By June of 2006 all structural issues have been addressed. The electicial, plumbing, and mechanical contractors have been chomping at the bit to get started and are poisted to let loose on the house. These pictures were taken on June 13, 2006 and as we can see, framing has begin in all areas of the house.
The first three months of 2006 were more difficult that expected with labor issues and a few work stoppages, but the project is back on track. Here are some pictures from March 26, 2006 showing the progress that has been made:
In January 2006 we continued the structural work by removing and replacing the joists and flooring on the upper floors. Unfortunately, it was quickly determined that much more of the wood was damaged than we originally though. At the time these pictures were taken (January 24, 2006), most of the flooring was removed from the west half of the house and was awaiting new structural joists and subflooring.
For those who have spent any time in 3914 Spruce over the past 25 years knows that the rear firetower was “precarious” at best. Being one of the largest life safety issues and the most significant violations the house was bestowed, it naturally became our first major undertaking. Engineers were called in to do structural assessments, soil borings were taken, and observation trenches were dug to determine the best course of action.
The problem was basically that the tower, which was built in the 1960’s, was given a very poor foundation and over the years had settled away from the main structure. This caused the tower to lean or “spin” away from the house, leaving a significant fissure up the south east corner. Even worse, it seemed to be taking the rear wall of the house with it. It was ultimately determined that the structure itself was sound, even though the foundation was not. Rather than demolish the existing tower, we decided to reinforce the foundation using a pressurized grouting technique.
Here are some pictures of the tower before the work was completed (taken on August 8, 2005):
And here are some pictures after the tower was completed (taken October 29, 2005):
During one of the hottest weeks of the summer of 2005, the new roof was completed making leaks a thing of the past.
We were back in July 2005 to take photos of the completed demolition job. Nostalgia didn’t even begin to describe the emotions felt as we walked through the very empty house. These emotions would soon be replaced by the excitement of the prospect of a newly renovated Pilam.
With many of our financing and city violation issues behind us, a demolition contractor was brought in to do the bulk of the house demolition in the spring of 2005. In one week’s time eight 30 yard dumpsters full of debris were removed from the house… and that was just the beginning.
On Saturday, May 16, 2004, a group of brothers, alumni, and friends gathered at the house to say a final farewell before taking sledge hammers and crow bars to selected areas of the house. This one day of work helped keep demolition costs down for the brother so that more money could be used to rebuild.
One of the first orders of business in any renovation process is the design of the the finished product. To assist us in this task we hired Marvin Overton of MO3 Design, an architect based out of Glenside, PA.
Here are the final plans for the project we would soon begin undertaking:
You may notice how an internal stairwell is being built to allow us to restore the front façade of the house to the way it looked between the late 1920s and the 1960s. Here is a historic photo used in the restoration:
