Side Project

Started by flyingvan, February 19, 2016, 12:57:03 AM

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flyingvan

    Had to take a break from working on the laundry room...Our beach house was looking like it wanted to slide off the bluff
The house was built in the 50's and I can't install raingutters until I redo the roofline.  This edge of the property was sagging more and more with every rainfall and it was getting too close to the foundation.  I had no clue how thick the slab was, and didn't want it to crack
    The only thing holding that edge up was an old wormy wooden retaining wall.  It had to go.

     Dealing with the steep slope was tricky.  I filled some sandbags to make sort of a ridge I could dump the spoil pile on and move around a little

     Turns out the foundation is at least 28" thick at the edges.... If I'd known that I could have deferred this project until summer safely I think

   

    There is no possible way to get a truck or pumper near enough.  The only option was to mix up some pre-mix.  This meant hand carrying 81 90# sacks up the steps and to the mixer.  They shut down street parking nearby for some other construction, too

   

The idea here is, I'll end up with a series of concrete pilasters.  I'll dry stack rock between them, then backpour concrete, locking in the stones and squirrel proofing the wall.

    Here it is all poured.  Two yards of concrete, dumped into buckets then dumped into the forms. 

   Tomorrow morning when I get off work I'll go strip the forms and see how it worked.  Phase two, I'll pour some laterals that go the width of the property, perpendicular to the slope, tied in to what you see here.  There's already rebar sticking out in the proper directions for that.
Find what you love and let it kill you.

flyingvan

   The funny thing that happened--I pulled out of Home Depot with the lumber for the forms.  The 'International Traveling Laborers' crowded around my truck asking 'Trabajo?' Trabajo?' (work?)  Next trip with the truck WAYY overloaded with 90# sacks, they pretended not to see me.  Can't blame them---carrying those things was the hardest part of this project so far, and there will be more days just like it.  I don't think I'll try to mix two yards in a day again.  I just didn't want any cold joints.
Find what you love and let it kill you.


MountainDon

QuoteNext trip with the truck WAYY overloaded with 90# sacks, they pretended not to see me. 

Funny.

Interesting that you have 90# sacks of Quikrete. Here we have 80's, 60's and 50's, depending on where you go. HD and Lowes both have 80's, Lowes the 50's and HD the 60's. Pretty much the same cost per lb. I have found myself gravitating towards the lighter sacks in the past couple of years.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

rick91351

Quote from: MountainDon on February 19, 2016, 02:01:03 AM
Funny.

Interesting that you have 90# sacks of Quikrete. Here we have 80's, 60's and 50's, depending on where you go. HD and Lowes both have 80's, Lowes the 50's and HD the 60's. Pretty much the same cost per lb. I have found myself gravitating towards the lighter sacks in the past couple of years.

Glad to find out I am not the only one to have found the 50# more user friendly -  ;)
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

flyingvan

   Well....They offered 60# sacks, too.  Slightly more expensive per cubic foot.  The thought of walking up the grade and climbing the stairs 120 times with 60's instead of 81 times with 90's was the deciding factor.
    AnnaMarie wants an island feel for this place.  I want to use volcanic rock for the stones in the wall.  I'm going to price some pumice boulders.  They are light, natural, look cool, and other than being like handling a running course grit sander, should be easy to get into place.  Option #2 is collecting volcanic rock on a friend's property out in the desert.  It's free, the look I'm after, but quite a bit heavier
Find what you love and let it kill you.


rick91351

Quote from: flyingvan on February 19, 2016, 12:57:03 AM
    Had to take a break from working on the laundry room...Our beach house was looking like it wanted to slide off the bluff


To me most Ca. beach houses look like they want to slide off the bluff.....   ;)

I could set you up with vast amounts of lava rock - big as a truck down to sort of pumice.  Oppps!  You haul from Idaho.   8)
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

flyingvan

Might be worth it, just for the story---we're going to Brianhead to ski later this year so I might take you up on it!
Find what you love and let it kill you.

flyingvan

Forms stripped without too much drama....Had to sawzall them in a few places to get around the rebar, but most of the lumber will get re-used.  The property is pretty small so I have to keep up on the dump runs or I'll run out of room to turn around. 

Find what you love and let it kill you.

Dave Sparks

What area (roughly) in San Diego. I get down there alot for a client and my brother lives there also.
Is it El Nino down there or as we call it in the Sierra El No No  :(
"we go where the power lines don't"


flyingvan

3 of the houses are in Cuyamaca (San Diego backcountry) but this one is in Ocean Beach, pretty close to Sea World
Find what you love and let it kill you.

Dave Sparks

 :)  Thanks !  It did look close to Sea World but I could not be sure.
"we go where the power lines don't"

flyingvan

   This project has been grueling....If I drop something it tumbles down the bluff.  There's not much space to set anything down.  My closest mixing spot is other side of the house so all the concrete has to be hand carried in buckets.  Now with the whining out of the way---I'm getting to know the neighbors---they've been watching the wooden retainer slowly rot and crumble for the last 20 years and are THRILLED with the upgrade.  The sandstone soil is a joy to work with.  With the overall plan for this place, this was the singlemost difficult challenge, and all that's left is to form and pour the top cap.

    The lava rocks were just dry stacked as high as my Jenga skills would allow, then concrete was mixed and gently dumped behind them and tamped until it just started to flow between the stones.  If I then went on to the next section and did the same, by the time I got back to the first section the concrete was set enough to stack the next course.  I'll come back and chip off the stray concrete blops that are on the stones but I want to make sure it's all well cured first. 
     After the top cap is done the spoil pile of soil will get dumped at the base of the wall, then landscape cloth spiked in, then I'll plant some sort of hill holding vegetation and never, ever walk down there again

 
Find what you love and let it kill you.

flyingvan

Any suggestions on favorite erosion control plants?  It's south facing, partial sun, mild coastal weather, steep slope (you can't walk up or down it)
Find what you love and let it kill you.

rick91351

Quote from: flyingvan on February 27, 2016, 01:42:13 PM
Any suggestions on favorite erosion control plants?  It's south facing, partial sun, mild coastal weather, steep slope (you can't walk up or down it)

This is somewhere I would really only trust the opinion of a good LOCAL established old nursery with a very good horticulturist. Or drop in to a county extension agent.   Not the 'experienced staff' at Home Depot and Lowes and Walmart......
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.


Dave Sparks

The best place I always get info like this is the local branch of the Master gardeners.  They are funded by the feds, state, county and their own sources. Not that they get much money from any of them.

I pay dearly for this info from my wife who was the Master gardener of the year recently, dearly!  ;)
"we go where the power lines don't"

rick91351

Quote from: Dave Sparks on February 28, 2016, 10:53:51 AM
The best place I always get info like this is the local branch of the Master gardeners.  They are funded by the feds, state, county and their own sources. Not that they get much money from any of them.

I pay dearly for this info from my wife who was the Master gardener of the year recently, dearly!  ;)

Congratulations to the Mrs. Sparks.  And exactly what I was talking about.  It is a distinguished honor to accomplish such.  Where we shall never achieve such yet know a thing or two about plants and trees but we are always learning and asking questions.  And the main reason I suggested that Flyingvan inquire at a real nursery with real staff.  Big Box Stores assure you they have knowledgeable staff.  Some might down there - I do not know but my experience up here I ask a Big Box Store 'associate' a question.  They read the label to you.  Excuse me but I can read and that is why I am asking if this will work a 5000' and five months of snow.  Where we live we do have some very nice established nurseries with great staff....  and is not all that far to the Ketchum Sun Valley Area and they have a couple great full service nurseries over there to landscape 'Little Hollywood' and is very close in climate.   

They older I get the more I think I would love your long seasons you enjoy. Up here we are under snow sometimes like 2015-16 under snow five  months and can run it to six months some years.  Then after the snow leave there some times a month of hard frosts.  So gardens have to be very well thought out and starts started and ready to rock and roll pretty quickly.  ;)
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

flyingvan

   Home Depot (and Home Base before they went belly up) USED to hire field experts.  You could get expert advice from a retired plumber in the plumbing department, and they had electricians in electrical.  Not sure about the knowledge base of the people in the plant section back then...
   Your suggestion is a very good one.  I might also tap into the Famosa Slough Conservancy.  The slough is the wetland habitat you can see in the background in some of the pictures....
   My formula for real estate is tiny houses with a view of the water.  When I bought this house in 2005 I had heard rumors that the slough was going to get a full rehab under one of those biodiversity exchange programs (someone wanted to develop some wetlands somewhere in the bay area, so had to mitigate something elsewhere)  The slough at that time was a shopping cart graveyard and pretty gross.  So I bought this property, they came and dredged, cleaned, replaced non native species with native ones, and put in an interpretive trail and parking. 
   This property didn't exactly skyrocket in value, though.  2005 was about the worst time to buy and had I waited a year or two I could have got a lot more for my money.  We rode it out, though, and after 11 years it's finally surpassed the purchase price.  Ugh.  Oh well, this was my one turkey property.
    Anyway---the folks at the Slough Conservancy encourage local planting of natives so I'm going to take your advice and talk to their horticulturalist about best options
Find what you love and let it kill you.

Dave Sparks

It is all good!   Except Home Depot.  And even they have their moments!
The master gardeners often have a free help phone line also. It is staffed certain hours weekdays. If they don't know they will get back with data from the University of Cal Davis database. Just don't put in anything invasive and non native. They hate it when you do that......
I am still in trouble for throwing out Rye grass seed 10 years ago...

As for the long seasons and water front property, one good earthquake and there will be plenty of that ;)
"we go where the power lines don't"

flyingvan

True.  Everything east of the San Andreas fault is going to slip into the Atlantic.
Find what you love and let it kill you.

Dave Sparks

Quote from: flyingvan on February 29, 2016, 03:53:55 PM
True.  Everything east of the San Andreas fault is going to slip into the Atlantic.

I thought it was the other way around ???  Ok, so now I move the Dinghy dock on to the sloped side of the roof?
"we go where the power lines don't"


kenhill

It is a strike-slip fault.  Unfortunately, Los Angles will eventually become part of Alaska!

flyingvan



  Top cap done.  There's no bottom on the forms, just lined with visqueen so the bottom of the top cap will form over the stones.  I'll melt the plastic off after the forms are stripped
Find what you love and let it kill you.

flyingvan




   Now with the laundry room all done for my tenants, it's time to get back to the work needed on the beach house.  My daughters are living there for college so I'm not inconveniencing any rent paying folks.
   Rebuilding old stuff is unfun compared to new construction.  The retaining wall is all finished and I'm working on the sidewalk.  It's sand colored, and my daughters have been stamping starfish and other assorted sea creatures in it.
   This tiny house is at the end of a bluff.  There is no off street parking.  You have to go up a flight of stairs to get to it.  THe sub porch is completely rotted, and sits on piers.  I'm going to tear it all out and pour a perimeter foundation.  One of the big challenges is all the extra dirt I'll have to get rid of.  It's clean, sandy clay stuff---perfect for something I've always wanted to try, rammed earth building.
    Here's my plan---dig the footing, pile the soil in the middle.  Pour the footings with 1' square columns 5' apart, and a series of drain holes.  Build hefty wooden forms, tumble the soil with cement and the correct amount of water, and ram it into the forms, layer by layer.  Finish off the top with a concrete bond beam, maybe arched (depending on how the rammed earth behaves.  Totally new at this)
Find what you love and let it kill you.

flyingvan

OK...Got caught up on enough other stuff, so it was time to tear out the old rotted porch.  It's in the rotty sea air.  The big question was, what is holding it up?  If I dig down and find good concrete, do I re-use it or figure out how to get rid of it?  Pour around it maybe?



The corrugated plexiglas roof is torn off, now here tearing out all the decking and deck framing.  Someone was happt to haul off all the dry stacked bricks, but I couldn't find any beach party people wanting bonfire fodder.  It took two full truckloads to the dump to get rid of it all.

   

  Unfortunately, the rammed earth plan isn't going to work; there's just too much organic debris in the soil and I don't have the patience to sift it all.   I really, really need to find the 4" cast iron DWV pipe so I can tie in the laundry water and outdoor shower.  I'm hoping it didn't go straight down under the house before cutting to the street down below, but this soil doesn't act like fill so I doubt it.  Metal detector is no help.

 

   The entire porch was help up on these little concrete plugs, with 4x4 posts resting on them.  It took nothing to move them.  Also found the DWV pipe in the trench.  Finding the cleanout now will be simple.   You can just see the pipe crossing the middle of the trench.

   

     The soil couldn't be better.  At Cuyamaca, every shovel full of dirt, you're dealing with sharp rocks.  This sandstone was a pleasure to shape.   Instead of tiny little pier footings, I dug a 24" wide, 14" minimum depth, 22' long trench and formed up these pilasters.  It will be another two yard mix and pour day, all at once so no cold joints.  The rebar it #5

     The fact that these puny little piers supported the porch for 30+ years gives me confidence my upgrade will last a long time, especially since all the runoff will be guttered far away, and none of my bluff end will see much water.  I'll still have dry rot and termites to deal with though
Find what you love and let it kill you.

flyingvan

Next pour...The plan was to spend one day carrying the redi-mix up the stairs (108 60#, two yards total) then when I'm off work again next Monday do the mixing and pouring.  But, weather forecast called for rain---I really didn't want 108 rocks to deal with...Hauling and stacking went really well, so just went ahead and mixed and poured it, too.  Today I'm tired.




Find what you love and let it kill you.