We FINISH Rebuilding our Collapsing LIMESTONE Wall

It’s taken nearly 2-years, but we finally did it: we finished rebuilding every single limestone wall.

And the last push was not an easy one.

A lot happened in the two months it took to finish this wall. It started with the single largest demolition that we have ever worked on, with less people than normal and on a loose deadline. Alyson was scheduled to enter her first Slovene class in September, which while an exciting step in assimilation, meant that our working hours had just been cut by a third. While we were looking forward to our vacation, it pushed an already long build out even longer. And then, while digging the giant hole for the concrete foundation, Alyson pinched a nerve in her lower back, which not only sent her to the emergency room, it also took her out of commission for a whole month. That didn’t help the timeline. And finally, the weather. Autumn came in with a swing, bringing freezing temperatures the first week of October. The days got shorter, limiting working time even further, and finding nice days to work with daylight became a challenge, forcing us to work in less than ideal conditions near the end. All of that led this to be the single longest build we have ever done.

But despite the challenges, from a construction stand-point, it was much like any other.

We started with demolition. Luka doesn’t normally like anyone in his space while he works, so this is normally a Luka-only job. But because of the sheer size of the wall, Alyson had to jump in and help. Our volunteer at the time, Magda, was in charge of stacking rocks off camera. The pile she stacked was nearly as tall as she was, and she handled it like a champion.

After framing, we finally got to do the concrete, and connect the rebar on either sides of the foundation. This meant that the entire foundation of the house was finally connected, and solid. We toasted champagne that night.

The concrete pour, much like the rest of this section, was a massive undertaking. Magda had gone home, and without a volunteer and with Alyson recovering from her back injury, it meant that we didn’t have enough people to safely hand pour the foundation. Luka had to call in reinforcements from his coworkers, Milka and Jaka who came out for 3-hours in the heat to save our butts.

And after that, it was nearly a month of building. Rock after rock, mortar barrel after mortar barrel, inch by inch, the wall grew.

Around the floor level, we introduced our reclaimed bricks.

We bought 600 reclaimed bricks for €150. They came from a house, similar in age to ours a few towns over being renovated. They were all hand made, meaning each one was unique, and very old, which fit right into the time period of the wall. We don’t normally like using so much brick, but at this point in the build, our supplies of bricks were running low, and we needed something to supplement. 200-year old brick seemed like the way to go.

The final challenge with this build was the brace removal.

Even though the actual concrete foundation was only around 2-meters long, the top build was closer to 4-meters. This was because the tops of the other two wall segments had been left open to make the tie-in to this wall easier. This meant we had four to five braces holding the ivy-damaged beam up. We started building up the beam from the left to right, because the left side had the least damage, and could easily take the weight. The right side was tricky, because we needed to remove the braces to remove the damage and treat the wood, without the beam snapping. It was high pressure, but as usual, nothing ever moved or even creaked.

Overall, it was another successful build that we are so proud of. Driving up to the house every day now is a pleasure, being greeted by the hardest thing we have ever done, and we couldn’t be more proud.

A few thank you’s for this build.

Ladi Bajde for everything he does.
Jakob and Milka for saving our booties on concrete. We truly couldn’t have done it without you.
Magdalena for being the greatest assistant.
Éanna O' Loughlin for being the best rock buddy!
Cynthia the Cat for being the best mascot and onsite companion.

Hvala lepa Ladi, Jaka, Milka in Cynthia!
Děkuju, Magda!
Go raibh maith agat Éanna!

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CHAPTERS:
Introduction: 00:00 - 00:47
Demolition: 00:48 - 02:14
Excavation: 02:15 - 02:59
Concrete Foundation: 03:00 - 04:21
Limestone Wall Construction Part I: 04:22 - 07:24
Lime Mortar and BASE CAMP Dust Masks: 07:25 - 09:24
Limestone Wall Construction Part II: 09:25 - 16:42
Perimeter Drain Part I: 16:43 - 19:27
Limestone Wall Construction Part III: 19:28 - 25:52
Perimeter Drain Part II: 25:53 - 28:08
Final Reveal: 28:09 - 29:41
Credits: 29:42 - 30:03