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!

Permit Issued

The architecture process is not complete, but we have our first building permit issued, so that's positive!  Normally, I prefer to have the final plans as the ones we're submitting for permit.  Some architects prefer to get "a" plan approved, and submit a revision later.  I suspect this has more to do with their billing procedures than the best way to proceed...  However, getting a permit issued does reflect that fact that all major hurdles have been overcome.  Now, we focus on getting the final version of the plans approved and submitted, while we're getting ready for the family to move out and get all the services cut off.