Were excavating for a basement addition on this 100 year old house. The house was lifted and we removed the stone foundation wall. It was a bit sketchy. We also found an old well on the property.
I have done several Similar projects. I agree with you on not getting any closer. I'd also recommend they tarp over the exposed dirt/clay that the house is braced up over in case of rain so it can't wash.
I would suggest that there should be a steal beam used to support the remaining house with support outside of the existing foundation. Pass the beam through the foundation on the sides of the house where there is no digging going on so that the ground is solid
You did a great job with those challenges. The GC was asking a lot. I wonder if the homeowner and Architect were on board with taking all the stonework out? To me it was a big part of the charm and character of a heritage building.
Thank you, the other 3 basement walls remained so some of it is still there. I believe it was going to be too much of a hassle to keep that back wall. Thanks for watching and commenting
Crazy how many old cisterns you keep running into and how they’ve been forgotten by the land owners due to the many different owners. Great work here. Keep it up. Appreciate the content.
I'm pretty sure that cistern thing was a cesspool. That was what people used to get rid of sewage before they had septic tanks. That black dirt at the bottom was dried sewage, or in old terms dried cess (hence cesspool).
Remember, it's your a** on the line when you dig like that. It does not matter what the GC will tell you, you are running the excavator.. Your insurance, if you have coverage, will have to pay, not his. And a good chance they wil deny the claim for such sketchy safety practices. Anytime you are in that position, get a 'hold harmless letter' from the GC, and let your insurance company & agent approve it. This comes from spending over 45 years in high risk construction industry, plus a few years of that moving houses, as an owner and manager.
Thanks for the info, I had the GC send me an email stating they were responsible for securing the house and I was not liable. But your idea of the hold harmless letter is much better. Thanks for watching
Grab a log with the thumb and reach inside through that gap and pull the wall out, doesn’t have to be big, use the offset so you can see… Hope it help you good luck
I was thinking the same thing! I wanted to get in there with a shovel and sift through the dirt. I ended up just spreading the dirt out with the excavator bucket. Thanks for the comment
This is very risky work would not be allowed in uk or Ireland you can see there is about 4 5 foot of made up ground that house was built way back in the time when men were men all done by hand no excavators the dirt probably carted in by horse and cart interesting project 👍
Thanks for the video. The stuff that was trucked off - was there a reason to mix the soil/dirt with the rock/stone? In my area (upstate NY) I try to keep the two separated, rock/stone gets dumped somewhere, dirt/soil - usually we use it elsewhere or drop it off close by - someone always wants it for something. On some jobs these can save us a bunch of hours trucking.
Man if y'all get some hard rain for a couple of days that clay is gonna be a problem why would you not remove the stairs and everything and set steel I beams with the adjustable poles like I see so many others do a little sketchy to me but thanks for sharing and I'll subscribed just to see if the house makes it
It's weird people save small junk houses like in this video. Just tear down the entire house and build back all new. Once you replace the foundation it's no longer considered a remodel so it will be property taxed as a new house when it's an old dump. It doesn't even make sense.
That house has been around for 100+yrs and was built with craftsmanship and design that surpasses many of today's "new construction" that don't last that long. There's a reason the saying goes "they don't make things like they used to". Quality craft is not priority.. just fast, shiny, and cheap.
