A Firm Foundation

Let me start off by saying I L.O.V.E. older homes. There is something about the fact that it has history and character that makes me feel like it has a personality all its own. Not that new homes can’t become something wonderful, but for me, I prefer a home that’s been ‘broken in’.  I also am learning to love Houston (notice, it’s not quite the capital letters yet… but check back with me in 5 years).  I’m starting to like the fact that instead of the flashy tourist attraction that many large cities are, this one is full of hidden gems. BUT something I do not love is the fact that old houses in Houston almost ALL need foundation work… boooo.

Ours is no exception.  Our baby (excuse the mushiness… the newness hasn’t worn off) needs piers installed all across her front side. Basically, the house is 3 inches low in the front and we need to fix this before there is an actual crack in the slab. Not only does the foundation need work, but the cast-iron pipes underneath our foundation have cracked (when the foundation shifted) and are now leaking into the ground… not good. So, even though I love DIY, our first order of business with the house is actually to have professionals fix the foundation and replace all our pipes.

We’ve hired Trinity Foundation Repair, and they started work last weekend (7/7/12). Originally they said it would take less than a week. On the 7^th they showed up and started digging holes. I was amazed how fast they were able to dig really deep holes all around the house. Here is a picture I snapped from the car showing how deep the hole is (that guy is standing in one). This is like an hour after they started:

The next day (a Sunday) I drove by to see what they’d accomplished. I found holes all around the front of the house. If you're interested, you can see that they uncover the foundation of the house and then dig a little deeper underneath it do they can put in the support.

Exterior pier to the left of front entryway

Then the rain started…. It has rained and rained and rained and rained for the past week. Understandably, this has pushed back the completion date. I drove by the house two days ago to see if they’d been able to do any work in the last week. To my surprise, they sure have. I took some pictures with my phone (excuse the poor quality) to document the work.  I have to be honest, it’s a little scary seeing holes all over your house… looks like LJ and I might be laying down flooring sooner than expected!

This is the hallway - two interior piers

This is the formal living room - three interior piers

This is right in front of our front door - two exterior piers

Oh, and here is what the outside holes look like…. Aka I have little swimming pools all over my yard. Maybe we can connect them and make a moat. Then I can pretend to live in a castle.

Same hole as first picture, now filled with water

I’m just hoping this rain doesn’t do damage or something. I’m not quite sure how all this works, but I know it doesn’t look good. Oh, and guess what the forecast is… another full week of thunderstorms. Will I ever get to move in? Here is what the house looks like right now... tons of dirt moved around and rain rain rain rain:

See all the dirt piled in the front entryway?