Joists are Jumpin' and Jivin'

It has been so exciting to see the left back side of our house have fresh wood installed.  All the floor joists had to be replaced because of dry rot and water damage.  If you recall, water pipes had been leaking under this section of the house for months.  I literally sat down with tears to think that we have finally reached this stage.  The insulation and crawl space work has been finished.  Once the center of the house has been closed in completely, and the plumbing stubbed out, we can take down the temporary wall and open up this area for use.  We plan on the guest half bath becoming our sink and toilet room plus a temporary shower in the utility room.  The main bath will have to be torn out and replaced in several phases to come!    What this means to me is a much more acceptable bathroom to enjoy.  Until further work is done....Charleston Renovator bids you a Happy Easter!

Greg installed a new joists underneath the current hardwood and subfloor that existed in the house!

 

Antique Bricks and Salvaged Metals

Our chimney is now a cleaned pile of antique brick stacked against the back wall.  I have been told by several that these are worth $4 bucks a piece.  We are thinking they will do work nicely intermingled with pavers in our future patio.

" BEFORE:  Kitchen chimney that was dismantled"

"AFTER:  Bricks have been cleaned for future use"

There is a sense of accomplishment in seeing how many bricks were able to be saved whole and in good condition.  In our back yard area, we have a large stack of cast iron pipe and aluminum siding plus various other metals to be recycled.  Charleston county now requires a permit to be gotten to help them control metals that have been stolen and are being sold illegally.  I was able to get that permit yesterday, however, Greg decided he would wait until another open afternoon to finally remove our pile.  The money made on this stack can be put back into materials.  It is so much better to see it reused than end up in the landfill.

The amount of trash and refuse that existed under the house was a puzzle to us.  We cannot begin to fathom how it all got there.  Greg has wisely cleaned out the crawl space and has laid down plastic and is insulating the front of the house.  

Some of the joists have had to be replaced or supported and the piers strengthened prior to being able to proceed.  He is ready to be done underneath, but this area will provide years of strength and stability to our foundation area.  He is spraying for termites as he goes.  These front two rooms are original to the 1929 cottage and oddly enough they are the most stable areas of the entire house.  It has been a year since we closed and we know that we have at least that ahead of us to see this finished.  The gnats are out in Charelston and due to the Cooper River Bridge Run this weekend, we walked to dinner last night.  The neighbors who share our property line on Carondolet met us on a stroll last night!  They are convinced this is a project made for a TV program.  Greg is a professional tradesman and we are aware the average person renovating could not do much of this level of work. 

Our backyard area, though small, has become the workbench.  It is much cleaner than it was even a month ago.  Greg was able to fill in some of the lower areas with soil removed from our crawl space.

"BEFORE:  Repairing the sewer lines and debris piles from demo work"

"AFTER:  Our backyard has become our staging area for sawing and joist storage"

So, we are continuing to make progress that it never seems like it is happening fast enough!  Every weekend I find myself in the laundry mat with College of Charleston students, I long to have a clean laundry room.  I hope you are not taking yours for granted as you read this!  Until next time, Freedmans Cottage Renovations bids you farewell!