Bruce Wayne

Chapter 30: Subterranean Transition

"Could we put in braces around the perimeter of where we're going to cut into the floor joists?" Alfred suggested as he looked over the construction. "We might also consider adding bricks between the joists and the foundation to add support and relieve the load from the part we intend to cut away."

"It sounds good," Bruce agreed cautiously. "But, I'm not a structural engineer. I have no idea what effect cutting into the floor might have or how to counter it. Let me do some looking online, and we'll tackle this problem in the morning."

"As you wish, Master Bruce," Alfred agreed.

                                                                                             ***

Bruce searched the Internet, but most of the information he found relating to replacing floor joists were incidents where the joists only spanned one room. Apparently, the study had originally been a part of the forward parlor, or the other way around, and the wall between them had been added later. The floor had been built as a single unit.

Ultimately, he decided Alfred's suggestions were the best. Placing bricks between the joists and the foundation would keep them supported and allow Bruce to cut away the floor in the study without the house falling in on them. He further decided to err on the side of caution in case he was incorrect in his assumptions. Bruce intended to place additional beams around the perimeter of the study, hooking them into the existing joists of the other rooms to provide further support. Considering a collapse or weakening of the floor in any of the rooms around the study could expose the existence of his secret elevator, Bruce wanted extra precautions against failure.  In the back of his mind was a further concern in regard to the entire house falling in on him.

Closing his laptop, Bruce shut down for the night. He stifled a yawn, covering his mouth with a fist. He and Alfred would finish this later.

Bruce went to his room and collapsed on the bed, kicking off his shoes almost as an afterthought. Remodeling the house was slowing down progress on the cave, but the necessity of an elevator for faster transit made it mandatory. In all his plans to fight crime in Gotham, Bruce had never expected he would need to know anything about carpentry.

                                                                                              ***

After visiting a supply store for bricks, mortar, and an assortment of appropriate tools, Bruce and Alfred spent the majority of the following day working in the study. The floorboards were set back in place without being nailed down simply to allow the two of them to move around without falling through.

Once they had a sturdy walking space, Bruce and Alfred removed the books, then the bookshelves. Furniture was taken out, and the rug, already rolled up and set aside from earlier when Bruce dismantled the center of the floor, was hauled into a different room. When everything in the study had been cleared away, Bruce picked up the floor for a second time, stacking the wood planks near the edge of the room where they would be out of the way.

Bruce dropped into the crawlspace between the stone foundation and the old wooden joists of the floor structure. Alfred sat on one of the beams and handed Bruce the first of several jacks; Bruce placed each of the mechanical lifts one at a time under the joists beyond the borders of the floor he was about to cut away. Working the lever of each jack, Bruce raised them up to carry the weight of the surrounding structure.

"I can help you more with this next part, Master Bruce," Alfred told him. "At one time, my father had a job as a bricklayer, and he taught me a few things about it before I left for college."