Special offer

The 'Bob Vila' of home inspection?

By
Home Inspector with Meticulous Home Inspection Corporation 16000008857

This is a title once pasted on me by a good friend in the real estate business, and although I am no Bob Vila (I actually DO the work I claim to have done), I thought it was funny and somewhat fitting.

Being that I have not blogged regularly, and am trying to get back into it, I thought I would blog about the work I am doing on my own home, just the way Bob does (insert laughter here). I was getting repetitive in my blogs, and was out of ideas. Luckily, I have friends that prodded me into getting back in the groove.

So with that, I will continue where I left off with the last blog regarding pouring concrete through a window.

I got rid of the illegal apartment that was originally the garage, and removed the walls to find the previous owner left the garage door in place, and sheetrocked in front of it. Once the door was disassembled, I saw the concrete was broken up from the door slamming onto the concrete.

I wanted to finish off the garage the right (Bob Vila) way, so I broke up the concrete floor where the door landed, and dug a trench 3 feet deep, by 1.5 feet from the centerline of the door to the exterior and interior, and 8.5 feet wide so I could pour a footing, then fix the floor. Pouring through the window was so much easier that mixing bags of Sakrete.

Now that the footing has cured, I began installing the 2 courses of concrete block (see picture) so I can properly frame the wall and finish it. The concrete that is used for the mortar joints must be a certain consistancy so the blocks stick, and so the joints do not crumble when the sill and studs are installed.

I dug out the exterior of this area of the foundation and found many damaged mortar joints, so I chipped them out with a chisel and repointed the bad joints. I then tarred the exterior wall with two coats of tar, then backfilled and regraded the soil so rainwater runoff would drain away from the garage foundation.

I just finished an hour ago. I got the second course mostly done, and will finish the mortar joints tomorrow.

 

Comments (1)

Robert Butler
Aspect Inspection - Montreal West Island, QC
Montreal Home Inspector | Aspect Inspection

Ok, one question. Why would you set the blocks without buttering the vertical joints as you go. I've never seen anybody do it that way. You can't really get enough mortar in place from the surface now, you'll have to dump it in from the top.

Oct 10, 2011 09:49 AM