Punching through the wall

 Sunday, May 1:

I decided to do one final stress test on the upper-wall-plate using my 3.5-ton car jack and a sturdy 4x4 post.  The top-plate (below) needs to be braced before I remove the remaining support structures.  And once the new framing goes in, I intend to fix a slight sag in the top-plate.



Above and below:  While jacking the plate upward, I wanted to make sure not to deflect the new Tea Room floor. Even though it is super-strong, the joists could deflect downward from the tremendous pressure.  Therefore, I went down to the dining room (see below) and rigged temporary post directly beneath the jack.  This gives me an extremely rigid base to support the jack – essentially, the tile floor and slab.




The temporary post under the floor under the jack.

 

Breakthrough:  I removed the jack and punched this small hole through the stucco with my framing hammer. I need to take out enough stucco in this area to get a temporary support beam through the wall.



Anne says this looks like Beirut.  A shell hole, mortar round, or something. Why is it always Beirut?  Why not Libya, or Gaza?

Anyway, the "shell hole" came about when I really started flailing on the stucco with a sledge hammer. I then went outside to see where the debris was going – and unfortunately, stucco chunks were flying into the neighbor's side yard.  After apologizing and picking up the chunks of stucco, I decided I better switch gears and build the outside scaffold – along with a barrier – before pounding out any more stucco.



 

An outside view of the "shell hole."  The reinforcing-steel stucco netting is holding some of the masonry chunks in place.



Using the lumber I had on hand, I began constructing a scaffold on the outside. I figured it would be much more economical for me to build a custom wood scaffold rather than rent scaffolding for the time I'll need it to be here.  (I cannot do the final stucco around the new window until the inspector comes back out to view all the framing and rough wiring, so this scaffold may be here for six to eight weeks.) 

Anyway, I can always reuse the scaffold wood on other projects. I'm putting it together using 3" screws rather than nails so that it will be easier for me to disassemble and reuse.