We have three major property repair projects coming within next few months.
Here is some information on the first project.
It is for rebuilding our retaining wall at the end of the driveway and installing a new drainage system. At its completion the driveway will get proper pitch and new asphalt.
The retaining wall will be made of "Stone Strong System" blocks for better ground support and to prevent soil erosion. The wall will have 4 courses - similar to what we have but much sturdier, better looking and with a built-in drainage. If you are interested, here are engineering drawings.
The drainage at the top of the retaining wall will catch water runoffs from the neighbors properties located uphill and from our underground garage roof and will send them to the city drain system located under the city street. Our drainage system will have a filtration system made of series of chambers (called culverts) that will be located under our driveway. The system will also be collecting rain water from the driveway and we should not see any streams going across the driveway and freezing to a slab of ice in the winter.
All paperwork, drawings, permits are ready and the work start is tentatively scheduled for the second half of July. Our contractor (Sean Farrell's Excavation) will only be able to give us a final notice 5-7 days ahead of the start.
It is time for you to think on how you will be using your car when the work is on the way.
According to the company, the whole project will take 2-3 weeks and once they start they will not leave until they finish. There might be minor delays with supplies, police details, unexpected problems with excavation (like if they find a ledge that will need to be removed), intermediate inspections from the wall blocks manufacturer, civil engineers who designed the project or from the city building department.
This project is technically complicated and difficult to complete and our contractor will need all the skills and coordination with other parties to get everything done right.
They will be here 5 days a week 7am-4pm but working on Saturdays is also possible.
When they can, they will be placing temporary metal paving plates to cover the excavated area so cars could drive on them. Most likely, for the weekends but it is not guaranteed.
The best plan of action would be not to expect any access to the garage for the duration of the whole project to let the company do their work without interruption.
If you need your car during construction you might want to check out Kilroy Square Garage (AKA Hanckock Garage) at 25 Cottage Avenue.
We will have more details and updates after a per-construction meeting in a couple weeks.
I am preparing for you information on the other two projects soon (masonry repairs /balconies painting and for the skylight replacement). For now, it looks like they are coming up in August/September but this is just our expectation.
Please stay tuned.
Thank you
