Up In The Air, part 1.

The past few weeks have been a challenge. We decided to have our house raised, the old, failing basement ripped out and a new one put in. It was one of those things that started out as a visit to our little local home show to check into roofing options.

More likely, it started in the 1920's, when this house was moved to a fieldstone and brick foundation in which both the fieldstone and the mortar contained lots of sand. When we moved in in 1982, the basement was prone to getting wet in most rainstorms. For years, the sand fell out of the mortar to the point that you could see between stones, and the basement was a sanctuary for Daddy Longlegs spiders. While we redirected much of the rainwater with eavestroughs, drip rails and some regrading, the dampness got in. The floor drain was above the level of the floor, and some of the concrete had been chipped away to reveal open dirt; we just swept water to the open part and let it soak away. The basement was cold - great for storing wine and better beers, but not inviting - and would get clammily damp at temperatures too cold for the dehumidifier. Even some good hardware picked up a patina of rust, and many items simply couldn't be stored down there. The stairway was, by 1/8", wide enough for modern appliances, and was rickety. Our daughter once said, "Other people have a basement. We have a cellar." Under a 1920's backroom addition was a crawlspace that included the old coal chute; a handyman framed up some insulation to keep the back shower pipes from freezing.

At the home show, we talked to a couple of local contractors about various roofing materials. Since the whole show had about 20 exhibitors (our town isn't that large), we got a good cross section. We got to chatting with one guy about a possible project that included changing that back room, adding a deck, possibly putting n a hot tub, etc., etc. We invited him, along with a couple of the roofers, to stop over and give us a bid.

When he showed up with the bid, it included the whole new basement, replacement of the front porch, and a roof. The changes to the back room, the deck, the hot tub - not mentioned. But I'd been nursing the dream of a clean, dry basement for a long time, and my lovely wife, though noting the absence of the things she wanted, recognized the need.

At the bank, we found that solid credit is a good thing to have when it comes time to access some of that credit. The weird part is that our new loan, which finished off a previous one, is for somewhat more than we paid for the house all those years ago.

In the next installment, the project begins.