Image Gallery

The basement under the main part of the house as it looked before construction began.

Many of the old lally columns and walls were removed or replaced to prepare for the new basement floor plan. Temporary bracing provided essential support during the construction.

Here is the basement under the main part of the house at the end of November. New lally columns are in place, complete with new concrete footings. A new manufactured beam on the right is an important structural addition to the house. And the walls for the new coatroom have been framed in.

The fully accessible restrooms will be located in this corner. The original rubble stone and brick foundation will be cleaned up and exposed inside the new bathrooms. The pipes will be removed or relocated.

Years ago, hydraulic cement was applied to the basement walls to minimize leaks. Better grading and new exterior drainage has eliminated the need for this waterproof coating. During this project, the rubble foundation was sandblasted to remove the hydraulic cement and reveal more of the old stones. The pipes seen in this photo will be removed before the new bathrooms are installed.

After the old basement floor was demolished, this small excavator was used to dig trenches for the new plumbing. It was also used to spread gravel over which the new floor would be poured.

Pipes were laid for drainage and plumbing before the new floor was poured.

The basement in the kitchen ell as it looked before construction began. The large brown structure on the right is the back staircase. During this phase of the work, these stairs were removed. The stairs will be relocated to their original (c. 1871) position in the center of the house, during Phase Two – the interior restoration.

The floor in the basement of the kitchen ell was several inches higher than the basement floor in the main part of the house, but the new floor needed to be level throughout. Notice the large wooden braces along the left wall. These were needed as the floor was being re-graded and additional footings were placed under the rubble foundation.

The new floor covers up the new drainage and plumbing pipes.

Notice the new footings at the base of the foundation. The top of a drainage pipe can be seen. A utility sink will eventually be added to this end of the basement.

By the end of November the framing was up for the two new restrooms. Notice the brick chimney on the right side of the photograph. This historic element will be exposed inside one of the bathrooms.

The historic joists and floorboards will be seen from the new coatroom.