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We were expecting them between 8:00-8:30am, and they arrived a little before 9:00am. The guys are all polite and have been working steadily since about 9:00am. The crew leader believes they can get our basement done in two days. The way they're working, I can believe it.
Talk about NOISE! They're jackhammering a trench all around the perimeter of the basement, and with our house's ductwork, the sound just reverberates like you wouldn't believe.
The crew leader told us to put wet cloths over the heat vents to cut down on the dust. The jackhammer has a vacuum attached to it, but their chipper, drills and other tools don't. The damp towels worked well until started to dry out, then they just flapped. I just turned the heat off until we can get some tape to better secure the fabric.
I'm not too happy that the EZ-Breathe contractor didn't come out a week before our scheduled start date as promised. A lot of the cement dust, mold spores and who knows what else would be pulled out through the EZ-Breathe system's vent in the basement rather than making its way upstairs to us. Between the dust and the fumes from the jackhammer, it's quite the experience in here!
Here are some pictures of the work in progress.
Entries and Updates
Jan 13, 2003
The walls are alive
With the sounds of nuisance...
Jan 13, 2003
Our beloved clematis, before. Hoping they will be really careful in moving it. I should have moved it a couple months ago. At least it's dormant, and they know to move the trellis and attached vines at the same time they move the root ball.
Jan 13, 2003
The old cement sink in the basement -- it's going.
Jan 13, 2003
There it goes. I offered the guy a pair of goggles, but he said he didn't need them. The way the chips were flying, I sure wouldn't want to do that work without eye protection. There, you have it on record - I offered!
Jan 13, 2003
This is the glorified sump pump, situated in the far outside corner of our garage. There will be a sealed cap over it, and it's where a closet will be.
EverDry calls this their "The Pressure Relief System" - see http://www.everdry.com/benefits/System.asp It has a perforated basket down in it instead of the traditional float, I guess.
Jan 13, 2003
The source of all the pounding, their jackhammer. They have a vacuum going at the same time as the jackhammer. The crew guy said the vacuum's a backpack unit, but it gets too hot, so they just strapped it onto the jackhammer. I hear the jackhammer, but I don't hear any vacuum sound...I wonder if they're even using it.
It could be the chipper I'm hearing, not the regular jackhammer.
Jan 13, 2003
I would NOT want his j-j-j-j-j-j-j-j-j-job!
Jan 13, 2003
They consolidated our stuff and covered it with plastic.
Jan 13, 2003
As part of our contract, we had them remove the old flowerbox from the front of the house. We're going to make that whole area a patio.
Jan 13, 2003
Here's where the gutter at the left front of our house emptied into drain tile in the planter. We are happy to see the masonry behind the planter looks good still!
Jan 13, 2003
One of the trenches, where the flowerbox used to be. This will be gravelled over once everything's done, and we'll put the cement squares from the side of the house down as a patio for the chairs.
Jan 13, 2003
The trench along the left side of our house. Those cement squares are what we'll use for the front patio area.
Jan 13, 2003
It's very labor-intensive work. Jackhammer, chip, hand-carry out to the truck. Repeat.
The crew leader Scott was so happy to see a walk-out basement. Can you imagine carring bucket loads of cement up, loads of gravel down....All day?
Jan 13, 2003
The EZ-Breathe installer came this afternoon around 3:00pm and installed the machine. I asked why they only sent him out today, and he agreed that they usually do come out a week before the work's scheduled to start, but they're "really backlogged".
He said he'd come up and explain how it works and how to make it work the most efficiently, but he never did. We'll see if he comes back tomorrow.
They all just packed up and left at 3:30pm, without so much as a clue that they were leaving. We thought they'd at least tell us they were taking off for the day, but I guess they don't!
P.S. 1/14/2003: The EZ-Breathe guy tried knocking at our front door, but we didn't answer. We must not have heard it over the jackhammer and other loud equipment below the office. Guess we'll have to get instructions/advice via phone or e-mail.
Jan 13, 2003
Everdry claims to use some different sort of system, not a sump pump. That's funny...This box sure looks like a sump pump box, though...Hmmmmmmm.
