foundation

^{foun-dey-shuhn} 

noun

the basis or groundwork of anything: the moral foundation of both society and religion.

the natural or prepared ground or base on which some structure rests.

the lowest division of a building, wall, or the like, usually of masonry and partly or wholly below the surface of the ground.

We all know that a foundation is a very important thing when building anything. A house needs a strong, steady and reliable foundation. Last week when we were in Lakeside we saw two different houses that were basically lifted up off of their foundation.

The rules in Lakeside are very specific when it comes to renovating old cottages and houses. One of the rules is that the renovations have to maintain the integrity of the footprint of the the original house. So even though it looks a bit ridiculous to me, these house have basically been gutted on the inside, lifted up onto beams and stacks of wooden timbers and the foundation is being re established. It is pretty amazing to see and beyond my ability to understand how this all works out in the end.

I just can’t even begin to imagine how a contractor can look at one of these aging houses and figure out how to make a new and better structure while gutting it and jacking it up. Hopefully if we are able to go back next year I will be able to see what the finished project is.

What do you think? Would you attempt a project like this or would you give it a hard pass? I know what I would do.