The closets

Originally, the house did not have bedroom closets. The closets were added when it was converted from a duplex into a single-family home. They were added on outside the house, and initially just built right over the dirt. Later, a partial concrete footing was added, but it wasn’t a good job. They have both rotted through once before, so we decided to have them gutted & rebuilt. This is the trenching & rebar in preparation for the new foundations (guest room closet pictured, but the master is in the same state). We are assuming the floor of the “new” closets will be level with the floor in the bedrooms, which will be nice. Before, they were raised up about 6”.

The sill plates – which I think is what you call the 2x4 that sits on the slab – are in really bad shape. The contractor says they are Douglas fir, which is apparently a big no-no. They should have been redwood. They are literally going to jack up the house in places, cut out the old sill plate, and install new redwood. Somehow, that sounds expensive…

They are getting ready to take jackhammers to all the concrete outside the house. Things are moving along well. It’s nice to go over every day and see progress. I know it won’t always be like that though.