Project Emerald

It was another big weekend for progress!  We started with a late-night Friday Home Depot run for lumber for the structural changes and plumbing hardware for the tankless install next weekend.  Saturday morning we made an early dump run to clear out last week’s debris and then went to work.  We pulled up the majority of the old flooring in the kitchen and the laundry room.  We cut out the old linoleum and subfloor plywood and removed them together in large pieces.

Before tearing down the load bearing wall, we supported the overlapping ceiling joists with two temporary walls on either side.  We used a floor jack to hoist the ceiling just enough to take the load off the central wall and added jacks stands.  With 10 jack stands and additional 2x4s just in-case, we moved on to the non-load bearing walls that separated the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.  We were able to recycle the 2x4s studs by cutting them out, instead of demolishing them with the sledge.  In total we were able to save and reuse about 40 2x4s!  With all three walls gone, we added new attic supports to redistribute the load from the roof onto the ceiling joists to prevent any roof sag.

Sunday we finished up the remaining demo and started the preparation for the new LVL beam.  We cut holes in the subfloor where the new 4×8 posts will stand and determined the location for the concrete footings.  Under the house we dug 2′x2′x15″ holes and poured new concrete footings around a metal support bracket.  We found a sweet method to mix concrete in a large tarp by lifting each corner and rolling and flipping it over itself.  Thanks YouTube!  We then used the tarp to lower the concrete down through the subfloor and pour into the footings.

Next weekend we’ll be ready to cut the joists and install the new LVL beams along with the new tankless water heater!

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