyor was in to remark the footings with concrete nails.  Then!  It was the concrete guy slinging in his gravel to make things easier to work for everyone.

Finally, the forms for the walls were delivered as well as the rebar so that everything is set to build them up on Tuesday.  What a way to hit the long weekend!

Footings Poured

Yes!  We got the footings poured today, which always makes me breathe a little easier.  Managing the site so far has been a challenge, but we've managed to continue to progress.

The inspector showed up as promised at 12:30 to check out the prep work by Rock Concrete.

After passing the inspection, we began the pouring process which I got some video of below.  In another week, we'll be ready to backfill the foundation walls, which I'm really looking forward to.

Footings and taking care of water

A bit of a whirlwind day onsite! In addition to the framers arriving to set up the footings,  Juvee was in helping me set up an interior weeping tile system to dry out the place.  In the end, we were successful in diverting the ground water away from the edges of the excavation, an into the new sump pit where the pump takes over.  We just need some good days of sunshine now!

Survey Day #2

We took another pause today for the survey team to come in and locate the footings.  George did a great job with the level of the excavation - with only a few centimeters separating the height in the four corners.

Excavation and Shoring

Today we finished the excavation and got that concrete under the walkout footings poured.  We have quite the water issues on the property, and with a weekend of rain in the forecast, we've got a high powered pump on site to hopefully keep things dry.

By the middle of the day, it was clear we would need some good shoring to protect the side wall excavations.  With quick team work between Juvee, Downtown Lumber and George, we had 8 foot sections of angle irons driven in to support 3/4" plywood shores. 

Digging Deep

The excavation was on today!  George was moving fast, and before you knew it, it was time to tackle the walkout.

Because the walkout is at the level of the basement, the footings required need to be four feet deeper than the rest of the footings - which means, in most of Etobicoke, you strike water.  Sure enough, we were well into water, so we have to dig a 4x5x4 hole, pump the water out and fill it full of 8 meters of concrete.  This walkout will be on nice, solid footings!

Survey Day

Demo has been going great, so it was the day to bring the surveyor in and locate the "cut".  By the time the foundations are ready, these guys will be back two more times to locate and repin the footings.  Back to excavation tomorrow....

On to masonry removal

George finished up removing all of the garbage this morning, and began removing all of the stone, block, brick and asphalt.  Can I just stop there and say how amazing this guy is... most people have little or no appreciation for the "rough" guys that do demolition.  I have know George for six years, and have come to really respect the job he does.  

You see, it's not just picking up the house and putting it in the garbage... George uses the 40+ tonne excavator like a surgical tool, separating waste from masonry, and masonry from clean fill.  Those three components all get disposed of in different ways, and sometimes, if there's just one stick of wood inside a masonry bin, the whole bin can get rejected.  The guy is efficient, careful and a true professional! 

Day 1: Demolition!

Always a sad day for the owners, and a happy day for me... demo day!

At first, I thought the whole thing was going sideways.... (sorry!):

By the end of the day, the house was done, and most of the waste had been hauled out to Shorncliffe Rd where most of the West end disposal companies are.  It feels good to be underway!

Pre-Demolition Day

A busy day!  While the owners continue to pack while juggling work and family, we also had the temporary toilet arrive, the security fence go up, Enbridge come to cut off the gas service and hopefully Toronto Hydro and Water will be in to cut off the electricity and water respectively.  If all goes well today, this house is coming down on Monday!