Like you may remember, approximately half of our downstairs (60 / 120 m2) is in use, consisting Pekka's man cave, sauna, bathroom, laundry room and the lounge to be. The other half underground is basically a crawlspace just hosting for example heating and sewer tubing etc. As we seem to be in chronic shortage of storage space for diving gear, tools and other necessary nicknacks, we want to convert this unused space to a large and smartly organized storage area.
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| Sliced concrete |
The first opening to enter the underground space was done last fall, followed by a sweaty and dusty weekend during which a group of dear friends helped us to empty the first room filled with rocks and construction junk. Now with the appearance of the second opening to the next room we can start clearing the second space from any unwanted material.
Our goal is to complete the "dirty work" before the downstairs lounge will be finalized, as all the underground junk has to be carried with wheel barrels through the lounge area. Now it can be done without needing to protect the floor and walls, as none of the surfaces are finished yet.
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| Two openings to the underground world |
It took two and a half professional working hours to slice through the concrete with a diamond blade. Yes, like always we did warn our neighbors beforehand, as the sound of the diamond blade resonates through one apartment to another very well, and might not be the most pleasant sound to wake up for on a random Friday morning.
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| Before & After |
The effectiveness how a diamond blade cuts concrete is amazing - one could almost compare it to a table knife cutting through soft butter. The concrete is not steel reinforced as can be seen in the picture below, but rather has stones and sand mixed in with the blend.
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| Sliced concrete |
So what treasures lie behind the opening? Well, the most exciting aspect is the amount of junk. The second space is actually a bit larger than the first one (both combined about 45 m2), but fortunately is not nearly as full as the first one was. This time there are no large pieces of rock from the construction phase blasting work in the sixties, but rather some old construction materials such as tubing, insulation, wood and bricks, and some organic matter which once grew on top of the solid rock our apartment was built on.
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| The second room |
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| Tubing |
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| Bricks |
But as always, there is of course a "BUT" in all of it. This time it is large and solid, and inconveniently located in the first room passageway: a huge rock formation exceeding the level of the future concrete floor. Urho, the smarty assistant, is kindly indicating the piece of rock which needs to be removed before we can start emptying the second room (photo below). Otherwise the ride for a wheel barrow might be a bit more than bumpy.
So if you are now thinking of expansive mortar - yes, you would be absolutely correct.
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| May I just point out one thing: you guys are nuts! |
Hämmentävää. Onko teille koskaan selvinnyt, miksi nuo kalliot on tuonne aikanaan jätetty?
ReplyDeleteRespect!
TÄYSIN samaa mieltä tuon "hämmentävää" kommentin kanssa! Jos minulle olisi viisi vuotta sitten kerrottu että päädyn osaksi louhintaoperaatiota espoolaisen rivitalon maanalaisessa tilassa, niin olisin pitänyt väitettä täysin kahjona. Mutta tässä sitä vaan ollaan. Hämmentävää :-)
DeleteJa siis kallion louhinta on kallista - koska tilaa ei alunperin tarkoitettu hyötykäyttöön, niin poistolle ei ollut mitään sen kummempaa syystä. Ja samalla oli kätevää jättää iso läjä rakennusjätettä umpeen muurattuun tilaan myöhempien polvien ihmeteltäväksi :-)
t. Minna