A quick distraction (leaks and building codes)

I'd planned on writing a quick how-to about how to remove baseboard a couple of days ago, but before getting on the computer to write it Danielle and I went ahead and removed the carpet in the last room we're working on. We got a little surprise - moisture along one wall. That's not good.

A quick look outside revealed that the concrete patio and the foundation were originally sort of... attached. Some mortar was used to make a sort of filler between the bottom row of brick on the house and the patio concrete, but there was a hairline crack running along the bottom. I don't know what they were thinking when the built it that way because of course a thin strip of mortar will crack, especially when exposed to rain, cold, and heat over the years.

There are two steps to resolve the problem and make sure it doesn't come back. The first is to eliminate the crack with some masonry sealant. The second part is to cut back on the amount of water in the area when it rains so I installed rain gutters along the roofline. It rained hard again the next day with zero leaks!

But I noticed a second problem, this time in the dining room. Rain was seeping in from somewhere. This leak was a lot harder to find and was coming from a chip in the mortar below a window in a bedroom one floor above. I fixed this one with more masonry sealant. Now we don't have to worry about any water penetration ruining the wood floor! I think both were quite recent - the framing looks perfect and nothing is damaged.

Our other little discovery came this evening when I had earplugs and safety glasses on, chisel and hammer in hand and was getting ready to remove the tiles that make up the hearth extension in front of the fireplace. Our plans were to run the wood flooring all the way to the wall, but at the last second I decided to go make sure if it's required. I found out San Antonio adopted the 2006 International Residential Code not long ago. The code states that for fireplaces 6 square feet or larger (ours is 6.25) a hearth extension of 20 inches is required. So the tile stays for now, until we can find something better to build it out of that both Danielle and I can agree upon. Sometimes that little voice in the back of your mind telling you to check something one last time can really get you out of a lot of trouble!

I've made a bit more progress on the wood flooring prep work. The dining room and entry way lack me trimming some tile that extends past the front door threshold. I plan on doing that with a diamond tipped cutting blade for my angle grinder. Low spots have been identified in both that room and the hallway, along with one small high spot. I still need to scrape old drywall texture off the floor in the living room and check for level tomorrow. We'll be able to do that pretty easily, and I hope to be able to spread some of the leveling compound then as well.

So despite a few setbacks things are still coming along pretty well. More updates coming soon!