operation basement walls

We have not posted much in the last week because we are doing the same thing each time we are there, the basement wall block.  I can finally say that I think it will be done and filled with concrete this week!  YEAH!  I think the plan is to pour the basement floor also.  This will be an exciting end to a job that feels like it has taken forever.  Then up with the house we can go.  This week we also glass blocked in a basement window (I get to do the other two).  We also tore out a place in the foundation that had a hole and leaked water pretty bad and poured some concrete to be able to block it closed the next time we are there.  David also knocked a hole in the basement going out to the new part that we are building so it is much simpler to go in and out now.  In knocking out that wall though he found something very interesting.  There is no footing, the basement floor is the footing and the existing basement walls are two seperate walls with about a 3 inch void in between.  Think we are going to try to take out another basement window and fill the void to make it a solid wall.  INTERESTING!  We have had our son and a friends son this week and they have done an awesome job at mixing mortar and buttering the ends of blocks so that I can lay mortar and David can lay block.  We make quite a team but I know those two young men will be as glad as I am when they hand that last block up!  LOL  Good building trades class for them and good exercise for those biceps!

doing glass block for light into the crawl space

mortar man

basement repair

laying block

being a help meet  :-)

my mortar message (he was measuring while I waited)