A level house with new floor joists and sub floor . . .

Unfortunately, the front sill of the house rested on the ground for a very long time.  The floor joists in the front part of the house were in very bad shape. They were so deteriorated that the wood floor was resting on dirt.  There were holes where the wood had given way, and the entire floor was badly damaged.  We had to replace all the front floor joists and lay a new subfloor.  We also leveled the house to be even with the fireplace.    By Thanksgiving 2012, the floor was complete, and we can now walk through the house, on solid footing.  Later we will lay a new (old wood) heart pine floor.  Here is a series of pictures from before, during, and after.

Foundation Complete!

John and I went to the house several weeks ago, and to our amazement, the foundation looks beautiful!  It's solid, straight, and strong.  They're not ugly blocks; they're the bones, the support, the plinth for the house to rest.

John crawled underneath, and it's an incredible crawlspace under the entire house.  We can do anything now.  Electricity, plumbing, heating and cooling.

Blocks.

The foundation is in its final stage.  Blocks.  I can't wait to walk into the house.  Solid, straight, and stable.

More Foundation Moments . . .

Amazing, right? 
Blocks will be laid and the house will rest on a new foundation.  Perhaps 150 years old, it lasted until this moment.  A huge, massive edifice, a home, is floating on temporary wooden pillars.  The ground is removed and leveled.  Cement footers are poured.  The house gets ready for another century.

A new front sill . . .

Front sill replaced.

Removing the front porch . . .

The front porch was added some time in mid 20th century.  There is dirt under and up-against the house. Porch gone, cement pad next . . .

Saving the house: Foundation

Foundation work has begun.  After discussing with our contractors, we elected to dig out.  The front sill needs to be replaced along with some joists.  The damage is mostly due to termites and rot.