# Double floor?....



## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

ok so now that I have 98% of my house gutted and rebuilt, there was a section of flooring (actually a raised concrete slab for part of the basement). for years I just lived with it and never really gave it any thought about removing it or lowering it. But now I decided to dwell into it. I figured I would remove 4 ft of it to make a room 12 ft long without the step up. So I start busting up the slab, I see it is only about 3.5-4" thick and then dirt. I figured I would remove the concrete and remove dirt, dig down a few more inches below other floor level and fill it up with concrete. well to my surprise there is another concrete floor about the same level as rest give or take a bit. What gives? I know the house was built in the 1800's and I'm sure a lot of changes were made but wonder why they would raise that area? I know its been there since before 1966 as that is when my parents bought the house.....anyone have any ideas


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Bomb shelter, root cellar, storm shelter, treasure vault, family burial vault, underground railroad safe haven, torture chamber, UFO hideout, Jimmy Hoffa. Or possibly someone could read the future and did it just to drive you nuts. I can come up with more if you want.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Maybe they built up that section for a wood-burning stove...? Any signs of a hole for a chimney around...? I can see where they may have made a form, fill with dirt (save money) and then the upper layer of concrete...?

Are there any cracks in the bottom layer of concrete...? Does the bottom layer of concrete match up with the surrounding concrete...?

Maybe it was a platform for steps coming down from a storm door...?


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Odd but the older a house is the more likely there are weird things like that. My basement has an interior wall with actual windows in it - glass and all. We think maybe the grade around the house was raised a good 6 feet in the 60s.

One possibility is water leaks and that was to create a barrier. Awfully strange to have that thin a layer of dirt. Seems like it would have been easier and cheaper to simply make a wood platform. Hope you don't find a body under there.


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

well some of the mystery is solved, I contacted an older brother and he said there used to be a huge oil burning furnace that took up almost all of that area when we were kids. I don't recall that at all but it might give reason for the raised part. back in the late 60's early 70's some time it was removed to give way for the tiny natural gas furnace. on the other side of the basement. hell the new one I just installed las year isn't much bigger than a good sized cooler....I know from gutting 3 floors of the house it never had rads anywhere so it must have been just a furnace and not a boiler


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Well, that resolves that "burning" question...:smile:


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I remain suspicious...
This calls for a ground scanning radar.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

DaninVan said:


> I remain suspicious...
> This calls for a ground scanning radar.



I'm gonna start a petition to have a "LMAO" button...:grin::lol::grin:


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I wonder what you'd find if you drilled a small hole and poked a camera down there. Maybe you have something interesting down there. Remember that refrigerators were first introduced in the '20s, and in some rural areas, they still had cellars. In the neighborhood as a kid, there was at least one house with a crude cellar, and down the block was a bomb shelter deep underground. You got my curiosity going.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I'm sure it was for the furnace. I have the same issue only mine was for a steam boiler. I know it was a boiler because when I moved in there were three boilers. Whenever a new one was needed they just added it and left the old one in place.


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

JOAT said:


> Bomb shelter, root cellar, storm shelter, treasure vault, family burial vault, underground railroad safe haven, torture chamber, UFO hideout, Jimmy Hoffa. Or possibly someone could read the future and did it just to drive you nuts. I can come up with more if you want.


Maybe had extra concrete available after a job and didn't know what else to do with it. Much better than dumping it down the drain.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Bones... yep bones, I'm sure of it. That's what we did anyway.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*It's a Cover Up!*



Marco said:


> Bones... yep bones, I'm sure of it. That's what we did anyway.


10 Rillington Place.
Just sayin'...
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066730/
>


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

DaninVan said:


> 10 Rillington Place.
> Just sayin'...
> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066730/
> >


Judging by those shoes, she died from embarrassment....

those things died a long time before she did...


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

well complete mess now but all concrete broke up. all is needed now is to find a small brigade to carry all the concrete and dirt out.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

comp56 said:


> well complete mess now but all concrete broke up. all is needed now is to find a small brigade to carry all the concrete and dirt out.


Been there done that. Geez there’s some big heavy chunks there . Too big for this old man :surprise:


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

About a year ago I was looking to buy a used bandsaw. I found a craigslist ad around Texarkana Texas for a Grizzly. When I got there the bandsaw was a basket case. But there was other equipment in the shop and I asked and they wanted to sell a Grizzly Shaper. It was in good shape but I asked about the shaper bits. This was a mans shop that was sick and living with other relatives. There was an old refrigerator in the shop with a chain around it keeping the side by side freezer and refig closed. They found a hack saw and started cutting the lock off to see if the shaper bits were inside. I told them if there was any body parts in there I was out of there. Luckily there was no body parts but we did find the shaper bits. Sometimes people do strange things. There was a large shop full of equipment but for some reason the owner thought a few router bits and shaper bits were so valuable he had to lock them up.


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

all gone, 35 buckets of concrete, 65 buckets of dirt......


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

You are a brave soul. Keep us posted. I sold cabinetry and lighting for a bit over two years. I once asked a contractor/customer if he did remodeling. He emphatically said no. Said he got tired of correcting other people's mistakes. Remodeling some in our home and I have to agree with him. "Why did they do that?"


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

starting to level off the floor to match


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

23-66lbs bags got it down mixed in a 5 gallon bucket...


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

got a little further along couldn't get 12 ft sheets to fit in basement even with a ground level door oh well had to make do with 10 and 8 fters


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

looking good...


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

comp56 said:


> 23-66lbs bags got it down mixed in a 5 gallon bucket...


Wow, that’ll keep you in shape . More than likely a few trips to the chiropractor in my case


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Wow, that’ll keep you in shape . More than likely a few trips to the chiropractor in my case


truth be told taking out the old concrete and sand was tougher, 35 buckets of concrete, 65 buckets of dirt......I think I bent 3 forks while eating supper...lol


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

dry fitting live edge shelf before finishing wall so I'm not messing with it when its all painted and such...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

!...just poke pins in my eyes. I'd far rather deal with a bit of masking and being careful AFTER the painting is done than have to work _around_ that shelf while doing the painting. But hey, to each their own eh?


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

DaninVan said:


> !...just poke pins in my eyes. I'd far rather deal with a bit of masking and being careful AFTER the painting is done than have to work _around_ that shelf while doing the painting. But hey, to each their own eh?


oh no no, it isn't staying there it is just dry fit so when wall is finished I'm not mucking around with cuts and such. I will remove it to paint etc etc


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

little bit flush mount LED lighting, via remote control. did a test hole first before I routered them out


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

got it all wired up now to remove it and finish wall


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

got some paint on


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Really nice effect Doug. It’s really taking shape


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