Doing a foundation retrofit in the rain is wet, muddy, and miserable work.

An emergency retrofit is a high stress situation; in this picture the foundation was failing and the shoring was compromised by the continuing downpour. The mud and collapsed soil were removed in buckets, lime was spread on the remaining soil to gain cohesion and buy us some time, steel reinforcing for the footings and retaining wall/stem wall and forms were quickly put in place, and a highly customized mix was pumped in. The wall and footings had to not only hold up the house but also withstand up to four feet of collapsed soil behind it. The mix achieved over 3500 psi in 12 hours under very wet and cold conditions.

Here is another house on the property that needed a new foundation, though under better weather conditions. Notice the 24” gluelam beam carrying the house during excavation and installation of the new foundation.

A three story barn cut into a hillside requires large footings for the foundation and retaining walls. Very precise bolt patterns for the moment frame out in the middle of the spread footing call for a creative support structure. The red tape will keep the threads from being damaged by the concrete during placement.

The green strips of lumber are imbedded nailing strips for attaching the finish siding.

The stem walls, floors, curbs, and stairs were poured in a special color blend and for the floors and stairs, polished off with a medium salt finish. Great care must be observed when working with heavy color dosages especially when combined with a salt finish; A scaffold system was established so that the concrete could be worked without placing any weight on it.

-- Landscaping --

A concrete stepping stone system was created to provide access between the various points on the property. The nature of the project made it necessary to jump back and forth from divergent points, with some features being installed a full year ahead of the final piece; this coupled with a very precise pattern for the stepping stones, required a great deal of calculations to properly join up all the join up all the locations and the varied elevations.

-- The Finish --

After all the hard work and spring gives way to summer it is time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor.