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!

the basement never looked better!

all the basement walls have been removed!

the debris pile needs to stay put for now because there is a mountain of snow between the basement and the dumpster...and i just heard that we will be getting a "significant amount of snow" in two days! snow is evil.

the little bit of reframing that needed to be done at the second floor bathroom is now complete

and we installed the tile backerboard on the floor so the plumber can do his thang.

we have been using hardiboard instead of durock tile backerboard because it is SO much easier to work with.

and last but not least, the first floor bathroom got a tub!

this is very exciting...it marks the first 'finish' item to be installed and it just means that the end is in sight!

movin' on up

to the second floor

remember this?  this is what the floor framing (below the second floor bath) looked like

there were so many cuts out of the framing that we had to "sister" new joists onto the old ones.

there were also alot of rotten floor boards...so they needed to be ripped out and replaced with new subfloor before we move forward.

once the plywood patches go in, we can install a layer of tile backer board.

the plumber is coming next week to rough plumb the kitchen and baths.  

entre views!

first floor framing is pretty much complete-aside from change order no. 001 (see following post), and the dining room ceiling.

view towards new kitchen...low wall is where island will be

view from kitchen to living room

view back towards entrance foyer...new bathroom door to the right

we have salvaged the existing duct risers that supply the second floor- the hvac contractor suggested reusing them to save money and materials!  nice.

oops! forgot to mention.  the plumber started work yesterday and ripped out all of the existing plumbing...all of it, toilets too!  :|
he will be back next week to install the new rough plumbing (and hopefully a toilet!)

transformations!

first floor plans- before + after:

removed walls are in yellow in top plan/ new walls are in grey in bottom plan.

view from entry- before:

view from entry- now:

view towards old dining room-before:

view towards new kitchen- now:

view toward entry and 1/2 bath- before:

view toward entry foyer and full bath- now:

view towards back wall of living room/dining room- before:

view towards back wall of living room/new kitchen- now:

view towards doorway to old kitchen and door to entrance- before:

 view towards doorway to entrance- now:

gettin jiggy wid it

i thought this was pretty cool. 

in order to make for an easy (and accurate) installation of the deck joist hangers, scott fashioned a jig. 

he fastened a piece of deckboard to the top of a piece of 2x8 framing. (this pic shows how it all fits together, but was taken after he already installed the joist hanger)

he placed the jig so that the deckboard sits on top of the beam, and the 2x8 sits against the side of the beam.

then, he fastened the bottom couple of nails thru the hanger into the beam...

and removed the jig to finish nailing in the hanger.

of course, he used a great tool- the pneumatic palm nailer. 

this simple jig made the installation move along quickly. 

he finished the framing (unfortunately, i didnt take a pic of the finished product- now i will have to wait until the snow melts!)

oh, i almost forgot- we passed the deck framing and footing hole inspection! 

also very cool, we received the LVL beam and framing delivery 2 days early.

took some time to relocate the pile to the inside of the house (we are expecting a blizzard!)

the LVL beams will replace the bearing walls that we are removing to open up the space... 

here is a 3-d diagram

and last but not least, i ripped out the electrical wiring and old devices that are no longer needed

the electrician will be by soon to upgrade the service from 100Amp to 200Amp