That underpinning

Historical Photo:

(Sherry's sister Lennie and Elmer courting on the porch! Sherry also courted on that porch! Notice this house has no underpinning!)





Someone underpinned the above house, originally it was only on pillars.

Old Houses on pillars

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Thinking back some:
Back when people swept their yards there was no grass. Play places were created using one's imagination.

One of the best places to play when I was a child was ‘under the house’. That was before underpinning. I must admit, mama wasn’t that thrilled because all the playing (not praying) was on my knees. My ‘overhauls’ took a beating.

But the dirt was soft, and I could make endless roads and towns for my cars to be driven on.  I
 could even dig ditches and put water in them for rivers. We could play under there for hours. You seldom found a girl under the house, it was just a little too dirty for ‘em.

 Mark Davidson, nephew, and Sherry's dad (note:no underpinning!)

We became engineers when it rained. Shucks, since the houses had no gutters, the rain ran off all the way around the house. We could dig our river beds and have real running water under our bridges. Boys could make lakes and the creeks from the rivers were endless.

What we called underpinning ruined that down south. Of course the closing in made the house easier to heat in the winter. Curtain walls were built with a small access door for maintenance. But that meant it was dark under the house, ruining a great play place.

 The Nieces, Brenda and Vickie with Grandpa Wiley probably the same Easter!

When I became a builder I learned that a foundation was required as well as the curtain walls. Just for fun I would get into friendly discussions with the inspectors with the structural importance of the foundation and the walls. Up north the curtain walls did serve an important function, heating is much more important due to the lower temps. But for many years I could point out homes still sitting on Rocks, brick/block pillars and not underpinned. They had withstood winds for many years.

Sherry and I drove past my Great Grandpa Hilley’s homeplace a while back. It was never fastened to a foundation, still stands much over a hundred years later.

In the end one inspector said, “You may be right Darnell, but you are still going to bolt that base plate to the foundation. We have saved a lot of 2x8 lumber after the house was blown away!”  Of course we both got a big laugh, we both knew I would follow the required construction standards.

All that aside, I think all laws and rules should pass a logical present day test, simply, does it work? Is it necessary?

Nite Shipslog

PS: Little known facts about the USA

                                Thanks.. Tony D.

Montana's Glacier National Park has a canine "bark ranger" that helps herd wildlife away from high-traffic areas.
I didn’t know this and we have been there and drove the ‘Highway to The Sun’ in Glacier.

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 This was a new car, about the time the Easter pictures above were taken.