Drenering - The Drainage

So today I figured out it was about time to update my blog as so much has happened in Tjodheim.  I blogged in May the last time I did.  It took five months to get things more organized as it was just a NIGHTMARE! Though I had thought about doing the drainage last, the lack of customer service and lack of interest from local plumbers and big bathroom making companies pushed me to the hasty decision of leaving the bathroom/toilet for next year. - Despite the fact that it urgently needs refurbishing!
I like the way I can see the house during the different seasons.  Here is the terrible winter and then the summer:

The summer does seem to be a little more welcoming.







Here we go, this is what the balcony and garden looked like before the drainage job:

The idea is to remove this balcony and the surrounding plants to avoid accumulation of mold during the spring, summer and fall months.  But I still plan to keep my hammoc!

 And this is the open area of the balcony:

During the job...

Digging out the house, this is the front facing the Southeast.

 Notice the stones on which the foundations of the house rest.

 Water would easily go through the stones and into the basement making it awfully wet.

 oh yeah, while doing the job the digging machine broke my fiber optic cable costing me an additional 300 dollars!!!!

 Next step is to wash the dirty rocks and remove any possible insects or snails. This is the corner that meets the Southeast with the Southern face of the house.

 And my little one being nosy watching the whole process.

 stones washed, covered with drainage plastic, pipes under the gravel of 3 different sizes, from big to small on top. Eastern face.

 Northeastern face of the house where the entrance to the basement is.

 Western side of the house, perhaps the one where the most moisture went through.

 Just like the rest of the house, the foundations are built on piled up stones.

 Southern face of the house completed.

 Western face of the house after a huge rain shower. at least that water ain't going inside!

 A very messy job

 Southern face of the house

 Western face covered, protected and done!

 South meets southeast

 Actually this is where the balcony was.

It was quite a shock to see the foundations of the house on a bunch of stones put together with some sort of mortar, but then the guy in charge of the job explained to me that because it is a house from 1917, it is a very old house and that is the technique they used!  Anyhow, I am glad this is done and that the basement will not be as wet as it was before, thus helping the house to be warmer!

I'm waiting for the grass to grow a bit more before I can post pictures of the finished job, which turned out to be fantastic!

what a mess

This is what my bedrom looks like right now.

The morning sun does not wake me up, but the afternoon sun stays until forever which makes me reconsider these nasty curtains.

 I definitely need a closet.

It's done!

Endelig stuen er ferdig. TVen er på plass og de fiberoptiske kabelen mannen endelig kom rundt for å sortere ut TV, telefon og internett! Uttrykket på min baby's lille ansikt var uvurderlig da at TV viste hennes favoritt tegneserie tegn på at skjermen.
Jeg ringte mor igjen hjemme for å la henne vite at telefonen jobber nå, og alt jeg har igjen er å teste internett.
Dette er hvordan det ser ut:

Finally the living room is finished. The TV is in place and the fiber optic cable man finally came around to sort out TV, phone and internet! The expression on my baby's little face was priceless when that TV showed her favorite cartoon characters on that screen.
I phoned mother back at home to let her know that the phone is now working and all I have left is to test the internet.
This is how it looks:

  



Nå må jeg rydde og fjerne alt støvet som er blitt etterlatt.
Neste skritt er å få en sofa!  Loving the TV!!!

Now I have to clean and remove all the dust that has been left behind.
The next step is to get a sofa! Loving the TV!!!

1 more week

Tiden går så fort at jeg tror jeg må bare forte meg og bli ferdig med å pakke alt for flytting. Stue er nesten klart!!!

Time is just flying and I guess I have to stop procrastinating and get things packed once and for all for the move.  The living room is almost ready!!!

 

I can't wait!!!

It's advancing!

OK, så jeg har gitt opp på mitt første proskjekt idee av sliping ned planker fordi noen steder av gulvet var plaget med borrebiller(?) Woodworm. Mange plankene var helt ødelagt. Den opprinnelige fylling var en slags aske med steiner og biter av karbon og masse, mansse jord (kanskje?). Rotete, veldi rotete!

Ok, so I have given up on my initial project of sanding down the woodboards because it happens to be that the house is plagued with woodworm residue and several parts were absolutely destroyed. The initial filling was some sort of ash with stones and pieces of carbon and lots and lots of soil perhaps. Messy!

Når jeg prøvde å fjerne dette noen av de råtne styrene gikk helt gjennom og inn i kjelleren, og etterlot meg med et hull i stua som jeg kunne se ned på.
Det var ikke morsomt og det var ganske stressende.

When trying to remove this some of the rotten boards went all the way through and into the basement, leaving me with a hole in the living room to which I could look down into.
Not a funny sight and I can see that it was rather stressful to see the situation.

Ja, her hvor plankene er bort, kan du se helt ned til kjelleren! De plankene var helt tomt på insida.   This is one of the parts where the wood was completely rotten inside, apparently some sort of woodworm had eaten through the inside and evven though you could see the whole plank, inside it was completely empty! 



På dette stadiet, har all asken og stein er fjernet, den gamle teknikken er borte! og in med ull puter for isolasjon sammen med en 3mm plast som underlag og spon plater som overlag.

At this stage, all the ash and stone has been removed, the old technique is GONE! and in goes the woolly cushions for insulation along with the 3mm plastic and some plates to cover it up.

  Jeg har allerede valgt min Parkett gulv - og dette er en annen dilemma! (Som skal diskuteres senere). Anyways, virker det som jeg vil ha min etasje ved starten av neste uke!

   I have already chosen my parkett floors - and this is another dilemma! (to be discussed later). Anyways, it seems like I will have my floor by the start of next week!!!

Og hva nå?

Jeg har tatt ut både av stinkende tepper, fysisk ut av huset og allerede nå kan man lukte forskjell. Jeg er så fornøyd! Men jeg har stått med dette klump av papp og lim og skitt og møkk. Jeg prøvde å leie ut et teppe fjerne maskin, men når jeg prøvde å starte den igjen hjemme det skjedde med brukket. Og hva nå? Jeg spurte butikksjefen. "Gjør det for hånd", svarte ham. Jeg forlot butikken med hodet ned. Dette er hva jeg står overfor:
I have taken out both of the stinky carpets, physically out of the house and already now can one smell a difference. I am so pleased! However, I have been left with this clump of cardboard and glue and dirt and filth. I tried to rent out a carpet removing machine but when I tried to start it back at home it happened to broken. And now what? I asked the store manager. "Do it by hand" he replied. I left the store with my head down. This is what I am facing:

men det er ikke bare dette, det er halvparten av rommet dekket i denne. Det som jeg ikke forstår er hvorfor, når jeg tok teppet ut fra den fremre delen av stuen, det fastet ikke seg til gulvet så ille som den andre sia? Dette er før og etter bildet:
but it is not only this, it is half of the room covered in this. What I don't understand is why, when I took out the carpet from the front part of the living room it did not stick to the floor as bad as the second part.  This is the before and after picture:
 

Den grå skygge på baksiden av rommet er der teppet virkelig fast i gulvet, og det som er igjen er det flere lag med papp. Jeg må fjerne den for hånd, men jeg vet ikke hvordan de kan gjøres uten å gå gjennom så mye vondt på ryggen.

The grey shade on the back of the room is where the carpet really stuck to the floor and what is left is the multiple layers of cardboard. I have to remove it by hand, but I don't know how to without having to break my back.

Her er et bilde tat fra den andre side:

this is a picture taken from the opposite side:



Til slutt tenker jeg om grunner til at jeg gjør dette og ønsket om å fortsette kommer tilbake. Jeg gjør det for at litt av solskinn i livet mitt har et fint og sunt sted å bo i. Etter en slitsom ettermiddag fjerning tepper, jeg kommet hjem til dette: 

In the end I think about the reasons why I am doing this and the desire to continue comes back.  I am doing it for that little bit of sunshine in my life, so she can actually have a decent and healthy place to live in.  After an exhausting afternoon removing he carpets, I came home to this: