Summer fun

Wow, I can't believe the summer is over.  A lot happened over the summer and thankfully it wasn't all house related.  Elizabeth and I have an agreement around making sure that we take time to enjoy why we moved to Spokane in the first place.  So with that said, we did a fair amount of local travel, including outings to fish, raft, hike, bike as well as spend some time with our new local friends, who are simply awesome.  Plus, in early September we spent a week in and near Yellowstone National Park.

One of my bigger projects this summer was to address some of the foundation issues we have.  In someone's infinite wisdom they thought it was a good idea to place irrigation sprinkler heads right up next to the foundation.  Over time, of course, this caused the concrete to wear, rot and crack.

 

First I had to clear back the soil to expose the foundation and assess the degree of damage. In the process I removed the irrigation. We plan to go with xeriscaping in the future to significantly lower our water consumption so the irrigation won't be needed.  One exposed I had to chip out any brittle and rotten concrete, then wire brush it and finally sweep away the fine particle.   Luckily most of the damage was confined to one front corner of the house though I have a second area just inside the backyard fence I will tackle next summer. 

Once cleared away I mixed up hydraulic cement to patch the deeper cracks. A few advantages include a rapid set time so you can come in with the next layer of cement and it doesn't shrink so therefore it blocks any potential water from entering the foundation.  Some of these cracks were wide enough for my fist and many inches deep once I got done cleaning them back to intact concrete. 

Once the hydraulic cement was set I mixed up quikrete mortar mix and began to work that into the surface and level things up.  I would use a large trowel to spread it but I found with a smaller trowel I was more effective at getting a uniform look, though this took longer, given that I don't do this work everyday and it requires a degree of "flow" to make it come out smooth. 

The final step is known as parging and this is where I used a patching concrete to try and smooth things up and put on the finishing touches.  It definitely requires a lot of practice to make it all look professional.  I used a sponge to smooth out imperfections at the end which helped.  Luckily for us the old walls weren't perfect and I plan to mix sand into the paint when I get to that point so I think it will have that shabby-chic craftsman look in the end.

The final step before calling it good was concrete sealer.  Next spring I will prime everything and then put on some paint, though we haven't settled on colors. 

Next installment:  Replacing the old wood fireplace with a gas insert.