Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Foundation Work is Underway - first things first

More unsolicited advice to home restoration fans.   A new foundation will just make you feel better.  Even if its not the most visible or glamorous part of a remodel, the real aficionados of vintage houses will always comment on a new foundation.  So the Eureka Redwood Victorian has a shinny new concrete diameter foundation and a 3 ft wall.    The house has another hundred years.





Despite the great work that George is doing on foundation work, we still have some troubling jobs.  The house has several feet of skirting around the base of the house.  This all needs to be removed and hopefully replaced once the foundation is poured in place.   Unfortunately we see a lot of nice new foundations covered by pretty unsightly paneling and siding.     Our plan is to carefully rescue the 3 to 4 inch vertical skirting, clean it up, remove a fair amount of rot and then re-install as much as we can.  

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Slow Road to Recovery

The January earthquake is a distant memory, but the house is still jacked-up and waiting.  We have had great luck with local contractors.   Some advice to Humboldt County Restorations --- just call George Kurwitz,  the legendary Humboldt County foundation and house moving contractor.   George has been working on the house for a couple of months now,  we are in no hurry and the work is getting done.


You can see some of the damage, both piers moving off post and in those cases where the posts were secure the earthquake splits the posts.


After the quake George jumped right in and put in the cribbing to make sure the house didn't slip anymore.


The next step is to put in a new diameter foundation and a concrete wall to connect the foundation to the house.   Stay tuned.


Lucy, the restoration dog, is surveying the damage to the carriage house.