Home / Bondurant Library / Restoration / Phase 1: Stabilizing the Building
The first goal of the Bondurant Library Restoration Committee is to "stabilize the building and protect it from further deterioration". Phase 1 - STABILIZING THE BUILDING - was accomplished in the late fall of 2010.
Thanks to numerous professionals offering their assistance, thanks to the generosity of over 50 families and individuals hailing from thirteen different states and overseas, and thanks to a large contribution from the BCC, the Bondurant Library Restoration Committee began the first and most important work of any restoration project.
Working from the ground up, every building needs a solid base. At the Bondurant Library this entailed moving the building out of the way, then creating the new footer and foundation and new sills, replacing rotted sill logs, and placing the building onto its new solid base.
Here's how it was done:
Friday, September 17, 2010. Paul Kipp, Keith Jirard and Geoff Wells of Pinedale's K & G House Moving had studied the building's interior and delivered their custom steel beams the previous Wednesday, left and above right. Now they began the important work of "jacking up" the building.
The existing crumbling foundation blocks were casually knocked aside. It was business as usual until an eruption of mice burst from beneath the building. With yelps and squeaks, men and mice (and one small grey cat) scattered in all directions.
The mice had been nesting in the cells of the old blocks - that particular scenario won't be repeated.
After the men caught their breath they maneuvered beams into place at critical points beneath the building. Two parallel beams would support the building on its short journey: one beam lengthwise beneath the two front rooms and one beam beneath the pie room.
Sliding the beams beneath the building had its trials. Because the building had sunk so far into the earth trenches had to be dug by hand on either end to accommodate the beams. From the side of the Library nearest Eric's fence, a backhoe gradually pushed the beam under the building, and on the other side Geoff guided the leading end of the beam with a chain and a lot of elbow grease, left.
As the beam ground its way along under the building mounds of soil accumulated ahead of it, slowing its progress.
Right, Keith shovels a path for the beam while Geoff, Paul, and Mill Iron's Clint Gridley look on.
When the beam neared the end of its path Geoff warned bystanders to stand clear as the beam might kick up when it came free. The end of the beam slogged into view and he cleared the soil away.
Meanwhile the BCC ladies worked diligently in the Church kitchen. Gloria, Margy, Martha, Mary Ruth and Pat took turns washing, coring, slicing and cooking apples for the next day's Fall Festival. Left, Mary Ruth mills apples the old-fashioned way.
Back outside the work continued. When the two beams were finally in place the men worked hydraulic jacks beneath each beam end and jacked each in succession. As the building rose they slid blocks beneath it to support it until the whole building was elevated, balanced on the two beams.
Right, you can see the beam supporting the pie room, and blocks beneath the structure. You also see four sets of very heavy steel rollers - the crew will employ those in a minute.
Throughout the planning process everyone had been very concerned about the Library's floor. We knew that it was possible that the joists could have been resting directly on wet soil, hidden from view and quietly rotting away all these years. Would the floor be sound or would it stay behind in moldy pieces in the dirt as the building rose?
To our immense relief, the floor was sound and its joists were still connected to the lower logs. Paul pointed out one section of joists at the front left corner (nearest the church) which was a little sloppy, but it all held together! If our first lucky break came in the generosity of caring contributors, then our second lucky break was a solid floor.
Now Paul's crew slowly jacked and blocked the beams until they could slide a second set of long beams beneath and perpendicular to the first set. They placed sets of steel rollers at each junction. Left, Keith checks the placement of the second set of beams.
When the upper set of beams was resting on the rollers atop the lower set, they chained the beams together, then ran a chain from the forward beam to the backhoe. Then Keith hopped in the backhoe and Paul directed him as they slid the building on its rollers like a train on rails, towing it about 50' toward the road. Margy approves, right.
K & G then installed blocks beneath the upper beams and slid the long beams out from underneath, clearing the way for step two.
Attendees at the Fall Festival on Saturday, September 18 saw the building up on its blocks. And the remains of the building's footprint were a marvel to see, though not a pretty sight. Impressions of the joists were visible in the soil where they had lain for so long, leaving patterns and shards of wood and sawdust behind. The building was salvaged just in time - this was our third lucky break!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010. Blaine Erickson of Ridgeline Excavation set to work excavating for the new foundation.
He stopped as soon as he hit groundwater and everyone gathered 'round to consider. Although we had anticipated that conducting this work in the autumn would ensure the lowest groundwater conditions possible, no one was much surprised at the water level. While we awaited the arrival of the final decision-maker (John Walker of Mill Iron Timberworks, the project's General Contractor) Blaine dipped up one more shovel of soil, and water began to fill the hole immediately. He dropped the soil back in and tamped it firmly.
Soon John and Rick arrived and together the team established the bottom-of-footer elevation. Once that grade was established the excavation proceeded rapidly. Whereas it's OK to install concrete upon moist soil, you don't want your forms and your pour to be submerged. And the worst-case solution, "de-watering" or pumping the water out, is too expensive for this job.
Above right, see the finished excavation after some rain. The excavated area encompasses the building's new footprint plus up to three feet elbow room around the perimeter.
By Tuesday, September 28, 2010, Rock Coca and the crew of Coca Construction had made great headway in building forms for the new footer. Rock opted to widen to footer to 20" wide for a more stable base.
Rock also installed a thick copper cable beneath the footer on the east side of the pie room footer, to "ground" stray electricity. You can see the spool of cable if you look closely, in the lower left of the photo, left.
The crew formed the perimeter footer and added intermediate footers to support "pony walls": one beneath the pie room wall, and one parallel to the length of the two front rooms. Those two central "pony walls" will support the interior log wall and the longest joist span. The pony walls will be framed of 2xs, to allow unimpeded access throughout the building's underbelly for electricians and other tradesman.
By Thursday, September 30, 2010, the concrete had been poured and the footers were completed. Workmen immediately began building forms for the foundation wall. Among the details they included were slots where the building mover's beams will slide down. These slots were sized so that they will eventually house the foundation vents - very clever.
To discourage rodents from taking up residence beneath the porch, these two men are forming a full foundation wall under the porch's perimeter, above right.
Here is the completed footer and foundation. Solid as a rock.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010. At that evening's BCC meeting Kathy cooked hamburgers on the grill outside while everyone admired the completed concrete footer and foundation walls.
Right, Mill Iron Timberwork's Rick Freisen and Mike McNeil confer near the new porch.
BCC members offered humorous suggestions for a diving board into the new community swimming pool, but Rick and Mike assured those present that the groundwater came as no surprise and that it will not in any way affect the building's stability. In fact, Dennis Johnson added, the moisture will slow the curing of the concrete and result in a stronger material.
A backfill of soil will cover the water and a layer of heavy visqueen sheets will decrease humidity in the shallow crawlspace.
Friday, October 8, 2010. By the end of the week Blaine had backfilled the foundation perimeter and filled in the crawlspace with soil to the tops of the footers. And literally before we knew it, Paul Kipp's men had rolled the building back into place. They came and went unseen, like ninjas. That's why there are no photos of the operation.
They left the building suspended on blocks, directly over the new foundation, so carpentry work could be carried out beneath.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010. Clint Gridley and Ethan Ferrell of Mill Iron Timberworks, the project's General Contractor, worked to replace the rotted logs. Not coincidentally, the worst rot is apparent in those places where water had pooled and done the most damage.
Common sense says: logs are stacked from the bottom up. But in this case Clint and Ethan stabilized the upper tiers with blocks and straps, then knocked the rotted logs out at the bottom. They then replaced the logs in their entirety or, at the back side of the building, spliced a new log into solid material.
The log ends were kerfed, left, so they fit snugly onto the rounded logs below and above. Then the new logs were spiked into place from the bottom up. The replacement logs match in material, length and width the existing logs.
Clint also shored up some of the floor joists with new 2xs, sandwiching existing joists between new boards, right. He spent a lot of time in those days crawling beneath the building, and reported one small grey cat but no mice.
Thursday, October 14, 2010. Because the building corners are "saddle-notched" and overlapping, each course of logs is offset a half-log in height from the courses on the adjacent walls. Yet the top of the foundation is level. What to do?
While building the sill plates, Clint stacked layers of dimensioned lumber to make up the different in height. Then he scribed and kerfed the corners and shaved the bottoms of the new logs to create a snug fit. All this work was done with the matching layers suspended nearly two feet apart, left.
A note about sill plates if anyone is interested: The plate in contact with the concrete is pressure-treated, a process in which chemicals for rot- and insect-resistance are injected under pressure into the wood. The process turns the wood green-grey (or brownish, depending on the chemicals used) leaving tracks that look like the marks of staples. The pressure-treated wood protects the other wood (logs or framing or additional plates) from contact with the potentially cold and damp concrete. A piece of thin foam can also be used to fill any tiny gaps between the bottom plate and the concrete.
Friday, October 15, 2010. It was a very chilly morning but ninjas Paul, Keith and Geoff arrived early. They jacked the building on each side in turn, gradually lowering it as they removed one set of blocks after another.
Bill Saunders came by to watch and to visit with Paul, an old friend. Bill agreed that the whole process was really pretty cool, and he appreciates all the clear space we now have between the back door and the picnic shelter. Bill had initiated the idea of moving the building away from the shelter, and it proved to be a good one.
If one is tempted to think that this wasn't hard work, think again! Geoff and Keith poured all their strength into operating the jacks, sometimes jumping to put their full weight on the bar, hanging on with their feet off the ground and riding the bar down to the ground. Geoff offered to let me take a turn so I "wouldn't miss a thing", but I declined. I would have dangled over the bar, as ineffectual as laundry on a clothesline.
Keith ventured beneath the building several times to check its progress. It was a chilling sight but Paul and Geoff knew where he was at all times so as not to drop the building on his spine.
Inch by inch, the building came down onto its new foundation. Every kerf and channel and slot that Clint had prepared fit precisely over the new sills, left - and every log fit perfectly into its new home. Until the very last one inch at the right front corner, where a rim joist caught by 1/4" on the lip of the new foundation.
Paul said, "If I had a saw I'd do it, but John [Walker] can put a saw to it and angle off that 1/4" and it will slip right into place."
And with that, K&G House Moving packed its bars and jacks and blocks and beams, and headed to its next gig in Idaho.
Monday, October 18, 2010. As you can see from the picture, right, it really is a crawl space. Ethan (left) and Clint moved carefully to keep from bashing their heads on the joists above.
Just to the right of Ethan, you can see the jack they applied to the underside of the joists to level the floor.
Behind Clint is the joist which hung up on the foundation the other day. He had already trimmed it and the building immediately slid down the last 1-1/2".
They were now taking measurements in preparation for constructing the "pony walls" that will permanently support the joists. This will require care, because the floor joists are of varying dimensions and therefore are not level across the bottom. The top plate of the pony wall will have to accommodate the dimensions of the joists while keeping the floor level. But when they are finished that floor will be solid.
This morning they had already installed the pressure-treated sill plate on top of the concrete footer, above right. The plate here serves the same function that it does on the perimeter foundation wall, separating untreated lumber from the concrete.
The pony walls will be framed of 2xs, the same way you'd frame an interior stud wall. This method saves money by reducing concrete; it also allows flexibility in determining the wall height, and it allows tradesmen to access the entire volume beneath the floor by traveling between the studs. And it lets you get away with only one access point.
Clint framed a tidy access port in the pie room floor, above left. Its cover will fit snugly and you won't know it's there until you need to get under the building for some reason. Heaven forbid.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010. Behold the finished pony walls. Right, this view is looking into the crawlspace from the foundation vent knockout below the front left window, showing a close-up of the wall beneath the second room. You can also see the other pony wall beyond, where it supports the structural log wall directly above it (between the second room and the pie room).
The wall consists of a vertical support beneath each joist.
Here is the view from the vent under the main room window on Eric's side, looking clear through to the other side following the wall the length of the two front rooms. Far on the other side you can see where the joists - and consequently the top plate - step up.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010. The notorious log, second up from the bottom on the left front side, was solid in its core but rotted on its face. Mill Iron Timberworks agreed to repair it in exchange for the bottom sill log on Eric's side - which they had included in their bid price but which proved to be sound. So the Library gets a face-lift at no extra cost.
Clint worked in the snow and very cold to repair the log.
First he tore off the rotted material, which was easy. Then he chain-sawed more material. Finally, he used a grinder (photo, right) to remove all rotted wood and create a relatively consistent and smooth face.
Clint was not alone. The Small Grey Cat provided moral support, below.
Meanwhile, Clint ripped the replacement log in half, then created cardboard templates for both ends of the log. Even though it's essentially a veneer, the log face must fit correctly on its ends to appear as a full log complete with saddle notches, and to protect the inner material from moisture.
The final log fit snugly into its place, with both ends curfed to match and ground to fit. See a photo of the finished work, below.
Nice work from Mill Iron, again!
Ridgeline Excavation returned to finish the rough grading.
Some settling had occurred so Blaine added more material around the base of the new foundation - to be sure water runs AWAY not toward the foundation. As requested, he brought rough grades up to within 4" of finished grade, so we can add 4" of topsoil without getting earth too close to the sills. The soil they placed doesn't appear to be too rocky - how they accomplished that must be a miracle.
Then they deposited the excess rocks and soils around the back and side of the BBQ Mountain. They did a good job, it will help ease the steep slopes and maybe some grass will grow there now.
Liv will come back soon to remove the debris pile.
Monday, November 1, 2010. Mill Iron Timberworks reported that they had completed the foundation vents:
This required mortaring in one of the Library's old concrete masonry unit (CMU) blocks to fill in the bottom half of each slot (the slots, you may recall, accommodated the beams to lower the building into place).
Then Rick installed the foundation vents. The vents are designed to be self-supporting, so they open and close in response to temperature in the crawlspace. They will open to provide circulation in the summer, and close to retain heat in the winter. So we won't have to remember to crawl down in there twice a year and do it. Thank you, Technology!
Also, they lined the crawlspace with a heavy plastic vapor barrier. We know the ground is "damp" but this should help.
Friday, November 5, 2010. At 9:00 a.m. Blaine Erickson and Liv Dalebout of Ridgeline Excavation rendezvoused at the Library. Blaine arrived towing a "Mini Excavator" and Liv soon arrived in a shiny dumptruck.
Liv had offered Ridgeline Excavation's services, for a fraction of his work's value, to transport earthwork materials provided gratis by WyDOT and the Forest Service; loading to be accomplished at no charge by employees and equipment of Oftedahl Construction.
"It takes a village..." All together these individuals contributed workmanship and materials to the tune of over $1,000 savings to the Bondurant Library restoration project. When you see them, say Thank you! We couldn't have done it without them...
Liv's dumptruck was clean and tidy inside, and HIGH up in the air - we were looking down into the cabs of the semi side-dumps. It was like being inside a low-flying airplane.
Liv casually piloted us down the highway to WyDOT's gravel pit at North Fisherman Creek where we pulled in next to the WyDOT representative, who had been sent by WyDOT's resident engineer, Bob Maxam, to meet us. Thank you, Bob, for arranging the material and orchestrating the loading!
WyDOT's orange pickup led us to the north pit where a loader operated by Oftedahl poured a bucket full of 3/4 crushed gravel into the dumptruck - when the gravel landed the truck rocked like a ship on the high seas. We stabilized, then soared back down the highway.
Back at the Library Liv unloaded the gravel in two heaps: half went in the driveway to fill in some low spots (this extra volume of material was a pleasant surprise). The remaining two yards was placed near the back of the Library, photo above right, to provide dry footing out the back door. Liv instructed Blaine to go ahead and spread and level the gravel between the building and the picnic shed while we went to fetch topsoil...
The stockpile was held at Oftedahl's temporary staging area - the Guard Station grounds near Jack Creek bridge. The "topsoil" is material that had been scraped off the land in preparation for WyDOT's widened highway project this summer; however it was now under the control of the U.S. Forest Service. Kurt Davis, Big Piney District Ranger, gave his permission for us to use the material at the Library. Thank you, Kurt!
Our WyDOT representative was again on hand to offer instructions to Oftedahl while we examined the stockpile. The material was not screened of chunks but it was relatively rock-free - which is more than can be said for the excavated material on the Library site near the river!
At Liv's request the loader stirred the pile up a bit, then loaded up ten cubic yards, above left.
Back at the site Liv emptied the topsoil at the side the Library, above right - it was the only space available for a pile that large. Then they used the mini-ex to load the concrete debris into the now-empty truckbed, left.
Soon the site was clean, and that marked the completion of the Stabilization contract under Mill Iron Timberworks. The pay application would be released that afternoon.
Ridgeline Excavation loaded their equipment and trundled off to their next job. Thank you, Ridgeline Excavation, Liv and Blaine!
Friday, November 5. That very afternoon Rick Collard came by to stain and seal the new logs.
If the logs had been left as they were - peeled yet untreated - they would have greyed over the winter. The stain would protect them from UV rays and moisture, so they can be re-stained with the rest of the building when the time comes.
Rick used the stain and brushes provided by Irene Brinkerhoff, and he carefully treated all the exposed new wood. Thank you, Irene and Rick!
Meanwhile, Bob Barr had motored down the highway in his "Bob"Cat.
Bob worked to place the gravel in three depressions in the driveway, left, which will make for smoother going next summer. We weren't expecting to receive enough gravel for the driveway so made some quick decisions. More low spots are evident, but Bob treated the big ones.
He also distributed the topsoil into piles around the Library, so they could be spread with ease the next day. We also placed some old cinderblocks against each foundation vent to prevent rocks from damaging the screen or soil from blocking the mechanism.
We couldn't have managed the next days's hand work if Bob hadn't staged the soil for us. But now, we were ready. Thank you, Bob!
Saturday, November 6. Thirteen hardy souls arrived bearing shovels, rakes, cookies, coffee mugs and, in one instance, a pet cat in its carrier. Everyone set to work with good cheer.
The task was to create a bed for lawn seed, so that the completed lawn would be easy to walk over and to mow. So the soil had to be raked reasonably smooth, and any clods and rocks larger than 2" removed. Finally, the new finished grade should drain away from the building.
"No problem!", they said.
The front and north sides of the Library seemed to work out the best, which is good news for these most highly-visible areas. Kathy, LuAnne, Joy and Dennis devoted themselves to perfecting this area, photo right. The intrepid souls buffed the material to a nice grade sloping away from the new foundation. The un-rakable clods were wheelbarrowed to the backside of Barbeque Mountain, where they help to ease those steep rocky slopes.
The concrete blocks against the foundation protected the new crawlspace vents from being damaged by rocks or dirt clods. They will be replaced in the springtime with something nicer to look at.
Meanwhile, on the back side, things were tougher. Here the stockpile had been dumped, and so the wet soil had clumped and compacted at the bottom of the pile, below left. As the morning wore on the material was determinedly shoveled and raked; still we were never able to reach down to the original sod grade below.
Tam determined to use the "Bob"Cat to back-drag the worst of the pile but that's when he discovered that the 'cat's battery was dead. Bob came down with jumper cables and then went to work, distributing the clods so that we could continue working the area.
Finally, most of the clumps were eventually worked out or removed to Barbeque Mountain.
The tire tracks in the existing sod were raked out and they should be invisible come springtime.
Overall very few rocks were encountered, and eventually even the roughest spot became an acceptable seed bed, right.
It was a good and productive day, spent with good neighbors. What a team! Volunteers included (alphabetically):
The crew rewarded themselves with an artistic photo creation, which we've modestly entitled Bondurant Gothic.
Keeping a straight face was the hardest part of the day's work for those pictured.
Left to right: Bob, Arlene, Dennis, LuAnne, Joy, Rick, Tam, Margy.
Not shown: Shawn and Gracie and Banks who had to go to a basketball game; Kathy who had to get back to moving; and Pat who was behind the camera.
With a flourish, Dennis produced an envelope of fresh Wildflower Seed from his pocket - the packets of seed had been donated to the Wyoming Episcopal Diocese for each parish. Dennis distributed St. Hubert's seeds beneath the front right window of the Library, and then constructed a fortress of cinderblocks to protect the seedlings from mowing and trampling come springtime.
The next day, Sunday, Pat returned to the site and sowed the Grass Seed provided by Irene Brinkerhoff.
We also have fertilizer, provided by Kathy Harvey. That material will be placed as soon as St. Hubert the Cat is at her new home and is no longer in danger of ingesting the chemicals...
The small gray cat had been a friendly helper to every crew throughout the process, from the building movers to the excavators. For example, this photo was taken on the day Clint replaced the second log.
Blaine Erickson of Ridgeline Excavation was inspired to name her St. Hubert the Hunter, as he watched her catch and devour a huge mouse.
Eric Schnider had been providing foster care for the youngster since she appeared on his doorstep this fall - thank you, Eric! - and he will pack up her food and litter box and other accouterments for Hubert's trip to her new home on Thursday. The sweet creature has been adopted by an individual who met her on the job site and immediately loved her.
Update November 12, 2010:
The newly christened "Huey" - her name has been shortened in keeping with her diminutive self - had a visit to the vet today in the company of her new person. She is now known to be between one and two years old. She received medicine for her weepy eye and plenty of immunization shots, and overall a clean bill of health! St. Hubert - the person - had indeed watched over his namesake.
What a perfect ending to this year's Library project!
Countless individuals and companies contributed to the success of the project. Their generosity made the project a reality and it wouldn't have happened without them.
Thank You!
Work will continue to make the Library a viable, beautiful, and useful part of our community.
For more information, contact a Committee member.
This page last updated on November 12, 2010. Submit any comments or changes to the webmaster.