The foundation work is continuing during the midweek for the rest of the month and the beginning of March.
Currently they are framing (photo 1) one side of the house with rebar. Behind the rebar on the wall is a sheet of waterproofing (that gray white wall) on either side of the concrete. I had never seen this before and asked for more information. As I know so little about construction I find the details exciting - and if you don't enjoy those kinds of details, stop reading now!
The second photo shows the backside of that gray wall, a plastic coating with these little holes. This coating collects excess water and moisture which drains down into pipes buried underneath the ground all around the foundation. Should the plastic on the outside wear out or tear for any reason, that front side with the gray sheet, when wet, absorbs the water and then "expands" so that no more water can get through to the concrete pillars. How cool is that?!
Onto the pipes all around the base of the foundation! These pipes (photo 3) also have holes in them to collect water. They will be covered by a material (similar to weed control sheets used in gardens) that will permit water to flow through but hold everything else back. That water will drain toward a sump pump and automatically be removed. In essence it will mean our basement will stay nice and dry during winter rains. What you don't know is that it used to seep through all the stone and mortar and create a little stream under the house to the original sump pump. We used to create a little bridge over that stream to reach the far side of the basement and we won't have to do that anymore. Exciting news indeed. So stay tuned for next week: I can't wait to see the pouring of the concrete.
