July 9, 2019: Up we go!

Well, today was the day! Time for our cottage to be lifted!

During the past week, our project manager Chris Ferguson and his crew from JoAt were hard at work preparing the site.

First, the large, two level deck on the side of the house had to be removed. Once that was cleared away, the ground needed to be excavated around the existing foundation so that holes could be cut into it, through which large steel cross beams would be placed, under which the hydraulic jacks would be set. Once the house was up, the beams would rest on 6×6 forms, holding up the house while work occurred underneath.

Next, it was time to disconnect the propane and the water. The question remains as to whether we will be able to save our septic system; heavy equipment working around the house is liable to crush it. We will deal with that later, when we survey the results.

The propane was disconnected and our 16Kw generator was temporarily relocated, to be replaced when the foundation, fill and grading is complete. We were now disconnected from everything but the electricity – it was possible to leave it on, thanks to the length of line from the NB power pole. Good thing; I was wracking my brain as to who could babysit the three, 15-pound turkeys hanging out in my freezer :).

The Quebec company (Heneault Gosselin) arrived in Summerville the next day at 730am sharp, ready to get to work! While I was at work across the river, waiting for news, my friends and neighbours and husband were gathering for the show. We expected it would take the better part of a day to lift a heavy house 5 feet in the air, but my husband, arriving on the 9am ferry, was surprised to find it…..done! The lift took a little over an hour, and the amazing part was that not a dish was disrupted, nor a knickknack knocked over….there was no evidence the cottage had been moved except for two small cracks at the corner of a door sill and, oh yes, the fact that you now had to enter the back door via a fully extended ladder!

The house was now up and resting on forms; once set back down, it will rest only two inches lower than it is right now (at a final level of approx 4 feet, 8 inches).

For the rest of the afternoon, work focussed on the ground beneath the house. The original cottage had been renovated in 2007 and had a footing course around the perimeter which was deemed to be in good shape, but older foundation walls in the middle of the cellar supporting the rest of the structure were crumbling and needed to be dismantled to make room for new footings and jackposts.

After a visit from the engineer, it was decided that the entire foundation should be redone, with the existing hole under the house to be filled with layers of small and large round rock/pea gravel and compacted dirt (our excavator, Digger Dean, could ‘fill’ you in on those details – check him out on Facebook😉). Additionally, a large French drain will be installed, sloping toward the river onto the beach, before a wall of armour stone is placed to protect the front of the house from wave action. We will be left with a 4-5′ crawl space under the house, sloped and designed for drainage, with sump pits installed in the space and on the wall outside to manage the ground water as it rises. Once the house was lifted, we could see what we were dealing with

The engineer decided a whole new foundation was the best idea

After the crew had left, I wandered around the yard, a little dumbstruck. My neighbour and I had broken into the house up top and I marvelled at our castle in the clouds and its new view (a little more expansive than we had before). But standing in front of a house that towered above me, with a giant hole beneath, I admit I was just a little overwhelmed by the scope of the project.

But, it IS exciting! It is amazing to watch this change, and the cottage will be much better protected. Now, if only we can keep the displaced flowers in all those pots watered until we can get them back into the ground when this project is done. Heaven knows, we now have enough dirt to find them a place to live!

Up next: Foundation building. See you next time 😉.