The ruble begins to clear and a tarp keeps the building dry for the first time in many years.
Along the northern wall I discover a surface drain and stairs that had long been covered. To repair the outer wall they will have to be removed.
There is a constant need for bricks and the base of the former rear wall becomes a great place to find them.
The bricks of the wall below the hole fall with the slightest pressure. Sadly, there nothing that can be saved here, it all has to be rebuilt.
And the snow comes. The tar paper stood no chance against the winter winds to come.
What had appeared to be a concrete retaining wall was actually a drainage trough which was completely filled and had cracked just above the now collapsed bearing wall below. This spot seems to be the source of the highest water pressure.
The southern wall is essentially a stream. There are no less than three seperate sub-surface flows in this area. This accounts for the wall being pushed into the structure. It was barely possible to stand and digging in the mud was brutle.
