Foundation Sealing

There were signs of minor water seepage into the masonry. This might have been due to the chimney cap, but I wanted to make sure everything was sealed up right. So I dug around the foundation. I plan to do this all the way around the back foundation, as I plan to do the steel planter there.

While the area under the concrete was fine, and there is a French drain all around the foundation, it seemed clear that the rock around the chimney had become clogged with dirt, and it seemed that any water that came in contact with that base wouldn't have anything preventing it from seeping in. Even found an old rusted ash door about 1' down. There were also some odd locations, evenly spaced along the base of the foundation, where there were small wood pieces that penetrated all the way through. I could even see those on the backside of the planter.

So, I used simple mortar to fill those, and then sealed everything with a tar based foundation sealant. I don't expect the mortar to repel water, just to provide a good surface for the sealant to adhere.

This also provides some sealant between the lead (I assume) drip trim and the foundation itself. It's probably overkill, but I wanted to make sure it was done right.

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Basement Painting

We're set to close on the 15th of October, so I'm getting a little braver with my fixes and updates. I realize I want a little experience with the new airless sprayers before I tackle painting the exterior of the house. I also know that once I pull down the ceiling tiles in the basement, I'll want something to make it look decent while I'm working on the wiring and rearranging the upstairs. I thought I'd do a dark paint on the exposed wood. I'd seen pictures of that done in basements before and liked the look. The basements in this house are about 8" tall, a little lower than that when duct work or plumbing is a factor, so while not low, it can't hurt to have a dark look to improve the height of the ceiling. So, I figured I'd start by painting the ceiling in the unfinished part of the basement. Here are some before pictures: The paint I used was the same dark flat Olive Green I'd used on the lighting plate in the bathroom. It...

Bathroom Waterproofing

Waterproofing the shower. 1 primer coat, 5 coats on the walls, 7 on the pan. Tested and approved by the inspector. Next is upper pan and then tile.

Basement Bathroom Progress

Just for reference, here is the original, claustrophobic, non-code-compliant basement bathroom. And here is progress on the much larger bathroom, even though to overall footprint is the same size. The shower has been expanded to fill the entire width, and the ceiling raised in the shower area. The original was a generic shower stall, and was very dark and cramped. This will be much brighter and while the dimensions are small, won't feel nearly as cramped.

Normandy Park Restoration

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