Green Build - Gut Rehab of a 4 Family Masonry Building
But first I'll give you a little background on the Building
Building History
There were many clues for determining the age of the building.
First Clue was the type of Bricks used. When St Louis hosted the Worlds Fair. The city planners realized that housing was going to be needed for everyone and started building many of the brick homes that are still being utilized all over the city today. It has to do with either the type of clay used to make the bricks or the way they 'fired' the bricks. Either way when you have the type of brick as the ones in this building you have a building using bricks that were made in the Late 1800s or early 1900s.
Lumber: We have found that Douglas Fir was used 80% of the time. True Dimensional Rough Sawn Lumber.
Nails: Hand Made Square various sizes
Plaster and Lathe
Tube and Knob Wiring
Water Cistern / Hand Pump
Gas Lighting
Rock Foundation
and more
Complete Rehabb of a 4 Family Building with Garage and Warehouse
home was built in the late 1800s or early 1900s
- Basement Foundation Rock Foundation Repair
- Hint: If you can see daylight coming thru the mortar cracks as the building did in these pictures (you have problems and need to tuckpoint your rock foundation).
- See other rock foundation repair at Green Blog
- Removing the water damaged deck and back room addition
- Roofing
- Extensive Tuckpointing
- Rebuilding the back room
- Supporting the 2nd Floor and Roof (we used a total of 5 Support Posts in a 6 Foot Area)
- While Digging in the Pier Footings we found an old water tank/cistern that was used to supply water to a kitchen sink in the hand pump days.
- Water Collection for re-use is/was a normal part of everyday living in the days gone past. The water was collected by the buildings eve troughs, gutters, and patio area because:
in the old days-they didn't call it green building- It was called survival.
- Refinishing the Flooring
- Remodel of Kitchen/Bath
- Adding a Laundry Room
- Weather Proofing and more
Stay Tuned for Photos and Details on the
Green Build Four Family Flat- perfect example on why Building Green is not only affordable but can be profitable as well.
