Year: 2014

My friend BJ Patchat helps me fix my crawlspace. We start by cleaning up the hidden debris, demolishing the old flexible ducts, and replacing them with proper 6″ heating ducts. I replace all of the damaged insulation around the top of the sill plate.

Meanwhile, BJ attaches the new ducts to the main system. I cut out the old copper silcock pipe. This will be replaced with pex.

Later, my friends Jeff Hansen and Shelly Sadowski help us cut furring strips and foam insulation panels. I install the furring strips and insulation panels.

This portion of the project costs $181.96.

My plumber returns to complete some unfinished projects.

He extends the new kitchen vent stack through the roof.

He plumbs in a new shower manifold for the downstairs bathroom.

He replaces the old silcock on the west wall, plumbs it through the crawlspace, and connects it to the rest of the system.

Apart from the fixtures, this wraps up all of the major “behind the wallls” plumbing re-work to correct the faulty, leaking pipes done by the flipper.

Thanks to a broken downspout (before I purchased the home) and the decaying asphalt driveway, some erosion has occurred between the driveway and my front entry stoop. Could this be contributing to the basement flooding? I fixed the downspout days after moving in, but leaves and other debris were hiding this growing erosion problem.

I tried to patch the crack with some concrete, but after dropping a pebble into one of the holes, it was clear that the erosion problem was much bigger than I realized.

I mixed more and more concrete, trying to fill the cavity, but after dumping 20 gallons of concrete into the hole, I knew the problem was too big to patch. The stoop and driveway will probably have to be rebuilt at some point.

I have no time or money to fix the erosion problem before winter. I decide to temporarily patch the opening of the cavity with insulating foam ($14.88) to prevent water from getting inside. It took 3 cans of large gap filler to plug the openings. The massive cavity extends from the downspout on the left all the way to the garage door on the right, and seems to be at least 4 feet deep.

After letting the foam cure for a few days, I trim off the excess. I also cover the exposed edges of this temporary erosion plug with some water stop patching concrete (still dark and wet in the second photo).

Hopefully, this will be enough of a stopgap to get me through spring without any additional water problems. I’ll have to re-address this erosion issue some time in the future.

With the roof repairs nearly complete, I continue work on the bedroom soffit, sanding the drywall and adding another skim coat of joint compound.

Just hours before a major snowfall hits the Twin Cities, I am able to install new heat tape on the southwest corner of my roof. Hopefully this will help prevent any further ice dam problems this winter.

I patch, mud, sand, and prime two drywall holes in the second bedroom from an unused phone jack, and the fake coax CATV wall plate.

I paint and finish one of the damaged bedrooms.

I also finish mudding, sanding, and priming the other bedroom affected by roof damage.

Walter Sullivan helps me clean up the last of the roof damage debris and racoon waste in the attic. This is necessary to prepare for additional cellulose insulation to prevent further ice dams and roof damage.

I paint and finish the bedroom walls and ceiling that needed to be replaced due to roof damage.