act natural, so i can take a picture for the blog

a sheet of 1/2" x 4' x 8' drywall weighs 54 pounds.  now put it over your head, press it up against the ceiling joists exactly where it needs to be and screw it in one screw at a time, all while atop a tall ladder.  

not easy.

we are renting a drywall lift tomorrow for the remainder of the ceiling work.

snug as a bug in an itchy rug

we passed our insulation inspection...now its time to board.

the basement is really starting to transform into a decent room

installed the vapor barrier in the bathroom...love the way it looks, maybe we can leave it like this!

starting to install the wallboard

Now we are cooking with gas!

We passed the rough framing inspection and installed the insulation ( itchy itchy )- today is the insulation inspection. If all goes well we will be boarding tomorrow!

Boring text only post, I know. I will take pics today!

quote of the day: "im so effing good...it scares me sometimes"

...made me laugh real hard when i heard it- but i concur!

the comment was made when scott put a level on his newly framed out stair stringers and they were apparently, as they say in the industry, 'dead-on-balls-accurate'!

the new basement stairs are framed out- and we installed temporary treads until its time to install the finished treads. 



in a basement, wood that touches the concrete slab or walls needs to be pressure treated

by installing winder steps at the top of the stair (where the existing landing was), we were able to gain space at the bottom of the stair for a better sized landing.

one more winder tread to go...i didnt take a picture of the finished product, but i am sure that i will!


oh, and we passed the electrical inspection!  next, the framing inspection then we can insulate, then get the insulation inspection, then we can board!

the last of the framing projects

we are rebuilding the stair to the basement...because it basically takes you right into the concrete wall



we figured out a new stair configuration that would provide about 32" at the bottom stair landing- much better than the 18" that is there now.

so goodbye stairs...

our electrical inspection is this afternoon, so the stairs will be finished by then- stay tuned!



i neglected to post the finished framing of the dining room ceiling, so here it is:

we had to install new 2x6's below the existing 2x6 rafters in order to get enough depth for the 10" of R30 insulation required for a cathedral ceiling.  you can get R30 that is 8-1/2" deep, but it wasnt readily available at our preferred big box home improvement store.  but we still would have had to drop the ceiling a bit.

looking north towards the new windows:

and looking south toward the existing door to the backyard:

this would also make a nice family room...a bit skinny, but it could work!

the real world called...

...they want their kristen + scott back. 

i need to return to my day job in about 6 weeks and scott has a bunch of jobs lined up, so as much fun as we are having, we have to pick up the pace and get this done! 

Scott is framing out the ceiling of the dining room at the level of the existing collar ties.

he installed a temporary ledger at one end so that he could install the framing by himself (and so i didn't have to waste my time holding the dumb end of the framing while i could be doing something else).  he is what we call a big smahty.

there is going to be a flat area of ceiling where we are going to install the ceiling fan. the collar ties are kind of important so they have to stay but we didn't want to expose them, so they are what determined the height of the flat ceiling.



there isn't any heat in this space, so the quicker we frame and get our inspections, the quicker we can insulate and board and install the baseboard heaters!

so i was working on wrapping up the rough electrical (in the toasty warm heated part of the house) to prepare for the inspection.  i installed the tiny (3" diam) recessed lights in the kitchen 



there are going to be 2 surface lights, 10 recessed lights and 2 pendant lights (over the island)- you will be able to see this kitchen from space.

we really like the look of these lights, plus they are adjustable (and apparently teriyaki beef flavored!)



they are just so tiny, with tiny fasteners that i am always dropping- but they are all installed, all 10 of them!

miss scarlet, in the dining room, with a crow bar

this was my mask after about 30 minutes of ripping down the ceiling in the future dining room!

you should've seen my face- but there was no way i was going to take a picture of that mess!

but- i was so excited to see the new space, that i didnt care what was in that dust!

we are going with a cathedral ceiling in this space

first we need to remove the 2x4's that were supporting the plaster ceiling.

then, because the roof rafters are only 2x6's and we need 10" of space for the R-30 insulation, we will need to install new 2x6's below the existing.

and then, we will need to wall off the opening to the garage attic beyond- as seen in this pic 

flashback:

meanwhile, scott has just about finished rough framing the basement walls and running the new electrical circuits there.

house guts

good news; the debris pile has been removed from the basement, so now we can finish the rough framing and electrical

bad news; the debris pile has only made it as far as the side yard 

it looks like the house threw up all of its house guts

the fireplace wall got some new drywall

and so did the office- goodbye trains!

the second floor bath got a tub 

just an update

We passed our rough plumbing inspection!

and the plumber installed a toilet- kind of.

the water isnt hooked up yet, so in order to use it you need to pour a bucket of water into the tank!  but it beats the alternative!

the basement wall framing is underway:



here is an updated basement plan:

we are actually selecting final paint colors:

neutrals, big surprise

and we are still covered in snow and ice, but its nice when the sun comes out and shines thru the icy trees

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Fireplace

So the plan is to re-drywall the fireplace wall because the existing plaster is in bad shape (major cracks) and the wall paper will not come off easily.

so i first removed the mantle surround...which came off in one piece

and found that there was more brick behind that surround....

i also ran electrical and cable wires so that we can install a flat screen tv above the fireplace.

so the dilemma now is whether or not we re-use the existing surround  (which is a little too tall for a tv above it)  or do we build a new one?

i think we are going to build a new one...

the hearth stone has been covered in dust since day one...so i poured some water over it to remind us what it actually looks like...

black slate, green slate, black slate, green slate...

Full House

we had three trades working at the house today: plumbing, electrical, hvac.

i cant tell you how happy that makes me!  even though we are all in each others way!

pex hot + cold water supplies at ceiling of foyer-  the plan is to drop the ceiling 6" in the foyer to accommodate the new plumbing for the 2nd floor bathroom. 

kitchen sink drain, vent and water supplies

bathtub valve and supplies

bath sink supplies and vent...and the main vent stack

scott and i ran all of the new electrical circuits and roughed in the wiring at the boxes

here is our handy dandy work

the electrician is going to install the new 200 amp panel

here are all of the ends of the new circuit runs that are left to dangle at the panel...until the electrician hooks them up.  it looks messy, but they are all labeled and organized!

the hvac contractor re-used existing ducts in order to re-feed the upstairs bedrooms.

they had to be relocated because they were originally in walls that we removed!