Finishing the Foundation

It's June 29, Just over 3 months since our wonderful house left the site it sat on for over 135 years.  Finishing the foundation took a lot longer than we had expected, but at long last it's finished.  A couple of tasks were still left, however.  The hardest one in my mind (so far) has been installing the sill plate on the top course of block.  Building code says you have to have a pressure treated board on top or attached to any stone, concrete, or metal materials.  This board stops moisture from seeping into the untreated woodframe of the house, which is why so many old homes need to have structural work done.  Of course, it's not the only reason, insects certainly take their toll as well.  In any case, we were able to install this sill plate on the finished courses of blocks before the house was lowered.  Now, though, I've been circling back around the house re-jacking it to insert the remaining boards.



You can see the sill plate with the pink insulation under it.  This task proves to be difficult because in some places we still have the old wood, other places the nails have pulled out between joists and beams, and still in other places there's just not enough wood to lift against because of the foundation line.



At times I just have to lift on part of the side sheathing and part of the beam in the hopes things will eventually move enough.



It's a tedious process and those 6x6 boards are HEAVY!  It's almost done though.