The Old Yurt Deck
If you recall, we posted earlier where we were moving the small yurt from the old deck, where it was originally assembled about 10 years ago, to a new platform which was much more stable. That was in the posts:
Now we are ready to do something with the old deck where both yurts were placed. That floor was waterlogged and rotten from weather and needed to be de-constructed!
And it looked so strong and sturdy when it was first finished. However, the I-beams used in the deck were never designed to be wet, so as the floor was not completely waterproofed, they soon started to rot.
One solution we tried was placing jacks under the I-beams. That helped for a while, but was really just a band-aid that put off for a while a major job. The above image clearly shows water damage on the sub-floor.
Obviously, the only real fix was moving the yurts and demolishing the original deck and yurt floors. So now we have started that process after removing both yurts. One was moved to a new home; the other small one we relocated as detailed in the above referenced posts.
So, now you can see the end result after 10 years of weathering. The I-beams are rotten, but the floor is even worse. As we tried to remove the deck layers, we found some of the OSB sheets were sort of like peanut butter, and could be ripped out by handfuls!
We toyed with the idea of renting a waste container for the refuse, but found it too expensive as the transportation distances and associated costs were prohibitive. So after realizing there was plenty of space inside the old foundation, the solution was simple. We place the waste in the hole, and cover it up!
As we removed the ramp, we realized it was still in pretty good shape. At that point, we got the idea to reuse it on the small yurt’s porch. Perhaps we could cut it in two pieces and use each on either side of the porch.
Another issue is the water line for the original yurts. It still runs under the foundation to the center of the larger yurt platform, and needs to be capped off outside the foundation before dismantling of the deck can continue. This is to mitigate the possibility of damage to the pipe under the deck, as this would require shutting off the water until it could be fixed. As this is connected to the main line supply, that would require shutting off all water to everything, including the house. Not good! So, terminating it with a cap is the required next step.
So now we are starting to fill in the foundation with dirt to cover up the rotten wood. It meant constructing ramps to allow the tractor to access the interior of the space to place the dirt. And we will have to acquire more dirt to fill it completely.
After two loads of dirt filled into the foundation, it is only about half covered. The other half is a bit deeper, so will take more dirt, and probably require three to four loads to cap it off nicely.
Well, after four more loads, it is still a bit short of being covered. The far end is deeper than the rest, as dirt was removed to make a root cellar. Perhaps a couple more will be required. And the foundation cinder blocks are still not covered on the outside. So I’m hoping two will complete the job!
It turns out it took three more loads to cover all the sides and fill in the center portion. But, hey! It’s now completed, at least the fill. We still want to rake in some winter wheat to cover up the bare dirt, and smooth the contours a bit. Thank the Lord it is finally just a bump and not an eyesore on the landscape! Praise God!