Waterproofing / Termite Pretreat / Floor Slab and Wall Braces

It's manual labor time...

WATERPROOFING
We (mostly Jeff) spent the weekend preparing and waterproofing the lower basement walls.  First, all the cracks and holes had to be sealed with spray foam, then Jeff sprayed the waterproofing material all over the footers and walls.  Luckly, the process was easier than anticipated and Jeff was still able to spend some quality time with his folks who happened to be in town visiting for Chase's birthday!

Next, the footing drain tile was installed around the periphery (the black tube at the base of the structure).  It gets covered with pea gravel before back-fill. 

To get down into the hole (but not inside the structure), there is a small, steep ramp.  We attached a ski rope to the top and use the rope to repel in or help pull ourselves out!  Again, the boys are loving this!

FLOOR SLAB
Before pouring the slab, we hired a company to come out and pretreat for termites.  Rain, rain, go away!  A bit of a rain delay, but a day later they were able to pour the floor slab.

WALL BRACES
It was decided that wall braces were a good idea to install during back-fill since a floor membrane structure was not in place.  Interestingly though, nobody wanted to take responsibility for this.  We quickly learned that when it comes to a liability issue, nobody wants it.  The backfill guys said it was the wall guys responsiblity, and the wall guys said it was the backfillers responsibility.  My structural engineer said he wasn't responsible for doing the calculations.  After all the finger pointing and trying to negotiatie, I just did it myself.  Darn lawyers make things so difficult!  Funny thing is, the walls are so stout that we probably didn't even need the braces.