Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Easy does it with telepost adjustment
Question: We built our house 32 years ago and have never adjusted the teleposts. They are now out by as much as 1.25 inches at the most and three-quarter inches for some. There are five posts to be adjusted. I'm going to get two bottle jacks and four-by-four posts to raise the beam and start the process. I've read that a half turn is two millimetres, and that should be all the adjustment at any time. Two weeks later another adjustment can be made. I was wondering if I should just lower the worst ones until they are all the same distance out, then continue to lower all at the same time until we've reached a level state.
Thanks, John Arnold
Answer: Adjusting teleposts in a basement is a job that can be undertaken by a moderately skilled homeowner, but extreme caution must be exercised to prevent structural damage to the home. You have shown you have done some good research and understand the process, but there are still some flaws in your plans.
The information you have cited relating to amount and rate of adjustment appears to be fairly accurate, but I am concerned about some other comments you made. You state you are going to get a couple of jacks and wood posts to raise the beam before beginning the telepost adjustments. I am troubled by that statement, because raising or jacking a portion of the floor structure is not necessary in most situations and can be quite dangerous. Lifting up a main beam that will have several tonnes of load with a four-by-four post and small jack is not something I would recommend the average weekend warrior attempt. If not done correctly, the jack, wood post or steel telepost could slip or move, potentially injuring anyone standing nearby.
Most teleposts are installed without any significant fasteners to secure them at the top or bottom. They are normally held in place simply by the weight of the floor structure, or possibly small nails at the top plate under the main beam. If the beam is raised too high by jacking, and the load improperly shifted, one or more teleposts could become loose and fall over. It may be difficult to properly replace any of these posts before structural issues arise, unless you have several people helping you at the time of the jacking. While this is an important safety consideration, I also question why you are planning this step altogether.
A telepost is a round, steel cylinders with a threaded rod at the top supported by a steel plate on top of the cylinder. The purpose of the threaded rod is to allow adjustment of the overall height of this simple mechanism. Most teleposts installed in homes your age have opposite flattened sections near the top of this bolt, to allow a wrench to fit around. To lower or raise the bolt, the wrench will simply have to be cranked in one direction or the other. As you have stated, most homes require lowering of the posts. While it may be difficult to manually turn the bolt upon first attempt, once a complete revolution has been achieved, it may be quite easy to continue with minimal exertion. To start the adjustment process, a large hammer or steel pipe and sledgehammer may be all that is required. Hitting the wrench or the extension pipe placed over top of the wrench in the correct direction should provide enough torque to get the threads to move. Spraying the bolt with WD40 or other penetrating oil at least a day before beginning will also help to loosen corrosion and lubricate the threads, making the adjustment even smoother.
As far as lowering the higher posts to the proposed current height of the lower ones, that may also be problematic. While this makes sense in theory, it may not work well in the real world. That's because the laminated wood of the beam, and also the floor joists, are no longer straight or unaltered. The uneven pressure of the teleposts and other loads on top of the floor have likely caused some noticeable bowing in the wood-floor structure. This warping of the wood may have taken years, or decades, to get to the point it is now. This will not be easily reversed in the short period of time you plan between adjustments. If you try to lower the higher posts too much, they may become completely loose, and fall over due to this bowing of the floor structure. This could happen with one or more of the higher teleposts and lead to serious safety issues. For that reason, it is advisable to adjust all the teleposts together. You may be able to do some of the lower posts a quarter turn relative to a half turn for the ones that need more adjustments.
The final thing to address is the overall amount of drop and your measurements. I'm not sure what method you have used to determine the height differential, but don't be alarmed if you have to stop before you reach your measured approximations. You may never be able to return the beam to its original position, so a reasonable amount will suffice. Be careful not to attempt to level the beam, as the house has likely settled and one end may be significantly lower than the other. Straightening the beam is the proper goal, rather than looking for it to be level. Look to the doors on the main floor, and any noticeable floor bumps, to determine when to stop. When the doors are substantially square, or smoother operating, that may be far enough.
Adjusting teleposts is not a difficult job technically, but can cause major problems if done improperly. Ensuring you go as slowly as you are planning will help prevent serious cracks or structural issues but be careful not to expect perfection. Easing the natural upward movement of the floor structure so doors operate better and minimal floor bumps are seen, should be enough for a satisfactory conclusion.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
Renovation & Design
UPROOTING your home & garden
Homebuyers searching for their next property are more likely than ever to purchase a house that also comes with a garden. Attractively developed landscapes add considerable value to the worth of a property.
What if you are selling your home and facing the prospect of leaving your beautiful garden behind? Is it possible to take your favourite plants with you?
Terie Langen, a busy realtor with Re/Max Winnipeg, says that she has yet to meet a gardener in her 20-plus years of residential home selling who does not bring up the question of keeping some favourite plants.
"The multiple listing contract used in Manitoba," explained Langen, "allows for public notification of exclusions to the sale of a home. Generally, it is disclosed up front that some perennials or cuttings will be taken from the yard."
Langen says the garden would be considered a fixture assumed to be part of a homebuyer's purchase. "Disclosure and discretion in quantity removed would be the way to address any favourites," said Langen.
This is good news for gardeners who can't bear to leave behind a magnificent, mature hosta, rare specimen or any plant that has special significance.
What would you dig up and take with you if you were moving away from your garden? I would take my Casa Blanca lilies. And probably a few clumps of my Brunnera macrophylla, too. Of course, I would dig up my Twist 'n Shout lacecap hydrangeas and every one of my dark violet blue Dracocephalum grandiflorum (Dragon's Head).
Yes, I can see where this is going so I will stay where I am. However, for gardeners who, for whatever reason, are contemplating a move, it is indeed possible to take some of your favourite plants with you.
Maurice Larson tends the largest garden in all of Winnipeg. As supervisor of outdoor gardens at Assiniboine Park, Larson has relocated many plants over the years.
"In my experience, plants are very resilient," said Larson who stresses that it is the attention to detail by the gardener both at the time of digging and replanting, and in particular, the aftercare that determines the success of the relocation.
Before Eileen Rosen moved, visitors would stop by her shady River Heights garden and marvel at the collection of plants that she had so carefully assembled and arranged over the years. With the discerning eye of the interior designer that she is, Rosen understands the effective use of colour and texture. When the decision was made to switch from a two-storey home to a bungalow, Rosen readied her wheelbarrow, made her list, confirmed it with her realtor and commenced digging in early spring.
The task was daunting but not only because digging is strenuous work. Rosen's new landscape was nowhere near ready to accept new transplants. The previous owners of her newly purchased property were not gardeners. Instead of a manicured landscape with deep beds awaiting her mature perennials, Rosen's new property was a dense thicket of dead and dying oak trees. And in the centre of it all, one massive cottonwood tree.
In all, close to 20 trees, including the cottonwood, were removed from Rosen's new landscape. Rosen left three oak trees but they became stressed and started dying because the water table had been altered with the removal of so many trees.
To complicate matters, Rosen's next-door neighbour had built up his property significantly and runoff water drained into the side of her yard.
"Basically my yard was like a drainage ditch," admitted Rosen, her great sense of humour intact.
Although she liked the size of the yard and the opportunity to develop a new garden, she knew it was going to be a tremendous amount of work. The rows of pots providing temporary housing to the scores of plants that she brought from her previous garden provided the inspiration she needed to get the job done.
With the tree removal behind her, Rosen called Samborski's Garden Supplies and ordered 35 yards of quality soil.
Rosen pulled out thistles and burdock and then set about preparing her new beds. The first step was to cover the soil with layers of newspapers, overlapping the edges. This practice succeeds in blocking out all light and killing existing weeds. Next she heaped Samborski's five-way soil on top. The thoroughbred yard and garden mix contains no peat moss, only black soil, manure, 2 mm fine sand, compost and Elm Creek Soil, said to be the best sandy loam soil in southern Manitoba.
This is the fourth summer since that momentous move and yet Rosen's new garden has the look of a mature garden at its height of glory. What did she bring with her from her previous garden? She knew from the start that she would not be leaving her catalpa tree behind. When Rosen dug it up four years ago, it was only 1.8-meters tall. Today, dripping with long slender seedpods, it has claimed centre spot in one of the flower beds and has grown past the telephone wires.
Other relocated plants include geranium Rozanne, David phlox, martagon lilies, Red Velvet Asiatic lily, Misty Mauve delphinium, ornamental rhubarb, three Itoh peonies, a simply spectacular meadow rue, monkshood, giant fleece flower, Sum and Substance hosta, Beauty of Cobham monarda and some favourite lilies, Cinnamon Roll and Hyperion.
Of course that's not all. Rosen also dug up grasses including Molinia Skyracer, Panicum Virgatum Heavy Metal and fussy Hakonechloa macra (Japanese forest grass). The latter took two years to adjust to its new site but is now thriving.
Rosen brought along two hydrangeas as well: Incrediball and a lesser known variety, White Dome.
Rosen was very selective with the plants she chose. "You don't know the drainage patterns or the light conditions of a new garden," said Rosen. Keeping your transplants in their pots and moving them to various locations helps you to decide on the perfect spot for planting.
When Darlene Belton moved from her fully developed sun-filled landscape in East Fort Garry to a shady yard in Charleswood last year, she also faced a challenging new landscape, one that consisted mainly of weeds and a few struggling shrubs. Belton was fortunate enough to be able to ready her new beds in the fall prior to taking possession. A permaculture devotee, Belton used the lasagna method, layering organic material (grass clippings and leaves) for a rich organic base.
With full approval of Joan Sikorsky, the new buyer of her Fort Garry property, Belton began dividing plants, taking half of each to her new garden and leaving the other half for Sikorsky. Interestingly, Belton's new shady landscape proved beneficial to many of her plants, including bugbane (Cimicifuga ramose), bergenia and hostas as well as two shrubs, nannyberry and Morden amber dogwood.
Some of Belton's plants were making their second move, having travelled some years ago from Kingston to Winnipeg in the back seat of a car, a trip that took three days in the heat of August. Still, the plants had to wait until the following spring before being replanted and spent the winter in their pots under mounds of leaves and snow cover.
When digging up her plants last spring, Belton dug up as much of the root ball as possible, popped them in pots twice the size of the rootball so as to minimize transplant shock and backfilled with soil from the bed, tamping each plant down securely and watering thoroughly. Today, she is perfectly happy with her new landscape, filled with healthy plant divisions.
Jan Pedersen, sales representative with Bylands Nurseries, once moved three six-year-old Globe blue spruce trees from one garden to the next. Anticipating the size of the root ball, Pedersen chose a 15 gallon container size and dug the trees up by hand.
"You're removing the tree from its main feeding roots because the feeder roots go much beyond what you can dig," said Pedersen who immediately fed each tree, once they were placed in the containers, with a liquid root inducing fertilizer.
Destined for his new garden, the effort was backbreaking but worth it since the evergreens were beautifully shaped and expensive to replace. Pedersen had the permission of the new buyer of the home and left smaller plants in their place. The evergreens were stored over the winter at his parents' place in a protected corner with good snow cover.
Pedersen says he wouldn't move a deciduous tree with a trunk larger than 25 mm in diameter. "It might be wiser to invest in a new tree," said Pedersen who also recommends late September or October is a good time to dig up anything deciduous since there is enough frost to set dormancy.
Larson says anything with a taproot will have a higher level of difficulty to transplant. Balloon flower, asclepia, some of the spurges and poppies have tap roots and can be difficult plants. Potting plants immediately after digging helps to reduce their stress. Larson suggests some root pruning as well as trimming back the plant to reduce the risk of transplant shock.
As bittersweet as it may be to leave a garden, there is the opportunity to relocate prized plants and to create new and exciting combinations. Larson says site preparation is critical for continued success and recommends ensuring transplants are planted into a very well prepared area.
And what plant would Larson never leave behind? Clematis Recta, a fragrant ground clematis with showy white blooms.
Renovation & Design
Crepe expectations
One of Manitoba's most unusual and charming attractions recently underwent an extensive renovation.
The Whytewold Emporium, often referred to as "a little slice of Europe" on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, is now 3,000 square-feet larger due to an initiative by owner Karen Cote and her husband, Jan Cote.
The couple bought the former UDO lumber yard in Whytewold in 2004 with the intention of creating a flower, herb and vegetable business to supplement their retirement incomes.
They erected their first greenhouse in the fall of that year.
"It was operational by the spring of 2005, but our plants were destroyed by excessive rainfall and below normal temperatures," recalls Jan.
Undeterred, the couple decided to enter the restaurant business by renovating the UDO retail store and building "Big Bertha," a stone oven capable of reaching cooking temperatures of 393 C.
Jan said the construction of the wood-fired oven was a mutual effort including Keystone Masonry of Winnipeg and a lot of grunt work by himself and a group of friends.
The specifications were provided by Allan Scott, a mason known worldwide for his efficient and aesthetically stunning brick ovens.
By the spring of 2006, the mammoth cooker was ready to be stoked with cherry or oak hardwood.
"We produced healthy, thin-crust pizza made with 60 per cent whole wheat, low fat mozzarella and a variety of fresh toppings," said Jan, adding the wood-fired pies were an instant hit; gluten-free crusts are available.
Encouraged by the pizza success, Jan and Karen decided to add Brittany-style crepes to their menu.
"My grandparents lived in the towns of Kernoues and Braspart in France," said Jan, adding both towns were known for the diversity and fabulous taste of their crepes.
"We decided to introduce these delicacies to the Interlake in 2006 and our customers devoured them."
The crepe batter is prepared from secret recipes passed down from generation to generation of Cote's family in France.
Since their introduction, the delicate pancakes have become more complex due to the imaginations of cooks hired specifically to create new variations of the old world staple.
One favourite is the Decadent Crepe, a combination of bananas, fresh berries, ice cream, whipped cream and maple syrup, all covered in chocolate sauce.
As the restaurant side of the business began to expand, the greenhouse and garden centre also started to flourish.
The restaurant and other buildings are festooned inside and out with hanging baskets of flowers, a backyard patio with an herb garden where clients can "sit, listen and contemplate life" was added quite recently.
"We use our own fresh-grown herbs in season and our flower and plant sales have really increased," said Jan.
The patio addition and renovation made room for a backyard Traeger smoker grill so the restaurant's menu could be expanded to include baby back ribs, roasted chicken and hot buttered corn.
"We also offer gourmet hamburgers including a reasonably priced six-dollar burger as a thank you to our loyal customers," he said.
By 2009, it became obvious a major renovation and expansion of the business was required to keep up with customer demand.
A year later, Jan began to pour the piles and grade beams to support a two-storey addition to include a new restaurant area, an outdoor screened porch and more cooking space. (The Emporium now has four separate kitchens and 32 full and part-time staff.)
Olympic Builders was hired to build the frame in the winter of 2011. It was covered with a grey metal roof and red metal siding to resemble a gabled barn in keeping with the restaurant's traditional theme. In-floor heating was installed throughout the main level's concrete slab floor.
Jan found several boxes of oak parquet flooring from the 1970s hidden in a storage area once used by UDO lumber.
"The wood was in perfect shape and there was enough to cover the entire 1,500 square-foot upstairs," he said, adding the second floor houses Country Jenny's Antique store.
The store has an eclectic collection of antiques and new, handmade items -- by local or Canadian people -- such as bird houses constructed of recycled licence plates, washable leather goods made from moose, deer and buffalo hides, as well a kid's wood wagon in pristine condition, a ticket cabinet from a former railway station, coal oil lanterns, rail carts and furniture made of oak, mahogany, pine and other woods.
Downstairs there is a glass cabinet featuring jewelry from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Arizona and Italy.
"My wife goes on buying trips to handpick the sterling silver jewelry. Many pieces such as rings, toe rings, bracelets, earrings, anklets, pendants and chains are set with authentic stones from garnet and turquoise to opal and moonstone," said Jan.
Some might think Jan and Karen have enough on their plates between operating The Emporium and working at other jobs. But the indefatigable couple are now renovating the restaurant's original screen porch into a lounge called the Driftwood.
Jan has already constructed a funky bar top of large timbers held together by long bolts that span the width of the distressed top.
"I made the timbers look like old railway ties by staining them dark like creosote," said Jan, adding "Not to worry, unlike creosote the water-based stain is approved for countertops from which people eat or drink."
The Driftwood remains a work in progress with decisions still to be made about furnishings, a colour palette and many other decorative details.
Jan also built an area under the Emporium's original arbour/pergola devoted to "Yard Art," an all encompassing phrase that includes a 36-inch diameter wood-mill ripping blade, coopered whiskey barrels, pieces of driftwood, a selection of car parts, a homemade metal wheelbarrow with a quarter-yard capacity, old-style spoke wagon wheels and, naturally, a display of hanging baskets and half-barrels filled with flowers from the greenhouse.
To keep busy during slow hours, he hand-mixed and poured a multi-cubic-yard concrete base to hold up a handsome new sign that he and Karen commissioned for their renovated business.
"An engineer was required to design and stamp the drawing for the base because there was concern it might blow over in a wind storm," said Jan. "With the amount of concrete and re-bar that went into its construction, I suspect it's over designed, but better safe than sorry."
You might think that Jan and Karen should take a long vacation from the daily hustle of their busy lives. But no, the couple has applied for and received a licence from the government to conduct eco-bird tours of the Netley Marsh area.
"It's a birders' paradise containing untold species from eagles to pelicans," said Jan, who has plans to build a boat launch from which avian lovers could be ferried to and from the marshes.
It would be another offshoot of the little greenhouse that prospered and flourished after an inauspicious start.
Contact www.wwemporium.com or 204-389-4567.
davidsquare81@yahoo.com
