The Dungeon: Part II

It's cooled down, Dexter is growing like a weed, and I've become more motivated as of late. My jump in motivation is directly linked to the weather if you are wondering. We've been able to get a couple of good weekends of work focused on the Dungeon. Mainly, we've been working on repointing the mortar in the chimney base and the back foundation wall. So.. here we go....


::Rick's Soapbox::


Whoever decided to "fix" the foundation decided to let the house load rest on the chimney base. That would be fine, if the brick and mortar wasn't 100 years old. Also, it might not have been such a problem if there were some support piers (or cedar trees in this case) in close proximity to the load joists. I found evidence that some supports used to be there, but were removed by some %#@$ @$$. I'm not even going to mention that on a rear support wall I could pull bricks out with my hand because the mortar was so compromised. Anyway, before I start disturbing the delicate dance this house has been doing atop these flimsy trees and poles, I've got to strengthen the existing structures. I've got a long way to go... Here's some pics!

The weight of the house was essentially pulverizing the old brick and mortar. Historic lime mortar can only stand a couple hundred psi. I've been repointing with a custom mix at about 350 psi. If you use modern cement mortar, the bricks and the mortar will war with each other and the old bricks will lose.

After repointing.. I know it is not beautiful or the correct color, but it is under the house and needs to be done asap. I'll make it pretty when I start to move up the chimney and into the house.

I just had to get a pic of my house jacks in action! Those are the little guys.. I have 4 big boys that are going to do all the heavy lifting. 

The mortar is essentially sand.

See.. I can be neat when I need to be.

 

Can you appreciate my clean and well lit dungeon... Looks way better than the BEFORE.

I'm thinking about having a party down here.