Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Basement Expansion Part 11

This post takes a couple of diversions from the main purpose of the project (i.e. making the usable basement space bigger). The first deviation is storage space, so it's kind of related. The photo below, which has made several appearances in this blog, shows a storage platform which has been strung between the cinder block wall and adjacent foundation pier - all you can really see is a cardboard box at the front of this area. I wanted to keep this space for storage, but it has always irritated me that the platform was not even close to level.


This is how this area looks after I removed the timber slats which make up the platform and leveled out the dirt.


I then added a 2" x 6" strip of timber on top of the cinder block wall, and poured an equivalent concrete strip at the opposite side. The platform will be constructed from slats between these areas which will be level.
 

The other deviation is actually an improvement to the structure of the building which I hope will be significant. The cinder block wall which I keep referring to has actually moved/bowed about one quarter of an inch (8mm in European Union speak) since we bought the house four-ish years ago. That's not a big deal at this point, but it could become one. My solution is to install a series of 2" x 6" braces between the top of the wall and the floor joists. 


The braces are connected to the wall with ½ inch diameter 6 inch concrete anchors (Tapcon™ bolts in other words) at both sides, and the L-brackets are bolted through the braces. It is obscured it the photo below, but the voids in the cinder blocks have been filled with concrete so I have solid material to connect to.


Connections to the floor joists are made with a pair of ½ inch diameter bolts:


This is the almost-finished platform with some boxes piled up to test the strength of the slats. The steps I constructed a couple of weeks ago will make it easier to access this area.


To be continued.....

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