# 2-Story Addition...Trials and Tribulations



## ddawg16

This is a story....the names have been changed to protect the incompetent.

Well, actually...a lot of you have asked me to post a progress thread on the 2-story addition to my house.

A little back ground first. This is our house. A very very small house with two cats in the yard, and 3 kids in the house...along with me and the wife. 1026 Sq feet....3 bedrooms and one bathroom. Kind of rough with just one bathroom. Did I mention that we have only one bathroom?

We bought our house in 2000 just before the market took off. Along the way we have made numerous improvements with the intention of increasing the size when the time was right. 2 Years ago I completed the garage. Our old detached garage was 18x20 and filled up with water every time it rained. The new one is still detached but is 20x25....2-story.....and dry. We did it first because we knew it would be integral to helping us do the 2-story addition to the house (at least that is the story I gave my wife to let me build the garage).











And here is what the garage looks like....all 1040 sq feet worth....more than the current house...

If you want to see more details on the garage, a link to the build is in my signature.











Now, before I go on allow me to stress that this thread is not about be bragging about my building skills or lack thereof. It is about sharing what I have learned as a DIY’er…

While I still consider myself to be a ‘newbie’ on this forum, I have noticed a common trend over the past few months. Some of the questions are pretty dumb. So dumb that I hope the poster is not a licensed driver. But a good majority are valid questions….though I have issues with how some are answered. One of the things that ‘irritates’ me is how quick some responders are to say “Get a Licensed” xyz…..In some cases I agree…but in a lot of cases, I don’t. It is about par to saying, “Hey, my light does not turn on, what should I check first.” And the responder saying “You need a licensed engineer to solve the problem.” 

With that rant over…..I would like to point out that my wife and I are doing almost ALL the work ourselves. There are a few exceptions. I did hire a professional architect to do my drawings. I did my own drawings for the garage…but did hire an engineer to spec the structural….(those cantilevered floors will do it every time). 

The guy I hired was great. He swung a hammer before coming an architect….so he knows what he is doing. He took my initial AutoCad design…tweaked it to our liking and then added the needed structural items. Bottom line, I was way in over my head thinking I could do my own drawings.

So…this is what he/we came up with. The 1 story structure at the front is the existing house with the 2-story portion the part I am adding.










And this is what the rear should look like. Not real obvious at first…but the 2-story cantilevers over the 1st floor by 3’ on two walls.










For those wondering about cost….I can’t divulge the cost of the architect…..his wife and my wife are friends….I got the ‘good guy’ discount….but to be honest…I think his services would have been worth a good $8k….he even walked the drawings through the permit office. 

Permits….around $2k

Site prep….not much….except for a big slab of concrete across the back of my house….











Using a sledge hammer, pry bar and wheel barrel, I removed this in one day. Made for a good workout.











Put it all in one of these. $365….included drop off and pickup.












Once that was out of the way we could start on the foundation. When I did the garage, I hired a contractor to do the foundation. I had no experience in it so I figured I should farm it out…..and like so many other people, got hosed. But I learned a lot. Like, make my own measurements…and hire the same day workers he does. 

Arulio does not speak any English, but he is in the country legally and does great work. He dug out the foundation by hand with only 1 helper. Took him about 2 weeks. In retrospect, I should have rented a bobcat and dug out the majority in one day. It might have saved me about $500.

All told, I have about $2500 in labor, $1500 in hardware (anchor bolts, forms and rebar) and $2000 in concrete. The concrete was the only thing I estimated right.













Oh, don’t forget the $1100 for 3 of these…..a lot of dirt came out of that ground….











……and still had some left over……..


----------



## ddawg16

When your doing the foundation, you want to make sure you get everything in that you want….much harder to do it after the fact…

This is the conduit for the power to my garage….it’s going to where the new load center ‘will’ be. Regarding conduit….if you think 1” is big enough….make it 1.5”. When you start pulling wire, you will understand.











Here is an example of why you need an engineer to define what you need. This picture is of the corner of my house where the new foundation will tie into the existing. My existing foundation is essentially a 6” wall on top of a 12” footing…that only goes down about 12”. My new foundation is almost 3’ deep with an 18” wide footing…walls are 8”. 

We had to dig under (called under pinning) the existing foundation. In addition (not shown), I had to drill into the existing footing and epoxy in rebar.











Besides the new foundation, I had to ‘modify’ the existing foundation…..our 55 year old house may have survived a few earthquakes….but I think it was pushing it’s luck. There are only 3 anchor bolts per side. That would never fly today. I had to rip off the stucco on part of the existing walls and drill new anchor bolts along with hold down bolts….and then epoxy them in. Oh yea, it cost $300 to have a “Master inspector” show me how to do it. Actually, money well spent….without his input, I would have done it wrong.











This is the light wall….on one wall I had to drill 1” holes and put in 7/8” bolts. 

Anyway….towards the end, these walls will have ½” plywood or OSB put on them….then that gets covered with stucco. Your classic shear wall.

In addition to the shear walls, I also had to pour a footing under the house.

See this area? It is the crawl space of the new addition….just to the left is were the stairs will be….straight back is the existing bathroom…in between is a wall….I had to pour a 2’ deep footing under that wall…….boy, was that fun….well…actually, Arulio had fun. I had the fun with the plumbing….I had to reroute my main sewer line over 1.5’. That story alone is worth it’s own thread.





















In addition, I had to pour pads for piers so that we could install short beams. These will be used to support the stairs.


----------



## ddawg16

One thing I can’t stress enough is making sure the foundation is right. That means measuring everything several times. Making sure your anchor bolts are in the right place, correct distance from the edge and sticking up far enough. Take your drawings and write on the wood of the form what should be there. Then go back and check it 3 more times. I know I did, and still made a couple of mistakes. When you are dealing with hold down bolts that are 3 feet long and 1” in dia, not a lot of room for error. In one case, I had to upsize a beam from 4x6 to 6x8 in order to compensate for a bolt in the wrong position…..still not sure how I screwed that one up. Once the concrete dries, it’s not moving.





















So, as you can see from the above, I have a slab and raised foundation. Good reasons….the slab will be the family room….we have 2 boys who like to play Wii….it gets noisy when they bounce. The raised is so that I can manage the plumbing and electrical easier. My main sewer line comes right down the center of the house and into the area you see on the left. I would much rather crawl under the house than go through what my in-laws went through when they had plumbing issues in the house…with a slab.

Now that the slab is done….the real fun starts…framing…and this is also when you find out what mistakes you made….

Ok….plumbing came first…..











Then Sub-floor over the crawl space….











With a little bit of help from my kids….I try to keep them ‘somewhat’ involved……funny how they can say “I want to help”. Ok, so I give them a task….please vacuum this area…..30 seconds later, they are gone….































There are some serious PSL beams involved in this project……this is one of the smaller ones…..and one of my “Darwin” moments….I almost lost this one…..yea….I’m using a drywall lift to lift it…..











One of my bigger problems is keeping the rain out…..I started in July and had hoped to have the roof on by now….but like ALL projects, they take longer than expected…..I feel like I spend half my time covering everything with plastic.











At least I have stairs…..











And the ceiling vaulted in the ‘pub’…..that is what we call the room where the stairs are….it ‘used’ to be our bedroom…..so 1/3 of it is now stairs…might as well turn the other 1/3rd into a pub…..


----------



## ddawg16

Those PSL beams are nothing to this one…..6”x10” 12.5’ long steel beam (3/8” thick)….I have to weld custom caps and buckets on it to hold some of the PSL beams……you won’t find this in the “span tables”.











And that is were I am this week……and next week….stuck in Texas on business….hoping we don’t get any rain….because all that plastic I put up got blown off yesterday in those high winds…..


----------



## CoconutPete

Great read - just read your garage thread too, awesome work. Drool worthy!


----------



## jcrizzy

Amazing post and pics. Great details. And thoroughly impressed. I have some similarities... Small house (1175 sqft) with 2 growing boys. Have been wanting to do addition since we bought. The bad part is bought in 2006...so the 20% cash we put down and planned to use for addition/equity is completely gone with today's value. Few years back got some quotes for 500-600sqft addition. With the obligatory $100k++ range. Too much.

so more recently have been thinking how we can do most of the work and save $ because that's the only way it can happen. I'm reasonably handy and have some friends in the business (finished carpentry, plumber). But not really sure we could pull off what you're doing here.

Foundation seems most daunting (along with roof) -- so I'd likely hire that out. Just seems too intense. Framing while needs skill...seems like most of it is built off the same principles...and precision. studs 16" on center, top plates, headers, etc.. Of course diff walls will require some tweaks. 

Oh and I love the idea of slab + raised for the sewer/plumbing concerns. I have same situation where the new addition/slab would run right over center of house where the sewer runs and that makes me nervous for future fixes, etc.. a raised portion for that sounds like a nice idea.

I guess all-in-all it's about patience, attention to detail and being precise mostly. If you can take your time feels like it can be done. Well at least in theory!
But this post is incredible encouraging. This is the only hope for me to get a reasonable addition. If not will be very cramped house once 2 boys turn into teenagers in a few years.


----------



## AndyGump

I would have charged about $8k with engineering too on a job like this.

Andy,


----------



## ddawg16

Today was a great day......I got it up......

My steel beam that is.....

Part of my 2-story addition requires a 12' steel beam (6"x10" 3/8" steel). Making the beam was not too difficult....my big concern was how to get it up....things weighs about 500 lbs.....


So....rent one material lift....transport home (don't tell the rental company about it bouncing off my trailer and bouncing down Hawthorn BL)....


Get a good neighbor to help....put in place. Overall, my stress over this part was more than the actual effort to make it happen.
































With this beam in place I can now set the large PSL beams that connect to it....which means I can finish the 2nd story floor....which means I can frame the 2-story....which means I can then put a roof on it....and end my water problems..

Like all projects, they take longer than expected.....I had hoped to not have to deal with the winter California rains.....oh well....


----------



## PowerWash

You sir are no DIY'er. You have engineered plans and seem to be following them in a professional manner. In my book that is a Professional. Good luck with the rest of your addition.


----------



## M3 Pete

I had to laugh about your kids. My wife always tells me to involve my 6 and 8 year old boys. This past weekend I had about 30 holes I needed to drill in plywood. After about 5 holes my 6-year old lost interest. 8 year old won't even bother. 

But the weather gods are shining on you at the moment. No rain in sight.


----------



## ddawg16

M3 Pete said:


> I had to laugh about your kids. My wife always tells me to involve my 6 and 8 year old boys. This past weekend I had about 30 holes I needed to drill in plywood. After about 5 holes my 6-year old lost interest. 8 year old won't even bother.
> 
> But the weather gods are shining on you at the moment. No rain in sight.


Weather? A lot of good it does me....I'm in Canada at the moment freezing my rear off....get home Sat so hopefully I can get some work done.


----------



## ddawg16

Update.....major milestone completed. I finished the floor of the 2nd story....all the beams are up...all those metal brackets (1/4" plate steel). All the 1 1/8" T&G plywood down. I can now walk around without worrying about falling through a hole....now I only have to worry about falling off the edge....Now I get to start framing....

The 'brackets' in place....each one weighed about 75 lbs....I used my drywall lift to lift them into position...










The view with all of the floor joists and blocking complete.










And a couple views of the cantaliver portion...










And the finished floor...if your wondering what the blue is....that is a tarp covering where the balcony is going to be....I have a little work to do there to get it finished.



















And the stairwell leading down to the original part of the house.....










I'm way behind schedule....but then again, after 2 trips to Canada and a couple more to Texas ....I guess I'm glad that I have gotten as much done as I have so far....with luck I'll be in town for awhile....


----------



## Dakota76

This looks just excellent
Im here in canada freezing my rear off as you put it
Im also looking to do an expansion on me 2 story house been doing a lot of reading getting my info straight before i start


----------



## kenny408

wow! you do great work! I love how your garage came out too. i am trying to build a detached garage in northern CA very similar to the one you built. But the problem is that my garage is all in my head and yours is built!
great work.. looking forward to following your new project.


----------



## ddawg16

kenny408 said:


> wow! you do great work! I love how your garage came out too. i am trying to build a detached garage in northern CA very similar to the one you built. But the problem is that my garage is all in my head and yours is built!
> great work.. looking forward to following your new project.


Thanks for the kind words.......And....I know exactly how you feel....I spent about 2 years planning my garage....

To save yourself some time and grief, find out what your limits are...how close to the property line...how high...setback, ect. It's worth going down and talking with the planner...you might be surprised at how helpful they can/will be. In most cases, they want to help you get the most you can and stay within code....

First thing you are going to need is a plot plan or site layout....basically, you have a drawing that shows your existing house and garage....and what you plan to do. You won't be able to submit any drawings for your garage until you have an approved plot plan. So if you think your close to starting your garage...get that plot plan done.

Are you doing the work yourself or are you going to farm it out? I know a great architect if you need one....chances are he could do everything remotely....especially for a garage. I did my own garage plans...but it took me long enough....

A site to also check out....Garage Journal....it's just about garages....lots of good info...especially if your thinking about epoxied floors and other man cave stuff....


----------



## kenny408

thanks for all those great tips! I started thinking about it for more than a year now. 
With the budget cuts to our city, the planning dept is very not helpful anymore. No more appts, only walk ins between the hours of 8-9am, and 11-12 to grab a ticket. and guess what? lines form around 630AM.
I would love to talk with your friend. can you please PM his info?


----------



## ddawg16

Your too new to this forum to have PM abilities....

If you can pm me or give me an email address, I'll send you the info.


----------



## kenny408

hmm i guess i am too new to send PMs. can you please email me?
kenny AT
casa
.
sjsu
.
edu

I hope this is okay to do. if not please delete.


----------



## kevinp22

Ddawg this is very impressive work. I agree you are no DIYer. No one can tell you are not a GC


----------



## ddawg16

I guess it's time for an update. Like all projects, they take a lot longer than expected.

To some extent I have been lucky that we did not have the normal rains for our season...instead of the usual 12-15" we get in 3 months, it was more like 6"....but still hard to deal with when the back of your house is open. It's hard to work on the framing when your spending most of your time putting up plastic and trying to keep water out. There were many a night where I stayed up all night vacuuming up the water that leaked through.



















The big push now is to get the roof on so I can get it water tight....once it's water tight....I can work inside and not worry about rain....but then again, the rainy season is over so I have at least 4 months before I need to worry about it again....if I'm not done with the outside by then....well...time to hand in my man card.

One of my roadblocks was the eletrical power. My existing power feed to my house ran across part of the upstairs floor...hence, I couldn't put up the last section of wall and finish my roof rafters.....which are 'kind of' necessary to hold the roof sheathing....










So, a good part of the last month was spent installing the new panel....and installing conduit and wiring between it and the existing house. I even had my oldest 9 year old son helping with wire pulling and fishing....he 'gets it'....has a knack for it....










New weatherhead and panel were bought off 2 weeks ago...wires moved over last week....everything is now on the new panel....and I'm getting circuits up in the addition....I have a lot less extension cords on the ground now....










The last wall is up....










And 'almost' all the roof rafters are on....



















I just have this one section to finish....it's a bit complicated because I have to install outlookers at an angle....and I have 24" eves... It doesn't help that I'm also doing a lot of travel for work.










I have most of the eve boards done....I'm doing the T&G lap boards so that it looks the same as the existing house....a bit more work, but I refuse to let our house look like some of the 'stucco bricks' that have been built in the neighborhood....

And this is one of my time savers....I built a work bench on the balcony....I usually keep my compound miter saw there....easy to cut long boards....and I can also stand on it work on the section of eves in that spot.....










Once again...I'm out of town....another week without progress....well...construction wise.....my wife is now out actively shopping for windows and doors....and tile....she will be doing all the tile....

When I get back....roof sheathing....and moving the water heater...and then moving the washer and dryer to the rear of the house....a biggie for my wife....


----------



## oh'mike

I've never seen solid blocking in a vaulted ceiling----Did the architect design that detail?

I would be concerned with ventilating the roof system above your insulation---Mike----


----------



## ddawg16

oh'mike said:


> I've never seen solid blocking in a vaulted ceiling----Did the architect design that detail?
> 
> I would be concerned with ventilating the roof system above your insulation---Mike----


 
Yep.....it's in the drawings.....

There is not going to be any vent.....I know your used to do a ridge vent....he in California...on a vaulted ceiling...you do nothing. Basically, you make sure you have a vapor barrier....and seal it up all tight....pretty much the same thing that happens to the walls.

Remember....it's Los Angeles....doesn't get that hot....doesn't get that cold.


----------



## framer52

Could someone explain to this ignorant framer the reason for those blocks between the rafters?


----------



## AndyGump

He is going with a "non-vented" attic assembly. 
This means that he will either have, say 2" of XPS or another foam board that will be tight against the underside of the deck or directly on top of the roof deck.
The foam will not allow moisture to condense in the ceilings as it is non-permeable, and create a thermal barrier.
Then fiberglass insulation or any other insulation will make up the difference for the required R-30.
Personally I really like this kind of assembly, especially for here in So Cal. There is actually a little less fire danger with this kind of set-up.

Andy.


----------



## CoconutPete

Nice update! I was starting to wonder how it was going.


----------



## drtbk4ever

I just subscribed to this thread. Looking forward to updates.


----------



## M3 Pete

ddawg16 said:


> Remember....it's Los Angeles....doesn't get that hot....doesn't get that cold.


True for many parts of LA, especially in the South Bay, very moderate climate. And the humidity is relatively low as well, so we don't get a lot of condensation.

Out in Valleys we see 100+ and constant 90's in summer, so we need a bit more venting, at least on older construction.


----------



## Msradell

AndyGump said:


> He is going with a "non-vented" attic assembly.
> This means that he will either have, say 2" of XPS or another foam board that will be tight against the underside of the deck or directly on top of the roof deck.
> The foam will not allow moisture to condense in the ceilings as it is non-permeable, and create a thermal barrier.
> Then fiberglass insulation or any other insulation will make up the difference for the required R-30.
> Personally I really like this kind of assembly, especially for here in So Cal. There is actually a little less fire danger with this kind of set-up.
> 
> Andy.


CThe same affect be achieved by just spraying with closed cell foam to the appropriate
thickness. Actually this practice is called "Hot Deck", roofers used to say this was detrimental to shingles but recent studies haven't shown that.


----------



## ddawg16

framer52 said:


> Could someone explain to this ignorant framer the reason for those blocks between the rafters?


Because my plans say to do it....

Actually....I asked the same question....Typically, you don't need blocking for spans under 10' (or is it 8'?)....my span is 12' total....10' from ridge beam to the top plae of the wall....(I have a 24" eve)....

The blocking is right where the edges of the 4x8 sheets of CDX will land....in other words, all of my roof sheathing will have supported edges....

Yea....it was a little extra work....but it sure did stiffen up the roof....

I chated with the architect this morning.....I will need some venting if I don't do foam.....

I 'could' get by without it....but....It would be better in the long run to either do spray in foam or add vents along with a ridge vent....

I'm leaning towards foam....after hearing all the stories about fiberglass insulation....

I figure that summer time is the perfect time to do it....it will be about as dry as it can get....


----------



## ddawg16

Update....add this to the 'tribulation' category.....

I showed my architect one of the pics....his response "No wonder they questioned the blocking".....seems I only needed it at the edge...not all the way across......oh well.....

I will be pulling it off when I get back in town....easier to do that than notch it for proper ventilation.......

Side note....looking at the plastic attic vent trays.....Anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## AndyGump

Why not leave the blocking and go with non-vented attic space?

Here is the prescriptive for unvented attic space from the CRC 2009.



> *R806.4 Unvented attic assemblies.* Unvented _attic_ assemblies (spaces between the ceiling joists of the top _story_ and the roof rafters) shall be permitted if all the following conditions are met:
> 
> 1. The unvented _attic_ space is completely contained within the _building thermal envelope_. 2. No interior vapor retarders are installed on the ceiling side (_attic_ floor) of the unvented _attic_ assembly. 3. Where wood shingles or shakes are used, a minimum 1/4 inch (6 mm) vented air space separates the shingles or shakes and the roofing underlayment above the structural sheathing. 4. In _California Climate Zones 14 and 16_, any _air-impermeable insulation_ shall be a vapor retarder, or shall have a vapor retarder coating or covering in direct contact with the underside of the insulation. _See Title 24, Part 6, Figure 101-A-California Climate Zones._  5. Either Items 5.1, 5.2 or 5.3 shall be met, depending on the air permeability of the insulation directly under the structural roof sheathing. _No insulation shall be required when roof tiles, wood shingles or wood shakes, or any other roofing system using battens and no continuous underlayment is installed. A continuous layer shall be considered to exist if sheathing, roofing paper or any continuous layer which has a perm rate of no more than one perm under the dry cup method._ 5.1. _Air-impermeable insulation_ only. Insulation shall be applied in direct contact with the underside of the structural roof sheathing. 5.2. Air-permeable insulation only. In addition to the air-permeable _insulation _installed directly below the structural sheathing, rigid board or sheet insulation _with an R-value of R-4_ shall be installed directly above the structural roof sheathing for condensation control. 5.3. Air-impermeable and air-permeable insulation. The _air-impermeable insulation_ shall be applied in direct contact with the underside of the structural roof sheathing for condensation control. The air-permeable insulation shall be installed directly under the _air-impermeable insulation_.


Andy.


----------



## Gary in WA

I think you are committed at this point, with not holding the rafters an inch+ above the ridge beam..... Did plans call for a 2x cedar (plus WRB) behind the vertical electrical conduit on the wall to trim to with siding, or behind the meter box? Or just box it in as an after-thought.
A better one; http://www.bergerbuildingproducts.com/productsAccuvent.html

Gary
P.S. Don't forget your ceiling backing for drywall on the gable rake-wall at the shear clips...


----------



## Msradell

AndyGump said:


> Why not leave the blocking and go with non-vented attic space?
> ...
> Andy.


That's certainly what I would do. We did that a couple of years ago with an addition we made and are extremely happy with it. The spray foam costs a little more but we certainly think the benefits are worth it.


----------



## ddawg16

This is a bit over due update on the progress....and at this point I am actually starting to think that we just might be living in the new addition by Christmas.....I really feel like I'm over the 'hump'.....the real hard stuff is done....no more heavy beams....just a lot of little details....

You guys were right about the blocking....only needed it at the edges....so took it all out....it will make the insulation and venting easier....

Last weekend I put up scaffolding around the addition. After looking at the options of renting and buying....I bought.....I bought all of the below for $840. 22 sections of the 6' walk under....and enough cross braces to hold it all together. The big savings was the wood....14 2x12's 16' that we got in at work in the form of crates for fin tubes....I figure that in about 4 months I can sell all of it basically for what I paid for it....assuming the buyer doesn't see this thread...



















The real accomplishment is the roof.....finally got most of the sheathing on today....along with all of the facia....I need to go pick up a couple more sheets on Monday....but that will be easy compared to the rest.



















Assuming I don't get shipped out of town any time soon....I should be able to finish up the inside framing over the next week or so. I have a crap load of A35's to nail in. With luck, I'll have all those little details done by mid Aug....once I get buy off on the frameing....I can turn my stucco guy loose.....and the wife and I can concentrate on drywall and floor tile....Electrical is over half done...and will be complete by the time I'm ready for the framing inspection. (electrical is one of those things you can do late at night and not wake people up).

On a side note....cleaned out the garage July 4th....moved all of my wife's crap out....I have my garage back.....now lets see how long it takes her to sort her stuff out and move it to the upstairs part of the garage....


----------



## EMD360

Took the blocking out? It looked like you had a sheer roof as well as walls. I really like your comment about frequent advice to hire a DIY done "professionally". Although it is great to have contractors out there for those who are NOT interested in learning and doing alone, and doing it RIGHT can be difficult for the inexperienced, that is why we post here! Thanks for the very detailed and useful posts. Sure enjoy seeing this build.


----------



## E-TEK

WOW ddawg - you have been burning it at both ends haven't you! It's incredible to see/hear how much of it you're doing yourself. As I said in the GJ thread - just keep thinking how much you'll enjoy it all for years to come!


----------



## ddawg16

Time for an update......at this point it feels like I'm not making a whole lot of progress....but the reality is that those little details can be really time consuming.

At this point....I'm about 95% done with the roof....short of shingles....the plan is to have it ready for inspection within about a week....once the roof is done...I don't have to worry about rain....which is maybe a month or two away....

This is the bay window of our master bedroom....being the anal person I am, I want all the facia primered and painted before the drip edge goes on...










This is the side to the right of the bay window....you can see the cap for the solar light tube.....love those things...










That solar tube is for the walkin closet....if it works as well as the one we installed in the existing bathroom, we will never have to turn on lights in there during the day......also note...this walkin closet also has vaulted ceilings....giving my wife even more room for all her 'stuff'....










The decision to buy my scaffolding vs renting was one of the better ones I have made....I have about $900 into all of it....knowing how long I take to do things....it has already worked out cheaper than renting....and I'm sure I'll have no problem selling it when I'm done.

Additionally....there are some things that just can not be done on a ladder....I hate heights...but I can at least handle working on this.



















One of the more difficult tasks was the eaves on one side. Because they are closer than 5' to the property line, they have to be of 1 hour construction. Hence, I have the roof sheating...outlookers...a layer of 5/8" type X drywall...then my spruce T&G lap boards. We wanted to keep the 'look' of the addition consitant with the original house. I think it look real tacky to see an addition that shares nothing in common with the original house.

Sorry about the view....just turn your head sideways...










This is the skylight in the master bath.....we figure it will be a great way to get warm air out of the upstairs in the summer (we do not have AC...don't really need it).










This is an inside view of the bay window for the master bedroom......plenty of natural light. 










I am about 80% done on all the electrical. About 75% done on the plumbing. Downstairs is 100%. I just have the upstairs to do....mainly water....and it's not going to be easy...

We are shopping for windows and doors now....last big real expense.

Still trying to decide which way to go on shower pans.....hot mop....membrain or Kerdi. Can't use a 'common' size....this is what our upstairs (my) shower looks like.....we will have tempered glass going up from those walls....










Oh well...time to go work on the house....gotta beat the rains....


----------



## E-TEK

WOW - That is going to be some beautiful house when done!

I built Mrs E-tek a walk-In closet when we redid the North end of our home. She says it's perfect, but I think (know) we could have taken at least a foot out of the bathroom and given it to her walk-in. As it is, the closet is 5 feet wide (and 12' long), but with the 'built-ins" and other stuff, it got narrow fast. The bath on the other hand is huge....

Always in hindsight....

Keep posting - 'cause we're watching! Who knows, I might see it in person some time!

Cheers,
Ed.


----------



## Big-Foot

Good move on the prime & paint prior to drip edge! 

Great job you are doing here.. I like the bay window for the bedroom. Also the sky/tube light....

I don't do well at all with roofs and high places.. Fell off a two+ story roof when I was a kid.. Still not over it although flying and jumping out of planes has not been a problem..

Regards - Randy


----------



## ddawg16

Big-Foot said:


> I don't do well at all with roofs and high places.. Fell off a two+ story roof when I was a kid.. Still not over it although flying and jumping out of planes has not been a problem..
> 
> Regards - Randy


LOL.....funny how that works....I'm the same way.....have a couple of jumps under my belt....didn't bother me at all....never got the sense of falling.....

Flying? I go up with my FIL all the time in an acrobatic plan (Robin)....never bothers me....

But get over 6'? Not a happy camper.....

I guess I'm just a grounded kind of person.....

E-Tek....yea....you need to stop by the next time your passing through...beer is on me....


----------



## CoconutPete

AWESOME update! I was wondering how it was going! LOVE those solar tube lights.

Do you mean that the rainy season is a month or two away or that you think you will have shingles on the roof in a month? Doing that part yourself also?


----------



## ddawg16

CoconutPete said:


> Do you mean that the rainy season is a month or two away or that you think you will have shingles on the roof in a month? Doing that part yourself also?


Our rainy season 'usually' starts around November....

I re-roofed my existing house about 8 years ago.....I had SO much fun doing that task myself that I think it's only fair I let a roofer have a shot at the same fun....

So....if all goes well, I'll be ready for my inspection next Monday....then go find a roofer to cover it up.....(I have one guy I've used before...but will still get more quotes)


----------



## woody2010

Great write up. I'm looking forward to more.

One of my favorite parts of this thread is to look for the beer can or beer bottle in the pictures.


----------



## jcrizzy

ddawg,
I've been following your thread in amazement. Can't believe you're getting all this done on your own.

So maybe dumb question... but how did you go about framing the 2nd story (outside walls). Frame in place? or frame on floor and raise the walls?


----------



## ddawg16

jcrizzy said:


> ddawg,
> I've been following your thread in amazement. Can't believe you're getting all this done on your own.
> 
> So maybe dumb question... but how did you go about framing the 2nd story (outside walls). Frame in place? or frame on floor and raise the walls?


Frame on floor....

Square walls are easy....raked walls....NOT easy.

I would basically draw the wall layout on the floor using chalk lines....then build on top of that. Once I had it nailed....I would then nail down the corner OSB (shear wall). This insured the wall was square. Then with the help of my wife, we would raise it in place and anchor. Works fine if there is no wind.....


----------



## ddawg16

Just a quick update.....

As most of us know....the killer is in the details.....framing goes up somewhat quick.....but it's the guts that takes time. At this point I figure I'm about 90% complete on electrical. All that is left is one bedroom and the other half section of smokes and CO2 sensors. Plumbing...I'm going to call it 75% (maybe 80%). Most of it is going easy....I just have one part that will be a real PIA....so much fun sweating copper in a crawl space between floor joists.

One of the big items done is that I have moved the water heater from it's original location at the front of the house to its new home in the back. In realative terms, it's about 20' closer (as the pipe runs) to the existing bathroom.....and because most of the bathroom stuff is located in a central location....it's about as clean as you can get it.

One of the more challenging tasks was the vent stack for the gas water heater. I had to make a soffet for the exhaust pipe up the side of the house (NO, an ugly exposed pipe is NOT an option)

Old location...










New home......notice the nice 14g stainless steel base?










Water Heater in place....










Soffet for exhaust pipe....










Here is an example of some of the copper plumbing....I'm proud of it now....before I turn on the water.....











But the real news is that the inspector bought off the roof nailing.....I can now put on shingles. Had a couple of guys come by last week for quotes....gave the job to one of them tonight. Assuming all goes well, I won't be "Singing In The Rain" any more....I do NOT want to go through what I did this past winter with the rains.

We ordered and recieved all our windows.....I'm slowly installing them now.

I'm taking the week of Thanksgiving off with hopes that I can finish ALL the framing, electrial, plumbing and mechanical by then...then get my observation report...which means the buy off on framing....which means I can turn loose the stucco guy and I can start drywalling the b!tch...

If all goes as planned.....our kids will be sleeping in their own bedrooms Christmas day....they might have paint buckets on the wood floor...but they will be in their rooms (We are SOOOO tired of the kids fighting)


----------



## CoconutPete

Nice update.

You crazy Californians with your outside water heaters hehe.

Just kidding / I'm sitting in Southern California right now, the weather here is rather impressive.


----------



## ddawg16

I have a ROOF.........yes....after 18 months of construction.....we have a roof. And not a day too soon. We got drenched in rain yesterday evening....but that's ok....we have a roof.....no more running around a 2am with buckets and a shop vac trying to contain the water....no more plastic to buy to try and keep the water out....

No more of this.....









On Wed they got the low slope are membrane torched down......the decision on torch down vs hot mop made for many a night of browsing the web and asking quesitons on DIY.....many thanks to roofmaster, joecaption and others for the input.










This is where the existing roof joins up with the new section of roof with the low pitch. The roofing guy ran the membrane about 18-24" up under those shingles.....










And this is what the base layer looks like....this is the new synthetic stuff vs the old tar paper....it feels and looks a lot like tyvek.....but is really tough....and according to the roofer....is actually cooler than the black tar paper...even when the shingles are on it. Seeing how I have vaulted ceilings and the ceiling will be unvented...cooler is good.










And shingles.....real shingles...










Fireplace surround and skylight....and no, I am not done with the fireplace....now that the flashing is in place I can finish the outside....I purchased the flashing kit to go wtih the deck mounted skylight....makes for a cleaner and tighter seal.










And the overall view......the color of shingles we had were discontinued about 5 years ago...(about a year after I bought them)...so the new shingles are slightly different...but not so much that it bothers me.....I have a roof....at this point I wouldn't care if they were pink.










The next 2 weeks are going to be fun.....I'm about 95% done with electrical....80% with plumbing....98% with framing....the windows are here...I'll start putting those in....by Thanksgiving the house should be pretty much buttoned up. This winter is shaping up to be a lot dryer and warmer.


----------



## mystic_cobra

*outside water heater-WTF*



CoconutPete said:


> Nice update.
> 
> You crazy Californians with your outside water heaters hehe.
> 
> Just kidding / I'm sitting in Southern California right now, the weather here is rather impressive.


Yeah, what is with that????

I've lived in VA my whole life.


----------



## ddawg16

Time for a quick update....seeing how I most likely won't get a whole lot done tomorrow except eat too much and kill off a few brain cells.....

I'm starting to feel like that it's going to be a house....I got the last window set in the new construction part. (I still have 4 windows to replace in the existing house)

Not only do I have a roof....but now windows...no more plastic covering up holes to keep water out.

Windows are one of the items that going cheap on is not so cheap. These are Milgards....yea, I know, there not Anderson or Pela....but these are fiberglass on the outside (means we can paint them later if want), vinyl on the inside...Low E...Argon, UV blocking...etc.

The last one came in today....as you can see it's an odd shape....it is for the stairwell....










Inside view...










There was actually a lot of planning that went into windows and placement....one of the features I wanted was the ability to get on the roof without a ladder....hence, these windows are casement...just crank them open and step out. Additionally, we think it helps to keep the addition from looking like a stucco block from the street.










My wife has lots of plans for the area by these windows....with all the natural light, she will be able to do a lot of her artsy stuff...

Well...time to go get started on the holiday....cheers everyone and have a great Thanksgiving.


----------



## jcrizzy

whoa!!! nice!!! roof and windows, amazing! I've been following your thread and quite amazed at your work. At this rate you'll be done soon....what are we gonna do once you're done. no more thread to follow. very nice


----------



## ddawg16

jcrizzy said:


> whoa!!! nice!!! roof and windows, amazing! I've been following your thread and quite amazed at your work. At this rate you'll be done soon....what are we gonna do once you're done. no more thread to follow. very nice


Once a DIY'r......your never done.......I'm sure I'll find something.....actually, the list is already starting to get long....

Anyway....considering that this is Turkey day, I didn't think I would get any work done....but, we were back from church by 10:30.....wife had some cooking to do before we went to her parents house....so....I 'sort of' finished a project....the closet for the water heater....

From above, you might recall this...










Well....it helps to have access to things like this.....
12' shear....









Plasma cutter....










10' Brake....so I can ben it....This is the 'top' part of the closet.










One of the two sides being primed.....










And I got them up today.....










I still have a little work....but at least the water heater is not exposed.....

Need to make a couple of brackets/stops. Need to attach a latch for the door. The door (part with holes for the vent covers) is on a continous hinge. The other side is screwed to the wood frame. If I ever need to replace the water heater....I'll just need to open the door....take off a few screws on the side panel and I end up with access on two sides.....

BTW....it's 18g aluminized steel. Much better than the paper thin POS ready made closet they sell at HD.


----------



## ddawg16

Well.....if you saw the above pics....then you will know this wall.....this is the wall that is on the other side of where the water heater is. This room 'used' to be our master bed room. The only reason it 'could' be called the master bedroom was because it was a few square inches larger than the other bedrooms. For those wondering about acutal size...how about 13.5x11.5.

In it's new life....we call it the "Pub". To the right of the pic (out of view) is the stairway to the 2nd floor addition....on the left is going to be my bar...the place where us MEN hang out while our wives tend to our needs (make us food).










I had a lot of drywall to remove...and have what I consider a good method......

I cut down the wall about 20" or so from the edge of the intact drywall....










It's then a simple step to pull of hole chunks of drywall....translation....a lot less mess...










Once all the drywall was off and the old window out....I found some minor water damage....I'm going to speculate that it is very old damage. The PO at some point had the old windows (1950's) removed and replace with double pane AL windows...(the window seller must have been one of those door to door guys)...so I think the water damage happened with the original windows.










As with most projects....clean up is a significant factor.....well...my 10 yr old likes to help....so he got to pull out nails.....as recorded by my camera with a dirty lense....










And this is the wall stripped...floor cleaned and new window installed.


----------



## CoconutPete

Awesome! nice job getting work done on thanksgiving!


----------



## Gary in WA

Looking good! Don't forget to terminate the pressure relief valve outside the tin, for safety. Is that a ventilated crawlspace intake right next to the gas WH intake, any safety concerns there?

Gary


----------



## ddawg16

GBR in WA said:


> Looking good! Don't forget to terminate the pressure relief valve outside the tin, for safety. Is that a ventilated crawlspace intake right next to the gas WH intake, any safety concerns there?
> 
> Gary


The PRV pipe is on my list....I'm looking for a compression fitting to put on the pipe so that it's easier to remove if I have to....the other option is to just use a union....

As for the crawl space vent....good question...I'll see if the inspector brings it up...if not...I won't worry about it.

I was doing to 'calculations' the other day....I think my water heater is about 10 years old....so I figure I have maybe another 4-6 years of life out of it....considering some of the new technology that gas water heaters are getting....me thinks that I should maybe install an outlet near that water heater....before I close up the wall on the other side....


----------



## CoconutPete

ddawg16 said:


> I was doing to 'calculations' the other day....I think my water heater is about 10 years old....so I figure I have maybe another 4-6 years of life out of it....considering some of the new technology that gas water heaters are getting....me thinks that I should maybe install an outlet near that water heater....before I close up the wall on the other side....


Mine is manufactured in June of 1969 - are you saying I should consider replacing mine :whistling2:


----------



## ddawg16

CoconutPete said:


> Mine is manufactured in June of 1969 - are you saying I should consider replacing mine :whistling2:


43 years old? It must have been made before they figured out that if they didn't make them as well....they could sell more of them.


----------



## M3 Pete

Nice work. We got Milgard vinyl windows about a year ago. So far so good. I think they help, up here in the Valley we have a bit more temperature variation than the South Bay, and I have not finished my ceiling sealing project, so I have quite a bit of air leakage at the moment. So its hard to tell their real impact. But I like the fact that they reduce the UV sun damage to the interior furnishings a lot better than 1980 single pane. And the noise reduction is a plus.


----------



## ddawg16

M3....I think that once you get the leakage issue fixed.....you'll be in good shape. I've been impressed so far with the reduction in noise and temp with the windows.....and I have LOTS of leaks.....I don't even have insulation and drywall yet...


----------



## BigJim

John, you got it going your way now, that does look good. I know you are happy to be in the dry now. 

I checked out your Jeep build, man I broke out in a bad drool, that is a fine machine. You got a killer deal on the engine and trans also. I couldn't post on that board so I just posted here. You did a fantastic job on your Jeep. Do you do any rock crawling out your way? You should see some of the rock crawlers here, just unreal. Sorry to hi jack your thread, I couldn't help myself being an ole time mechanic.


----------



## ddawg16

Thanks Jim.....chances are I know some of the jeepers out in your area. There is anther forum I'm on that is just for jeep....a lot of TN guys are on there. What's really cool about some of those rigs is that there is no Bolt On Bling (I call it BOB)...just good ol' backyard fabrication skills.....non of this off the shelf lift kit or long arm kit....

I used to wheel a lot....haven't since the frame-up restore...jeep is not finished. I have a D44 Flat top sitting on the driveway....knuckles are cut and drilled...I need to chop off 4" of the axle on one end...then figure out which locker...since I have air....ARB is in a sligh lead over a Detroit....and I think I need new gears...4.56 to go with the 35's....

But first...I need to finish the house.....and my boys are getting old enough now to want to work on the jeep....my boys will not be the 'take it to a mechanic' types.....


----------



## BigJim

ddawg16 said:


> Thanks Jim.....chances are I know some of the jeepers out in your area. There is anther forum I'm on that is just for jeep....a lot of TN guys are on there. What's really cool about some of those rigs is that there is no Bolt On Bling (I call it BOB)...just good ol' backyard fabrication skills.....non of this off the shelf lift kit or long arm kit....
> 
> I used to wheel a lot....haven't since the frame-up restore...jeep is not finished. I have a D44 Flat top sitting on the driveway....knuckles are cut and drilled...I need to chop off 4" of the axle on one end...then figure out which locker...since I have air....ARB is in a sligh lead over a Detroit....and I think I need new gears...4.56 to go with the 35's....
> 
> But first...I need to finish the house.....and my boys are getting old enough now to want to work on the jeep....my boys will not be the 'take it to a mechanic' types.....


Your boys are going to love helping you and they are learning things that will stay with them for life. My son is a grease monkey still and loves it. 

Here is a video of one crawler climbing a hill on Aetna Mountain which is about 2 miles from our house. I love the sound of his engine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDoy9S82ETA&feature=related

The city just annexed the mountain this past week and no one can use the mountain to crawl now.

Sorry to get your thread off topic.


----------



## ddawg16

Time for an update before the year is over.

In summary....I poured the concrete for the foundation in July.....of LAST year.....at this point, I'm about 99% done with the frameing....I have a roof....all the windows are in (new construction part)....doors should be here in a couple of weeks......about 90% done on the electrical.....I still have some 'mechanical' (HVAC ducts) issues to resolve....and as of today, I'm about 95% done on the plumbing. What's left is the easy part....today I got the remaining hot & cold pipes completed and tied in to the existing plumbing.......and NO LEAKS.

This is where the upstairs ties into the downstairs plumbing......it ain't pretty....but it don't leak.....










It comes up here.....










And gets a bit more ugly.....(but no leaks)










Where it feeds a bathtub...shower and 2 sinks.......and before anyone comments....I'll be doing a soffet in this area to hid the pipes....










The last leg going upstairs...










The plumbing for the shower.....I'm really glad there was no leaks......when I was doing the final nailing I forgot about the 'no nail zone and was afraid I may have hit one of my pipes.....I'll be doing a shake test tomorrow to make sure that I don't have any leaks.....right now it's 'Miller time'....










I really hope I don't have to work on this any time soon....it's getting crowded....this is the vent, drain and water to the wife's bathtub...










And this pic is for fun......I call it the "Christmas Tree".....it's where a shower, pub drain, bathroom sink and toilet all come together.....and yes, the inspector bought off on it....










Well.....it's just a few days until the new year.....while I still have a lot to do...I doubt there will be any pictures of worth....

So....I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.......and Happy New Year.....

I'm looking forward to not letting this thread go past 2013....


----------



## ddawg16

Final update of the year......It's been cold....and I must admit....I've been enjoying a bit of play time with the kids.....so badly needed from both sides.....

Yesterday I completed the remaining waste plumbing....finished one of the tasks I had been putting off....tieing in the upstairs drain to the main system. It was not easy pushing the pipes far enough apart to get the T in. But it's in....and looks good if I say so myself.

Today I got the outside of the water heater painted and the grills on. Except for the latch....my custom water heater closet is done....





























So.....since I started this addition in July (of last year)....I have gone from just grass in my back yard to a little over 1000 additional sq ft....I have a roof....I'm 100% complete on plumbing, 95% complete on electrical, about 98% on framing.....

At this point, I have about 12 simpson straps that need to be hammered in. I have two BA bolts I need to drill the holes for. One OSB panel to cut and repair, run the HVAC duct over to the addition and route, 8 floor joists that needs hardware, finish up the T&G soffett on one side (bare with me guys....just thinking out loud).......Some blocking between the roof rafters on the outside, box in the load center, install the rough cut beam on one side (purely architectual).....and one last pass looking for the shiners and making sure all my panel nailing is correct.

Then I'll be ready for my rough in for electrical and plumbing....and I can get the observation report for the framing. Once that is done and the inspector buys off on it (which he will since my architect is stricter than he is)....I'll be on the down slope.....insulate....drywall....wrape the outside....stucco....

Once the drywall inside is done....my wife gets REAL busy.....she is doing all the tile.....(I just end up lugging the stuff in)

Well.....Happy New Year Everyone.....I'm looking forward to 2013 being the year we get to actually live in our new addition...


----------



## CoconutPete

Looks good!

Love the carpet pattern under the "christmas tree"


----------



## ddawg16

Update time.....The past weekend had some much needed great weather....high 70's.....the holidays was rough....down with the flue and I'm only now getting my energy back...so it was time to tackle some of the tasks I had been avoiding...mainly because I don't like heights...

One of the last outside tasks is finishing the boards under the eaves......in case anyone is wondering...I'm doing the T&G lap board so that the eaves on the addition look the same as the existing house....I think one of the tackiest looking things is to see an additon to a house where the style of the addition does not match the existing house. I feel any addition should look it was a part of the house from the begining....



















Forgot to take a pic of the final result....I'll do that tomorrow...

It's a lot of work cutting those strips at the angle....lots of climbing up and down the scaffolding....did I mention that I hate heights?

I also finished the lights in my crawl space.....not sure why I wait until I'm almost done with all the work down there to get something finished that would have helped me a lot with all the plumbing....oh well...at least I have light now....










This is my pull box.....I have a conduit that runs from my load center under the family room slab to this box....then from here it goes to another pull box under the existing house....and then up to the attic where those THHN/TWHN wires you see connect to the existing wiring of the house.....each set of wires is about 80'....and yes, I did run a few spares.










And I have enough space for a few more wires.

Those terminal blocks connect to my 'utility' power...it's a GFIC ckt to power the lights and a couple of outlets around the house. As soon as I have time, I'll install a couple of outlets under the house so that I don't have to run an extension cord down in the crawl space every time I need to use a power tool.

This view is the conduit going to the existing part of the house....plus I knew Conconut Pete would want another pic of my carpet...










About 2 more days and I think I'll be ready to have my rough-in inspection for electrical....


----------



## ddawg16

Quick update....

Passed Electrical rough-in.....I should be ready for the plumbing rough-in inspection this coming Monday....and maybe even the mechanical.....after that.....the architect can do the observation report.....

Once I have that....I 'should' get buy off on my framing....which means I can insulate....drywall....outside can get wrapped...hell...it means I'm close to having a house that is usable....

My wife is stoked....she now feels like she can go shopping for tile....(she is laying all the tile herself)


----------



## oh'mike

That some nice looking pipe work----

I hope the inspections go well----It'll be great to get the drywall and finishes started---


----------



## ddawg16

Quick update.....passed plumbing rough-in inspection. Initially, I thought it was a PIA to have to block off all my DWS pipes and fill them with water......

Then.....while sitting on the roof late at night filling the pipes with water via the water hose while my wife was downstairs on leak watch duty, I was thinking to myself, "I sure hope there are no leaks"....and then it hit me...."That's why you test for leaks".

I have no worries now about my plumbing....I have NO leaks....


----------



## BigJim

You got it on a down hill drag now buddy, looks great.


----------



## ddawg16

Another quick little update.....

Back when we were designing the house, one of the import design features was to have the load center flush mounted in the wall. Unfortunately, the only wall that it could be mounted on is a C shear wall...hence, I can't have a hole in it that big...so it was surface mounted. But I hate the look of a 2" conduit pipe going up the wall.

Over the weekend I got the box built around the load center and pipe. When we do the stucco, this will all be stucco'd.










The only thing left is to make a door. I need to order some stainless steel hinges...anything else will look like crap in a year.










If you look to the right of the box (your left), you will notice that the box does not extend all the way to the wall. This was done on purpose...actually, it was the wife's idea....that 'notch' is large enough for the rain gutter....hence, we don't have to look at the rain gutter coming down the wall. The box around the load center is also high enough that we think we can get a rain barrel under it.


----------



## ddawg16

Another quick update.....working on some interior framing.....

This wall is where we are going to hang the TV. Behind it is the space under the stairs. It's going to be data central...all the cable and Ethernet comes in here...this will be where the cable modem, router and other comm gear is. 

I put in the 2x12's between those studs so I have a solid place to attach the wall mount for the TV.

The space below is for the reciever, DVD player and Wii....which means I'll have rear access for cables. I'll also have room for a couple of drawers for misc stuff/DVD's...etc.



















One of the things I need to figure out...cable connections. Instead of doing wall plates for power, Cable and HDMI....I'm thinking of just putting in a couple of large holes so I can pass the cables through.

I think my 7 year old daughter is trying to give me a hint......like, maybe the construction is going at a 'snails pace'? She made this little snail for me....


----------



## CoconutPete

Looking good! Love the planning you can do when its all a blank slate.


----------



## ddawg16

Another milestone reached.....I got buy-off today on my mechanical....translation...HVAC ducts, Vents and gas lines.....

Next step....I have about 2 more days of work and I'll be ready for my architect to come out for the observation report. With that in hand my inspector comes back out for the framing inspection.....if passed....I get the green light to insulate....drywall...wrap the outside and start stucco....

Ya know.....I just might get this b!tch done....

A few progress pics...

This is where my FAH comes in. (my unit also has an evaporator...but this is California...I'm 4 miles from the beach....don't need AC)...
I made the plenum (that metal is sharp)....I have a 12" flex duct from the FAH coming into it....going out the top is an 8" duct...out the bottom a 7" and 6"..










The upper duct feeds air to the master bath....I hat a Y so I can feed some hot air to the adjacent bedroom...but I'm thinking we won't need it....will have to see...










This the bottom floor end of the duct....7" goes to the family room....5" to the bathroom....another 5" to my oldest sons bedroom...










Duct in my son's bedroom....










And the duct for the family room....










I did quite a bit of searching on duct size....by normal standards, most are going to say that our 70K btu FAH is undersized for our new 2100 sq house.....however, based on past experience, I think we are going to be just fine. The house will be insulated much better than it was before. Even now we get sweated out of the bedrooms...it's oversized right now...as soon as I hook in the addition....I'll know for sure. We don't need that much heat now...so I'm sure we are going to be ok.

One last pic.....the B-vent for our 2 sided fireplace upstairs....one side faces into the master bath...other side into the bedroom....if it gets cold enough...we can just crank it on....


----------



## Gary in WA

Wow, lot of progress! I read you will have framing inspection soon, here is a guide written by one of our moderators, very informative; eg. over your fire place chase- Post #5; http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-fireblock-framing-37190/ This should help you, I hope!

Gary


----------



## ddawg16

Gary....THANK YOU for the link....good information...still reading it....

FYI....while not obvious...I do have some fire blocking on that fireplace...what you can't see is the sheet of 5/8" Type X drywall that is attached to the underside of the top frame....the idea being that if the fire started there....I'm stopping it there....but as I read the link you gave me....I might need to do more. Without a doubt, I will be going back and looking at everything in the house....

It's one thing to meet code....it's a whole different matter of protecting my family....I prefer to prevent the fire in the first place....but as we all know, sh!t happens....so nothing wrong with going the extra step.

Once again...thank you for that link....


----------



## ddawg16

Just another quick update.....Gary....here is a pic of the drywall between the fireplace and exhaust chase.......and yes...there is 1" between the pipe and wood.










Gary....I read your PM.....is this the area your talking about?










If you look closely, you can tell where I cut it lower in order to get the hanger down low....but when I did that....non of the holes for the hanger would hit the support member....


----------



## Gary in WA

That's the spot. Wood will split at the hanger. A good inspector will want a hanger/support under the stringers at the bottom. Anywhere else could compromise the depth of stringer material that is left after riser/tread notches are cut out. Code requires 5" of throat left; fig. 28; http://www.awc.org/Publications/DCA/DCA6/DCA6-09.pdf Sloped hanger, fig. 31.

Think of the wood similar to a rafter, except there is a lot less bearing pressure as you are at the top, not bottom on a wall, pp. 38; http://books.google.com/books?id=iw...um=3#v=onepage&q=cutting floor joists&f=false

Just add a 2x after plumb-cutting the bottom unused hanger slice, after adding a header, lower. ; pp.2 center bottom figure; http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...dA20qdik0HavkGQ&bvm=bv.44442042,d.cGE&cad=rja

Those appear to be temporary treads ? as they are not back-nailed/glued through the risers at 6"oc... and face grain is running wrong for max. strength (though the 12.33" stringer centers help, lol.). Looking good!

Gary
PS. Add a short wall under stringer span, if needed, I would, and remember to insulate them for noise, same w. bathroom interior walls.


----------



## ddawg16

Gary....once again....thanks for the input.....

The inspector has looked at those stairs several times...no comments........a few things of note.....those are 2x14 stringers 12" OC....the throat is 7"....the stringers on the outsides are hard nailed to studs...pretty much all the way along the length of the stringer....hence, the attachment at the top is pretty much moot....

On my treads...those are 1 1/8" plywood....I have not nailed and glued those yet....I was going to do that when I'm about read to put the 1" oak treads on top.
Considering how tough that T&G is....I don't think it matters which way I run it....though I agree....the grain should have been the other way.

Funny.....at the time I looked right....but now that it's pointed out....yea....I get it....


----------



## ddawg16

Another update.....my inspector is on vacation....and I'm basically ready for the observation report and resulting framing inspection....so....in the mean time....it's a good time to do some the 'finer' details....

The space under the stairs is 'data central'. This is where my cable comes in to the cable modem and resulting Ethernet. I felt we had a signal issue due to splitters....my cable goes to my garage....through a 2-way splitter....3db drop.....then into 'data central'....3-way splitter....the 'good' port is another 3db drop...but the other 2 going to tv's is 7db each. In English....that means that my original signal is about 1/16 th the power by the time it reaches the tv's...and that's assuming I'm using good coax and have good connections.










This is where all of my Ethernet and coax comes in...










With the addition...we also plan on more tv's...which means more splitters....so common sense says that I need an amplifier....so I got an 8 port unit.....$50 from Amazon....










Our channel 7 ABC was marginal....lots of pixelisation along with delayed/out of sequence audio. With the amp....perfect.

My initial plan for the electronics was to put everything into cubbies under the stairs.....but after a few hours of sitting there having a beer or two (or three) looking at it....all of the stuff is ending up on back wall where the TV will be.

It's all hooked up and running....except for figuring out how I want to route the wiring.....It's pretty much done.....just have a couple more Ethernets and RG6 to run and this part will be done....


----------



## leonki

When using cable splinters the rule of thumb is less is more. Also you can't use an amp on a cable modem. Make sure you have a direct line here, a 2/1 splitter that feeds cable modem and then 8 way amp for cable boxes. While you're at it don't forget to run extra rg6 cables for telephone. Also run an extra cable line to your tv. It might not be used now but in the future you might want a cable for satellite and a cable for free to air antenna. Easier to run wires now than later!


----------



## ddawg16

leonki said:


> When using cable splinters the rule of thumb is less is more. *Also you can't use an amp on a cable modem. *Make sure you have a direct line here, a 2/1 splitter that feeds cable modem and then 8 way amp for cable boxes. While you're at it don't forget to run extra rg6 cables for telephone. Also run an extra cable line to your tv. It might not be used now but in the future you might want a cable for satellite and a cable for free to air antenna. Easier to run wires now than later!


This amp is the exception....it amplifies both directions....my cable modem works just fine...and it also includes an unpowered port that I can use for the cable modem.

Yea.....I'm running extra cable...as well as Cat6. RG6 and CAT6 are pretty cheap compared to cutting open a wall.


----------



## ddawg16

I passed the structural observation by the architect....so I now have the observation report....next Monday I should be able to have the inspector out for the framing inspection....if I pass that (which I should).....then it's insulation...drywall...stucco....

I just might have a house in another month or so....I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.....(as long as it's not the oncoming train)


----------



## leonki

Some amps say they're rated bidirectional for cable modems which is true for low speed cable modem. But if you want DOCSIS 3 / 45+ Mbps use the I amped port and you'll be set. Also get a label maker and put labels on all those cables. Gives it that pro look. Did you consider running wire for home alarm?


----------



## ddawg16

Update....major milestone reached.....

Framing inspection passed......it means I can insulate, drywall and wrap.......so far, that light at the end of the tunnel does not look like an on coming train....

Translation.....The kids just might be in their own rooms by July.....and we have more than one bathroom (toilet)


----------



## forcedreno2012

Gratz on the inspection :thumbsup:

On to the fun stuff


----------



## CoconutPete

Congrats! Now get to it so we can see some pics!


----------



## ddawg16

Thanks Pete.....I had the place insulated on Wed.....inspected on Thursday.....now it's time to drywall.....

I'll post up some pics of the insulation tonight.....it's too nice today to not be working on it.....


----------



## ddawg16

Ok....as promised....pics of the insulation.....

I paid $1300 for a company to come in and do it.....they were done in one day and I didn't get all all itchy from the insulation....this is one of those tasks where writing a check is some of the best spent money....



My plans require that the joists between the 1st and 2nd floors be insulated.....



Stairwell...........



And the upstairs master bedroom...





Master Bath





Besides the fact that the company cleaned up when done...they even sealed any small spaces.....attention to detail..



The company was licensed....and came recommended.....something to be said for knowing people.


----------



## CoconutPete

Nice!


----------



## ddawg16

Another update.....

Now that the addition is insulated...I need to get the overhang outside covered up so the insulation is not exposed to the elements....





Initially we were going to go with vinyl under the overhang....but since the eave's are spruce T&G....we figured we might as well keep the same look....so a $200 trip to the lumber yard solved part of the problem....



Then I covered it with 30lb paper. Why 30 and not 15? Because I had a roll of 30 laying around with no use....



Nailing the T&G up is not a big deal....but since the walls are going to be stucco...I don't really care for the look of stucco just butted up against the wood....so I made some trim strips out of 2x4's....I took a 14' 2x4 and ripped it into a 1.5 x 1.5 strip...and then cut out a 5/8" groove so the ends of the T&G can fit in there...

I then routed the edge of the trim so as to not have that oh so attractive 'square look'....



One more task done....


----------



## IDIMyself

Is that a bomb/storm shelter? I wish my house was built that well... every time I have a 25mph wind up on my hill it sounds like the roof is going to rip off. 
Amazing job and the photos are great! You're no DIYer and your work site is always so clean! Incredible job! Thank you very much for all the details.


----------



## kwikfishron

Not sure how much soffit you have left to do but you should run a 4-6” strip of felt on the wall up to the rafters (before soffit) then the stucco felt will tuck up underneath that eliminating cold joint.


----------



## ddawg16

Kwick....are you talking about the inside corner?


----------



## kwikfishron

ddawg16 said:


> Kwick....are you talking about the inside corner?


I didn't notice that above the window at first but yes, it should be like that everywhere.


----------



## ddawg16

Ok....if your talking the outside then? I am going to rip and route a strip of wood on that outside edge....it will have two purposes....one, the inside will seal the joint where the boards stop.....and yes, there will be liberal application of caulk there. 

The other purpose is the provide a good edge for the stucco weep screed to terminate against. This is the part I'm still trying to work out...the type of weep screed. I can't use what I use for the bottom of the wall. Initial thought was good ol' J channel....but I've also seen some angled j-channel.

One of my concerns is water coming down the wall and then trying to wick up between the j-channel and the wood trim.

The more I research 'water leaks', wicking seems to be a major cause.


----------



## ddawg16

Time for another update. I'm waiting for more quotes for drywall before I decide on who does it or if I just do it myself. At this point, it looks like I'm going to be doing it myself. Might be time to call in some favors and plan on a weekend of drywall raising. It might cost me a lot of beer.

Anyway....since last weekend was spent white water rafting with my oldest son (great weekend by the way), it was time to play catch up....sort of. Yesterday was shot....early morning task with work...then last night I took the boys to see Iron Man 3....(priorities) 

So...today...I worked on getting the surround for the fireplace chimney done. 

I 'was' going to just do it in stucco....but since I had a couple of sticks of T&G left over...change in plans....

This pic is of the surround with one side of T&G installed. I had already installed the tar paper as a water barrier and the z bar flashing at the bottom.



All of the T&G I used got primered prior to be nailed in place. Based on the things I've learned from this site....the first step to keeping water out is to not let it in. The second step if it does get in, don't let it get into the wood. The tar paper and z-bar should keep water out of the surround...but painting the wood on both sides should insure that the wood does not get wet.



Since the surround is one of the highest parts of the roof.....and the ceiling of the balcony is below it...I installed a vent in the side of the surround. 90% of the wind we get comes from the west. This vent is on the east side...so the chances of water being blown into it is slim. I have a good size gap between the B-vent and sheathing...so there is plenty of space for hot air to come up.



But if there is anything that is more enjoyable about getting this done today.....it's getting the TV antenna up along with my weather station. My kids gave that weather station to me this last Christmas.....not the one that was 5 months ago...the one that was 17 months ago.

But what is also enjoyable....I no longer have the antenna in my way....it's up...and out of the way.



Now I just need to finish the coax and ground. The antenna is the backup to cable.


----------



## ddawg16

Time for another update.

Doors.......

Doors are one of those things that you really can't cheap out on....you can buy a budget door....and in a couple of years...it looks like a budget door. We lucked out in that we are able to guy solid wood doors directly from a local manufacture. You do not want to walk into their showroom.....if you do....leave you wallet behind.....it's the only place that I know of that makes Medieval doors...9-10' high....along with about anything else.

So...we ordered 2 sets of French doors.....now, due to a 'slight' error on my part, I got the rough openings slightly smaller than standard. Not a big deal...they custom make doors....

So....$4000 later.....I have my 2 sets of doors....



And then I find out that I really can't measure with a damn......I get the first frame assembled.....and....



My rough opening is about 1/8" too narrow and about 1/2" too short.....CRAP!!!!! Maybe my tape measure is out of calibration.

So today....all that hard work to frame out the opening....demo time...





This is the door tacked in....it was too dark to really put in the final nails....I prefer to do it with plenty of light....nothing worse that 'thinking' you have it square to only find out in the light that it's not.



One of the issues with the rough opening was that besides being too small, it was not exactly square. My sides were plumb.....but....I kinda screwed up on the foundation....for some reason one side is about 1/4" higher than the rest of the floor....what I think happened is that the forms in the middle dropped a little during the pour making the center of the addition almost 3/8" lower than the outside walls.

Note to anyone doing a big project like this....get one of those laser levels....I no longer trust the string and bubble....

So now, I have about a 3/8" gap at the bottom of the door to fill in. I'm thinking dry packing mortar is the best solution. I'll do a post about it to get your guys input.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Love the progress ddawg!!


----------



## ddawg16

Quick update. I'm 'really' close to drywall....just trying to get all the little details done that come before drywall....like all the cables...phone...Ethernet, coax, speaker...etc.

As you may recall, the space under the stairs is data central....EVERYTHING goes there. What is nice is that I have crawl space access to the adjacent wall....but....it's not so easy between that space and the existing house...specifically, the attic.

So...I installed a 1.5" PVC conduit between the existing attic and 'data central'. The conduit will allow me to pull additional Ethernet and coax as needed.

Step 1. Drill a big a$$ hole in the PSL beam that is between the existing house and addition.





Step 2. Install coupling in wall to data central.





Step 3. 'Modify' conduit so that it will snake around drain pipe.



Step 4. Install PVC conduit





Step 5. Go to HD to get more cement because your existing can has dried up.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good. 

Good job pre-planning and thinking ahead.

You have a second career waiting for you should you ever choose to want to do it.


----------



## ddawg16

Windows on Wash said:


> Looking good.
> 
> Good job pre-planning and thinking ahead.
> 
> You have a second career waiting for you should you ever choose to want to do it.


Thank you sir....but I fear I would starve at it...I'm too bloody slow....


----------



## Windows on Wash

You would be surprised what folks pay for great work.


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Dog.... I haven't made it through your entire thread yet, but it is excellent/ fun and informative reading. GREAT JOB... and looking forward to finishing it tonight. Great chronical also.

Specially interesting to me as my son and I just finished 1800 ft addition on his Dana Point beach cottage, so I can really relate to Cali building... and having to learn earthquake engineering verse snow load engineering.

Where you located in SoCal

Peter


----------



## ddawg16

Peter....basically the South Bay area of Los Angeles....close to Manhattan Beach and Torrance


----------



## forgivethemess

Hey Ddawg,

Awesome thread. Very informative! I'm the person who posted about renovating a house while living in it. Wondering if you would be interested in discussing with me further about your home renovation--is there an email address I can reach you at? Can't figure out how to private message on this thing. I am also located in So Cal.


----------



## ddawg16

Another update....(seeing how I doubt I'll get much done tomorrow on Fathers Day).

As I've said before....it's the little things that seem to take so much time. I'm basically ready to drywall....but....once the drywall is up it's not so easy to run Cat6 or Coax....so I'm making sure I have everything in that I want....

Last little item....I installed a 1" conduit to my crawl space. I'll be able to pull wires up it to my 'data central' without having to drill holes or open up walls.



The hot mop guy is coming on Monday so I have to make sure my showers are properly blocked prior to that. This part was actually a bit easier than I thought.

This is the seat in the upstairs shower...



And this is the downstairs shower.



And I finally got around to installing the pocket door hardware. I've only had the hardware for a 1.5 years....









I did get a couple of pieces of drywall hung.....forgot how heavy that stuff is....writing the check for someone else to hang the majority of it is not going to be so painful.


----------



## ddawg16

Another update......

I was pretty busy over the weekend....finally getting some of the nitty gritty details done.

After a lot of research...I decided to go hot mop on the shower pan. One of the key factors was that all the homes around me are hot mopped.....with only a few exceptions (mine being one of them), all have the original hot mopped shower pan....60 years +? That's pretty good.

So I spent the weekend getting the blocking done. And I got around to hanging some of the first drywall. 1st on the list, downstairs bathroom......we need another toilet bad.....real bad.....

Today the hot mop guy came....I really like the guy...took the time to explain everything....I wish all trades were like him.....

This is the downstairs shower....



Upstairs toilet



Both are full of water.....inspector is coming tomorrow....

And this is some of the first drywall....I know I don't need to use green board by the washer and dryer....but it doesn't hurt.....



One of my 'design features' that I like.....my dryer vent.....I created a 10x20 recessed area behind the dryer. It has the gas line and a hole in the wall for the vent. What I like about it is that I can pull out the dryer vent pipe and turn off the gas and disconnect the line. Reconnecting everything is easy. Push the dryer into position.....go outside...reach in through the hole, reconnect the gas...then push in the vent pipe.....none of this stuff of using flex line or having the climb behind the dryer to mess with things.



And I got the ceiling drywall in the bottom bathroom done....



Tomorrow (assuming I pass the inspection)...water comes out and I start on the shower walls. I'll most likely do a separate thread on that.


----------



## Amateuralex

Looks great. The hot mop thing is new to me.


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Hey Dawg.... Lookin good:thumbsup:

I find it interesting how we use different assemblys on a seemingly regional basis (excluding structural issues like earthquakes verse snowloads).

I had never seen or heard of hot mop out here in Co.
I always do a rubber membrane, and sometimes contract a Kerdi out here.


All I can figure is that with our roof pitches... (no hot mop tar gravel roofing), eqipment and expertise is not generally available and shower bases just don't get done that wayout here?

I wasn't in Cali when Mike had his roofer do his MB shower (other two showers are tubs). He said it was slick as snot (except for the odor).

Mike could not really explain what kind of cement they can spread dry to get the pre-base slope... while we don't hot mop... don't really understand why we still don't use that "dry" cement pre-slope.

Are ya doing your top/tile slope... I hate that job... probably because I'm an inexperienced old lady trying to get it perfect.

Good goin on the inspection.:thumbsup:


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Also Dawg.... Can't really site down your framing... but it looks awfully clean/straight.

We were going to do Mike's rock, but I was tied up in Co and he got a great price subbing it.

But Mike spent two days shimming/shaving his framing for the rockers. Your wet doug fir framing was new to us.... we use a KD SPF out here... and your framing looks as clean as Co framing.... nice job:thumbsup:


----------



## ddawg16

Thanks MTN....

Some of that framing is the old original DF from the 50's. In fact, as I demoed part of the house, I re-used what I could. What is interesting...all my new 2x4's are exactly 1.5" thick....the old stuff is 1 5/8".

That big 3'x3' square in the background is where the old window used to be for the existing bathroom. In other words, your actually looking at the outside wall of the original house.

Your right about the different building styles....based on what I have learned, hot mop works here because we don't get the extreem temperature differences you do. Hot mop does not do well in freezing temps. I plan to do a thread on just the hot mop once I get the showers done and have a good collection of photos.

Yea...I'll be doing my own rock....assuming I pass inspection today, I'll drain the water...toss some sand down on the hot mop and then put some cardboard on top so I have something to walk on without damaging the surface.

I'm using hardibacker...I prefer it over cement board because you don't get all the little pieces of cement when you drill holes.

I will need to fir out the walls about 3/16" to a 1/4". That will get the walls plumb with the surface of the hot mop. I'll then run a layer of felt all around the studs going all the way down to the pan....that is my vapor barrier. I will then install the hardibacker on the walls. The hardibacker will go down to within about a 1/4 of the bottom.

With that in place...I mix up my spec mix and shape the bottom. Once that is in place...ready for tile.

Actually, that won't happen for a few weeks.....we need to get the floor done first. My plan is to have the drywall in the bathroom done by Sat so I can start tape and mudding. The laundry room you see in the above pics is actually right outside the bathroom door. This bathroom is what we call the mud room...it's the closest to the back outside door.

Our HD carries the hardibacker in 4x8 sheets....I have a good sub-floor (3/4" T&G) but I want my tile to have a nice solid surface....those larger panels reduce the chance of flex.

Right now we just need to get another toilet working....5 people and just one toilet is not hacking it.....


----------



## ddawg16

Well....passed hot mop inspection....on to the next step......time to learn how to float a shower floor......open to any and all suggestions...


----------



## Ralph Coolong

Your a very busy man, Good luck, and it all looks great
Maybe I should have gone with this hot mop idea? I am doing the old style. mud and rubber.


----------



## ddawg16

Ralph...I don't think the hot mop is for you. What I have learned is that hot mop works well in climates that do not see cold temperatures....It's a cold snap if the temperature gets in the mid 30's where I live.

Based on my research, mud and rubber or Kerdi is the way to go in your neck of the woods.


----------



## ddawg16

It's been a productive week more or less....started hanging drywall. At this point our plan is to put all of our effort into getting the downstairs bathroom and bedroom done. With the 3 kids sleeping in one bedroom.....it's killing us....they are at each others throats...bedtime is a major event each night. Time to get the boys out and into the new bedroom...

So...I'm now able to use the drywall lift I bought off Craig's list 2 years ago for what it's really intended....lifting drywall....not PSL beams.



1st piece in place.....I can't imagine trying to lift a 10' long piece of 5/8" drywall up into place single handed....



It even makes smaller pieces easy....



And....it's a good time to check all those 'holes' for missing tools. I'd been looking for these strippers for about 2 weeks. We all know how it happens...you up on a ladder doing work....you put the tool down in the closest spot.....typically a top plate.



This room is going to be our oldest sons (now 11) room....because of the angled wall....his closet is going to be angled...but instead of a boring door....he is going to have a split pocket door. Once all the work is done, we are going to add automation to it so that it opens like a door in Star Trek.....

Anyway....for this split door....it took the standard pocket door kit and basically cut the slide in half...



After doing the pocket door for the laundry room (wall is kind of bouncy with 1/2" drywall)...and using Oh'Mike's advice.....I attached 1/2" OSB to the inside....not only did it stiffen it up, I now have a real good surface to attach a closet rod to....or shelves. (thanks Mike for the idea)



I had some "op's paint" in the garage...so I painted the inside of the pocket door....this does two things...covers the bare wood (less likely to absorb odors) and the dark color hides the inside.



Well...the drywall is done in this room as well as the bathroom......





On Friday I start the tape and mud.....


----------



## forcedreno2012

Looking good Dawg.


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Dawg... Hope these instructions help you for the next few days.......

1)...... Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-Tape en Mud-

2)REPEAT



Looks good... good going

Best

Peter


----------



## ddawg16

Thanks Guys....this is the part of the project where the beer cost goes way up....

Side note....

When the drywall starts....that is when you find out how straight your framing is.....or is not.....


----------



## Ralph Coolong

Love the sheet rock lift. I have one just like it and use it off and on for the past 6 years.. Over head sheet rock sucks, but not when you have a lift..
The way I do it is:laughing: open beer, load sheet rock, drink beer, so on and so fourth all day long, Then when my wife comes home from work and finds me passed out in the new addition shes ok with it because I put up all the sheet rock and got drunk at the same time.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


----------



## ddawg16

Ralph....a VERY accurate description of the steps involved.....


----------



## ddawg16

Time for a long over due update.

My concentration has been on the downstairs bathroom/laundry room and oldest boy's bedroom....along with several 'distractions'.....getting quotes for stucco....scouting.....work....and our new dog.

As they say, experience is the best teacher.....and too all you drywall guys....you earn every cent....dam....that is not easy work....

Lesson learned #1 - The cost of drywall is nothing compared to the 'cost' of trying to patch all the seams.....in the next go-around on drywall...I'm using the largest sheets I can.

And in case your wondering why that one side has so many screws in it.....I followed Oh' Mike's suggestion and hung 1/2 plywood between the pocket door studs. It does 2 things....it makes the wall a LOT stiffer....and it gives me something solid to screw into if I want to hang something on that wall.





I'm not doing all of it alone....the wife is doing most of the tile work.



This 'cheap' HD tile saw has payed for itself....but I think it's time for a new blade



It does an ok job cutting holes......



Bathroom/laundry room tile is in......and I must say, I'm somewhat proud of how my plumbing turned out.





Washer and dryer are back in their place.



And I'm ready now to put a toilet in.....if you only knew how bad we need another toilet.....


----------



## oh'mike

I havent look in on your project in a while---Everything is looking great!


----------



## ddawg16

Oh happy days.....OH, HAPPY DAYS..............we have second 'working' waste disposal.

After a lot of research....I picked the Toto Drake II. It was rated up there with the Kohler Windsor....but the deciding factors were how much cleaner the bowl stays (less crevasses), quieter and it's made in Japan......we all know how serious the Japanese are about their toilets....

Interesting thing about price....list if $584....Amazon is selling it for $311 with free shipping....my local plumbing supply $354....in stock. I went there yesterday trying to get a better price....told him about the Amazon price....he said...good luck getting it delivered without cracks.

I need to buy one more so I 'might' try Amazon.....is it worth saving $40?

Anyway....here it is flipped over getting it ready...



I ran a bead of clear silicone around the bottom....then gave it about 45 min to dry...



And since this is the downstairs bathroom next to Davids room....I let him have the 1st flush.....



It it a bit quieter than our other Kohler toilet....and flushes a lot faster. This is a 1.28g model....but there seems to be no lack of flush performance. Of course, the real test will be when I 'test' it. I think some Mexican food would be in order for today....that should make for a 'full load' test.


----------



## djlandkpl

ddawg16 said:


> Interesting thing about price....list if $584....Amazon is selling it for $311 with free shipping....my local plumbing supply $354....in stock. I went there yesterday trying to get a better price....told him about the Amazon price....he said...good luck getting it delivered without cracks.
> 
> I need to buy one more so I 'might' try Amazon.....is it worth saving $40?


While not as heavy as a toilet, I've purchased 2 sinks from Amazon on 2 occasions. Each time Amazon added padding inside the original box and then overpacked it in another padded box.


----------



## E-TEK

Shopping locally, pricing Globally - is becoming a major issue for a lot of us. Of course we want to support our lacal buisness, but we've now been conditioned to save every penny we can by researching prices globally. We bought a sink for our bathroom reno online and by the time we where ready for it changed our mind on style. We ended up buying another sink with a bunch of other supplies needed while at HomeDepot - so thr "online" sink never got used. Due to the hassle of returning it (and being lazy), it's still sitting in our furnace room - 3 years later....LOL!

I love the idea of letting the silicone set up under the terlet....with 4 houses, I've gone back and forth so many times on whether or not to seal terlets to the floor. While I hate to see dirt (hair, lint, pee) stuck on them, it's still better than knowing all that is going under - and staying there....but then if you have to remove it for whatever reason and it has silicone....
What's your take?

Great pic letting your son take the first flush - LOL!!


----------



## ddawg16

E-TEK said:


> S
> I love the idea of letting the silicone set up under the terlet....with 4 houses, I've gone back and forth so many times on whether or not to seal terlets to the floor. While I hate to see dirt (hair, lint, pee) stuck on them, it's still better than knowing all that is going under - and staying there....but then if you have to remove it for whatever reason and it has silicone....
> What's your take?


I used silicone on the other toilet several times....it's not hard to get up. The silicone does not stick real well to the floor...but seals....so it just takes a little rocking to get it up...flip it over and scrape the bottom lip with a box cutter blade.

I started doing this after the first time I lifted up the toilet. The yellow stains and smell was enough to make me gag....

Just make sure you leave about a 1" gap in the back. That way, if you have a water leak...it comes out the back and you know it.

One other note.....I really do like that Toto....it flushes so much better.....and with less water.


----------



## ddawg16

Major task in process......doing the stucco. This is one of the jobs that I just write a check for....you have to pic and choose the tasks....I choose to write the check. Some things are just not of the DIY spectrum. Not if we want the outside done before winter.....

For those of you not familiar with stucco....it's basically walls made of mortar.
The first step is to wrap the house with 2 layers of grade B building paper....with metal lath on top of that. Once inspected, 3 coats of stucco will be applied...the scratch coat (about 5/8" thick)....wait a couple of weeks for it to dry...then the brown coat...(about 1/4" thick)....this the coat that more or less gives you the smooth finish....and then the color coat....this is the thin coat that has the color you want.

This week it's the wrap and lath.









Our balcony



A close up of one of the walls.



I have soffett vents that need screens on them. Normally they use the galvanized jobs that are UUUgly.....so I made my own.



A little work with the table saw...



And nailer...



And my vent. What I like about them is that I'll be able to remove them and the vent is angled so dirt collection won't be as bad as if they were just straight cuts.



Next week comes the scratch coat.

What this really means is that my scaffolding can come down in about 3 weeks....THAT is going to be wonderful.


----------



## ddawg16

This was a 'good' weekend...because I completed one of the tasks I've been avoiding....besides not liking heights....I hate painting...

So....I painted all of the 2nd story eves. I figure since I have less than 2 weeks to go until the scaffolding comes down....so get all the 'up high' painting done now.

This is what part of it looked like before....



and after........


I'm assuming any overspray now will not impact the first part of the stucco...but later I would have to mask stuff off..





Side note about airless paint sprayers.....love them...hate them.....

I'm pretty much convinced that unless you have more than one gal of paint to do at one time.....it's not worth the effort to break it out...you end up spending 30 min just cleaning the b!tch when your done.

Not to mention the mess it makes of the painter....


----------



## ddawg16

After I got all the eves painted....time to finish the last item on the list for the weekend.

Tomorrow the guys are going to start on the stucco on the addition. My new laundry room is next to an outside wall...hence, the dryer has a short vent to the outside.

As 'most' of us know, it's a real PIA to hook up the dryer vent....so this is my solution. I didn't want the stucco to lock my vent tube...otherwise, getting everything lined up would be a REAL PIA.

This is my hole on the back wall.....



In order to give the stucco something to stick/seal to, I picked up this coupling....it's basically a 4" rain water drain coupling....the little ridge in it prevented my vent pipe from fitting...so some 'minor' adjustments with my mototool fixed that part.



And here are my parts....



Coupling installed....



And this is what I really like....I now have an easy way to hook everything up. There is enough room to reach in with my arm and disconnect/connect my gas line and then it's easy to line up the actual vent tube.



End result....of course I will need to trim the tube once all the drywall is in.


----------



## CoconutPete

nice!!


----------



## ddawg16

The scratch coat is done....Can't see enough good things about the contractor....it's a messy job and they are doing their best to control the mess.




























































Tomorrow they show up to do the brown coat....then the following Wed...color coat....

Then the scaffolding take down party begins.....


----------



## ddawg16

Idle comment.....

This thread just moved to #2 for all time views.....I never would have thought that....

To all you guys out there....many thanks for all the help, support and words of encouragement....


----------



## ddawg16

Ya know....this stuff goes a lot faster when you have someone else doing all the work.

Phase II of the stucco is now complete. This is what is called the Brown coat....and will now have to sit for at least 7 days before they do the final color coat.

If all goes as planned this weekend, this will be the last weekend I have the scaffolding up around the house. Hence, I need to make sure that all outside up-high tasks are complete. When I get rid of the scaffolding, I'm keeping 2 sections so I can get up high if necessary.

This section of wall was existing...had to bust out part of it to put in a shear wall and install the water heater as well as a new window. The contractor is doing a good job of blending in the new with the old.





Other side of the house





Ya know....it's pretty far up there.....I really do hate heights...



Our balcony....



And a couple of upstairs views......





They will be here late next week for the final color coat....then the scaffolding comes down and I get to start cleaning up.....YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then all my efforts go on the inside....and least no more worries about rain.


----------



## Twister

ddawg16 - 

You, Sir, are AMAZING! 

I've been working on my home (well, actually, mostly NOT working...) for over 5 years. You inspire me. Absolutely unbelievable.

Good luck getting it done! (and I have NOOOOO doubt you will!)


----------



## meme9

Look at all the wonderful dirt,,gosh wish I'd known,,,,could have used here in Fl. to help stop these sink holes here. Who shoveled all the dirt into the dumpster,,,,what a back breaking job for someone,guess you(hope) rented a little bobcat.. I think you already said you did. This sure enough is a labor.


----------



## ddawg16

MAJOR milestone completed.....the stucco....it's done. I can't say enough about the contractor....even cleaned up completely when done....







I like how the soffet for my meter came out....





I have some minor touch up to do over the next couple of days. I want to get ALL of the up high stuff done so I don't have to worry about breaking out the ladder any time soon. (I hate heights).

I'll take down the scaffolding this weekend....put it on CL and hopefully it will be gone soon. Then we can start getting our yard back in order.....

This is such a relief....Roof...walls....Windows....no more worries about the rains.


----------



## ddawg16

Major milestone today....the scaffolding is down.....in reality, I think it was easier to put it up than take it down. Going up, everything was clean....coming down..well, all the dust and dirt also came down...and screw heads stripped....and nails didn't want to come out.

Except for some minor trim details...the outside is done.....

Ok....so I have one section of scaffolding still up....I'm using it to stand one while I finish that small part of the roof....that couldn't be finished because one of the legs of the second layer was going through it.





That is a big wall....the small window for the shower makes it look even bigger....





Our balcony 



This is a narrow space on the side of the house....but see that strip of rough cut wood on the wall? I'm going to attach some wrought iron hooks to it so the plant can grow up on it...I figure that in about a year the space will be totally covered.





Now I just have a crap load of drywall to do.....but the most important thing is that I don't have to worry about the rains now....


----------



## ddawg16

Update time....

Scaffolding is down....area outside is cleaned up....now we have another task...patio and grass....and it needs to be done before the rains....

Started doing drywall upstairs...

After doing the drywall in my sons room, I found out just how hard it is to do gentle angles....90's are easy....they have a tool for that....but not for 33.5 deg.

Now that I'm ready to tackle the master bedroom with it's 11' high ceilings....and knowing how I hate heights....and how bad I am at angles....I'm trying something here.

As you can see in the pic....I have a flat section of ceiling (37" wide) and then it angles with the slope of the roof (22.5 deg). 



So rather than cut the drywall 37" wide......I scored the backside down the length at 5.5" on each side.





Gave it a gently little break.....



And lifted into position....



With the supervision of our cat Josie....



I must admit.....perfect seams....or lack of seams....but rather a perfect crease....or, what ever you want to call it....



I do have one 'less than perfect' spot where it meets the wall...the drywall did not break cleanly and my line went off straight a little....I'll see how bad it is when I get the sides up and some tape on the corners....if necessary, I'll cut the crease and tape it...it's only about 6"....but with the other lines absolutely perfect, it kind of stands out.

Side note...I tried the same method on 90's....no go....you have to be perfectly square....and when you go to screw the other piece, it pulls on the board and pulls the paper away...my guess is that anything more than a 45 needs tape.


----------



## TheEplumber

Nice trick- I'm surprised that the paper didn't away on the ceiling board as well, especially when working against gravity


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> Nice trick- I'm surprised that the paper didn't away on the ceiling board as well, especially when working against gravity


That is what happens on angles greater than 45 deg.....

On the above, I didn't break the drywall seam completely....so as I pushed it up into position, the side boards pushed against the rafters. 

When I did my screwing, I started in the center and worked out. Then I pushed the sides up really good before screwing. 

I'm happy with how it turned it....it's going to save me a crap load of time....those long seams where the drywall is thinner are real easy to tape and mud....typically by the second pass it's almost perfect. I won't even have to touch the angles.


----------



## CoconutPete

Very well done sir!


----------



## shumakerscott

That was a great idea :yes:. dorf dude...


----------



## Gary in WA

Wow, you are moving ahead! The stucco looks complete. A welcomed big difference.

On another note.... before you drywall the lid/walls, pull the stapling flanges (leave just enough to hold it up) from the sides of the studs (inset stapling) because it creates air channels there forcing convective looping and the empty spaces give heat/air transfer to the ridge from the lower areas. Pages 45-48;http://www.buildingscienceconsulting.com/presentations/documents/2010-03-10_When_R-Value_Doesn%20t_Measure_Up.pdf

In order for air-permeable fiberglass (creates many small dead-air spaces) to be most effective, it needs full contact with the drywall; *pp.2 *"Making contact"- http://www.advancedinsulationinc.com/resources/Getting_Quality_from_Fiberglass_Insulation.pdf this will stop any air movement there giving a reduction in R-value. It requires an air barrier next to it. ADA the drywall for optimum performance; http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...nd-durability/25999/how-hang-airtight-drywall

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/information-sheets/air-barriers-airtight-drywall-approach/

The drywall material itself is the air barrier, with a gap at the hinge of the slopes, the paper alone is left to stop diffusion/infiltration/exfiltration. At least reinforce the joint with additional paper tape/mud because the material now has a void area which is the weakest link of the continuity of the air barrier. The hot outside/attic air will condense on the thin paper joint with the AC on, causing wetting; especially as your thermal barrier doesn't follow the air barrier but continues up the slope leaving a big attic area with extra heat from the air spaces left in the cavity corners depositing there. Is the asphalt coated paper code required for your location? *Fig.11*; http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-106-understanding-vapor-barriers

Gary


----------



## forcedreno2012

Dawg.....wow looking really good. Glad to see that things are moving along. 

It's great to see a major milestone completed. I hate doing the piddly little stuff that takes forever but has to be done. Like it when you get a biggun done. 

Robyn


----------



## ddawg16

forcedreno2012 said:


> Dawg.....wow looking really good. Glad to see that things are moving along.
> 
> It's great to see a major milestone completed. I hate doing the piddly little stuff that takes forever but has to be done. Like it when you get a biggun done.
> 
> Robyn


Thanks.....

I'm getting ready to get into a period of extensive travel....I've already warned the wife....I'm trying to get all the drywall done so she can paint and tile while I'm gone.

As you well know, it's those 'piddly' things that take so long....

Come Christmas time, I'll most likely be off for about 3 weeks....1 week via work...and use up 2 weeks of vacation time (and still have time left over). That is when I plan to get some serious wood working done....I have 3 vanities to make along with some above toilet cabinets....and get a good start on the Pub.....

The Pub is going to be the hard one...I'm not going to do a hack job on that one....and as any woodworker knows, stain and varnish are very time consuming tasks....when I do my wood....I want it to look like your looking at glass covered wood....with every wood detail visible....and you will not find any softwood in the pub....hardwoods only...none of this 'plywood' stuff....real hardwood....


----------



## Startingover

Everything looks perfect to me. You have remarkable skills. Plus, I know it takes a lot of patience and determination.


----------



## ddawg16

An overdue update. I've been busy trying to finish the drywall. But, we are about to get into our rainy season so I needed to get some outside work done in order to control water and mud. We have this 'trench' between the driveway and house.....it likes to collect water....so...I needed to fill it with concrete.

Here is a better view of what I was wanting to put concrete in...





As you can see....not very wide...the biggest area is the spot under the gates. Basically, we are trying to control dirt and prevent the dog from digging out.

My initial plan was to use 30# felt.

Guess what? I didn't use anything for expansion.....I tossed down a couple of #3 bars the length of the trench....and dumped in the concrete.

I have a material supply about 2 miles from my house....$156 and I get this bad boy filled up with a yard of concrete...



Towed all 5500 lbs of it home with my jeep....and started pouring...
Pretty cool setup....it keeps the concrete mixed....when your ready to dump some....turn the knob until it starts to rotate the other way and tilt it down....

Note....be ready to turn it back fast or you end up with more than you can handle.



Finished result....yea, I know, it's not perfect....but I have maybe 8 hours into it including prep....it's flat....with enough slope to push water away from the house....

I'm sure it's going to crack....but the cracks won't be any bigger than whats in the driveway.

About 2-4 years from now when I have the $$....it all comes up and a proper and 'straight' driveway will be poured.


----------



## ddawg16

I'm out of town on business......extended out of town....to the tune of looking at 6 weeks....already into week 3...so no progress on the house....and I'm so close....about 90% done with getting all the drywall hanged. I'm hoping I get to go home this weekend so I can finish the last 10% and then I think I'm going to cave in an 'pay' someone to do the tape and mud....but by doing so...when I get back....we will be ready for paint.....and maybe, just maybe....we can be moved into our addition by Christmas.....that would make for a nice Christmas.

Since I don't do drywall for a living...I hesitate to spend to much on special tools....so I have gotten kind of 'creative' on what I use for templates....the lid from a 1 gal can of paint is just the right size to mark the hole for a 6" can light...

And this beer bottle is just the right size for my sink drain.....I don't like oversized holes...I like a tight fit on my drywall...







This is the large wall next to the stairs.....because I realized that my framing accuracy is not to the 1/16" of an inch....I put up this piece first....got it squared up....it made measuring and cutting the ones above an below it a lot easier since I now have a good reference to measure to....



And our interior doors arrived....just in time for me to NOT have time to install them....

Solid core....the bathroom doors have the frosted glass...the bedroom doors are solid knotty Alder...now I just have to figure out what color I want...





In case anyone is wondering.....the doors were a little over $300/ea.....yea, more expensive than what you can get at HD....but guess what? They don't look like doors from Home Depot.....


----------



## CoconutPete

Nice doors. It was one of the things I wa sad to give up (old solid doors) Only 0.00000001% of newer houses seem to have them unless someone added them.


----------



## DIbrYan

Just out of curiosity, what is your background to complete this project with such professionalism? I am doing small projects (moving walls, drywall ing my garage,etc), but after the astronomical estimates I received for a contractor to add a new master bath ( to the tune of $27-$40k), I'm going to bit the bullet and undertake it myself. I'm a bit nervous, so any advice would be welcomed.


----------



## ddawg16

My background is electrical and software (I'm a controls Engineer...techno geek)

I've been doing woodworking as a hobby for about 25 years...grew up working on cars....I'm just good with my hands.

To be fair....I've made plenty of mistakes.....I'm sure you have heard the phrase "You learn by your mistakes."...well, that is why I'm so bloody smart.....

I think I can do as good or almost as good as a pro....it just takes me 4x as long....I 'jokingly' refer to one of the factors as the 'beer factor'....how many beers does it take to do a job.....take drywall for example....hang as sheet, sit back and have a beer while you admire your work...hang another sheet...have another beer. That is an exaggeration...but I think you get the idea.

One key....hang around here....ask questions....read the old posts...chances are, any question you have has already been asked.

But you also need to know which jobs to farm out......some things you just don't have the tools for and it would cost you more to DIY than just pay someone else to do it.

One big piece of advice...get a good shop vac....one with the 2 1/2" hose. Trust me, once you start demo..you will understand.

Feel free to ask any questions......

And good luck


----------



## CoconutPete

OK DDawg - I have a question:

Where are the updates dude? Hahaha.


----------



## ddawg16

CoconutPete said:


> OK DDawg - I have a question:
> 
> Where are the updates dude? Hahaha.


I've been in Texas for the past 3 months on business.....

But, I'll be posting some updates in the next day or so. Rain gutters are up....and I broke down and I've got someone doing the tape and mud for me. All the drywall is up.....I just don't have time to do the mudding....

We got buy off on the drywall nailing last week.

The first room is being done right now....it's the wife's walk in closet.....I want it done so we can get all of her clothes hung up and out of the way.

It's pretty hard for 2 adults and 3 kids to live in a 3 bedroom house cut down to 2...with construction going on......for the last 2 1/2 years.


----------



## ddawg16

Happy New Year everyone. Time for a long over due update. 

Drywall hanging is done. Now it's just tape and mud. Business travel over the past 3 months has killed my progress....but I did get some work done over the holidays. At this point I'm going to try and do one room at a time. First on the list is the walk in closet. That way the wife can get all her stuff in there and out of the way.

A big thanks to you guys about butt boards....makes the drywall mudding a lot easier. Here is a pic of how it pulls in the butt ends.



I'm a believer now that the bigger the drywall sheet...the less the mud work. This is the stairwell. It was not real fun cutting the sheet in the shape of the treads.





Bay window upstairs bedroom



Big wall in upstairs bedroom



Door leading into the walk in closet.....I'm bummed that I forgot to get a pic of the final drywall. I did the back score on the piece between the two doors and the seam came out perfect.



Walk in closet after sanding...


Primed and painted.


----------



## ddawg16

Another milestone.....I found my table saw in the garage.....over the next few weeks I'm kicking my wife's stuff out of the bottom of the garage and reclaiming it....I'm now in wood working mode....I have a lot of cabinets to make. 

First one is the rack for the clothes rods.....NO...I am not going to use those cheap wire things....real wood for us.....



A router can make the edge of wood look so much nicer...



This is what it's almost going to look like. I still have one trim piece to glue to the front along with crown molding....then stain and hang it on the wall.



Right now I'm freezing my butt off in Montreal...as soon as I get back...this will get finished.


----------



## ddawg16

Just a quick update to show the final result....now the wife can move all her clothes into this closet so we can put all her stuff in here so we can finish the rest of the house.


----------



## 123pugsy

Nice job on the shelf.

So, the wife's stuff is holding up the work on the rest of the house, eh? :laughing:


----------



## Gary in WA

"I'm a believer now that the bigger the drywall sheet...the less the mud work. This is the stairwell. It was not real fun cutting the sheet in the shape of the treads."------ just add a 2x to the wall side of the stringers to eliminate notching drywall/stair trim skirt- kick board later....both slide right in with a rake cut only on the drywall.

Gary
PS. Coming right along....


----------



## BrandonD

123pugsy said:


> Nice job on the shelf.
> 
> So, the wife's stuff is holding up the work on the rest of the house, eh? :laughing:


I was thinking, I wish all of my wife's stuff would fit on something that small.


----------



## ddawg16

BrandonD said:


> I was thinking, I wish all of my wife's stuff would fit on something that small.


The length from one side to the other is 9'. 2 rows...18' of clothes rack. 

On the adjacent wall is going to be a 6' rack for her long dresses. 

She has already been 'notified' that if it gets full....something is going. Her only choice in the matter is if I pick what goes or she picks it.


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> She has already been 'notified' that if it gets full....something is going. Her only choice in the matter is if I pick what goes or she picks it.



Another man living the dream......or is that in a dream? :laughing:


----------



## CoconutPete

Looks great! I used to go to Irvine almost monthly, it's too bad I don't anymore, I would have loved to check out your handywork.


----------



## ddawg16

Long over due update.....hard to get anything done when I'm out of town. I'll be in Canada in 2 weeks...thinking about showing up at Creepers place and creeping her out....(if I knew where she lived)

I'm on a task completion phase....instead of having 20 projects going on at the same time and none of them done...I'm working on one project and trying to get it done.

This past weekend...the floor of the walk in closet. That way my wife (vs 'the wife') has a place to put all of her stuff and protect it from the mud dust.

HD had a good deal on solid bamboo 5/8" flooring...$1.89/sq ft. So I bought about 300 sq ft of the stuff.

Also picked up a floor air nailer from Harbor Freight.

This is me just getting started. Initially I tried using finishing nails on the 1st row. I even pre-drilled the holes.....that didn't last long.....time for the finishing nailer...



Once you get going, it goes pretty quick. The HF nailer worked just fine.

The closet is not 'exactly' square. So....lots of cuts



Some of the cuts were a bit complicated....getting them into position was even more difficult....unless you treat it like a puzzle....



Overall, I think it came out great. Stuff is comfortable to walk on...feels nice and solid. I'm very happy with the choice.


----------



## creeper

"Long over due update.....hard to get anything done when I'm out of town. I'll be in Canada in 2 weeks...thinking about showing up at Creepers place and creeping her out....(if I knew where she lived)

I'm on a task completion phase....instead of having 20 projects going on at the same time and none of them done...I'm working on one project and trying to get it done.

This past weekend...the floor of the walk in closet. That way my wife (vs 'the wife') has a place to put all of her stuff and protect it from the mud dust."


Dawg: 
House is looking good, floor looks great. Glad it will be behind you guys soon enough. I thought I'd just take this opportunity to give a little lesson in Canadian geography. Even though your large country consists of 52 states, my even larger one has 10 provinces and 3 Territories. I believe you mentioned you'd be in Quebec or Manitoba this winter. I live somewhere in between. The distance between the two Regions is close to equivalent to the distance between Florida and California. 
You are welcome to drop by but it may not be as easy as you'd think so bring good hiking shoes. Its close to 2000 kilometres. 

Also, I must congratulate you on your correct use of the term "my wife" as opposed to the offensive, disrespectful and derogatory term "the wife" 
Please bring her along when you drop by


----------



## ddawg16

Creeper....It never occurred to me that Canada was physically larger than the US....but, yea, your right....too bad most of it stays covered in snow.

If I do show up...I'll be sure to rent a snowmobile, and I'll bring my wife and kids....they would have a blast with Clifford....

Side note....it's Winnipeg on this trip...but as with most trips....I doubt I'll have time to even watch the TV in the hotel....though, I think I'll have to find at least time to make one trip to the Palomino.....


----------



## creeper

For crying out loud Dawg..where the heck did you go to school.?? 

People: There is a big huge successful vibrant world beyond the US borders..shheesshh

Here is a picture of the north pole in the summer... Good luck finding much of Canada over and above the cryosphere that IS covered in snow year round


----------



## creeper




----------



## ddawg16

Is that the Canadian version of crop circles?


----------



## ddawg16

Damned work travel is putting a real kink in my progress...but it's amazing what one can do in a 3 day weekend working 22 hours a day.

Got the floor done in my son's room...HD laminate....$0.99/sq ft...ok, I know it's not going to last 30 years....he is about to become a teenager....I'll be happy if it lasts until he is off to college.



Next on the list....getting the floor done in the family room so we can get the couch in there.

I had a 'slight' uneven section so I used the self leveling compound to get it even....a lot easier to use than some of the online comments I saw.

Primer



Level Compound



Dog Print....the bugger he is....



And now the couch.....



Sorry I don't have some closeup pics of the tiling....As is so typical...the last hours at home were spent cleaning up and packing for the trip....as soon as I get home (in a couple of weeks), I'll post some closeup's.


----------



## NewHomeDIYGuy

Wow quite the work you've done. Looking at threads like this sometimes make me think about the "joy" of some of these projects. Many people just want to see something done and don't care about the painstaking process of going from A to B, whereas many enjoy the actual process of going from A to B more than the end result itself, even if it involves some cursing and frustration. I wonder if you're the latter more than the former. I'm not sure which I am more of myself.. but perhaps more likely I'm creating a false dichotomy. My wife is certainly the former, and I'm wondering how you've managed to train... er.. have her be patient. 

Nice work! :thumbsup:


----------



## ddawg16

Newhome.....good points and questions.

I frequently tell people that what I'm doing is the big boy version of an erector set. As for my wife....she does more than is obvious. 

We have 3 kids....now 8, 10 and 11....school, homework, scouts, cooking, cleaning...etc. So while I'm working on the house, she is keeping the house.....team effort. 

But we are not getting into her realm of activities. She enjoys the painting and tiling...so we will swap roles (once I get home). I take care of the kids while she paints and tiles.


----------



## csmurray1

looks good


----------



## ddawg16

Another long over due update.....Been traveling too much....haven't had much time at home to work on things....but now that I'm home for awhile.....

All the drywall is hung....now it's the tap and mud.....

But the other issue is the back yard. Because it faces to the north....the closest 10' gets NO sunshine....translation, nothing grows but the mud....which our big black dog likes to track into the house.

Options are concrete or pavers. Concrete is cheaper....and quicker....but....so 'bla'....

So...for the past couple of weeks, I was spending an hour or two each evening getting the area ready. The pavers have to be at least 2" below the weep screed of the stucco....and you need a good solid base of rock and sand....so I needed to dig down about 6" to make sure I have enough room..

The 'turf' was a temporary way to 'try' to control the dirt.....for the dog, it looked like grass....translation....pee on it...





A few truck loads of gravel makes for a decent workout....



My sons can earn 'extra' computer time by helping me....this big guy is starting to mature....so it's more of a case of just really wanting to help dad....





Sand....



Almost $1000 for the pavers....which included $115 for delivery.....worth every cent...



About 1/3 done.....ran out of beer (just kiddding)



And I bribed these guys to move the remaining pavers from the driveway to the area of work while I was inside doing mud.....amazing how getting more computer time motivates them.....I was actually enjoying listening to them chat about Minecraft while they worked....


----------



## ddawg16

On the drywall front.....I have now finished two more rooms....one big....one really small.

Upstairs the toilet area (AKA, my throne) is done...walls are painted and the Hardibacker is down. Tomorrow I'm going to cut the tile and set it.

Downstairs, I'm ready for paint in the 'pub' area. The pub is what 'used' to be our master bedroom. It now contains the stairs to upstairs.....and since we didn't know what to do with the rest of the space.....well....we are going to make it a pub.

It some some of the most complicated corners and edges.....this is where the flexible corner bead really shined. 

Upstairs toilet before paint....


After primer.....



And the subfloor after I pulled up the paper.....I can't stress enough how worth it is to put down paper...the time and money is nothing compared to trying to clean up after mud and paint if you don't have paper.....



Stairwell looking down before tape and mud....


Tape and mud....



Same stairwell looking up...



And I got pretty good at doing those seams....

Before the final coat....



After....


----------



## ddawg16

The ceiling of the pub is going to have ceiling paper on it....so it does not have to be perfect......but....might as well do it right....



After primer....



An old sheet was used to keep dust out of the existing part of the house....stuff still finds a way in....the dust and dirt has to be the worse part....



And as I said....a lot of corners and edges....



And....after primer....



I'm picking up the paint tomorrow.....we want this section done so we can keep the dust under control...


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Looks great doggy..... Ya geting to be a good taper...:thumbsup:


----------



## CoconutPete

Wow!

Did you find it challenging to screed the sand on top of the gravel? I'm thinking about doing pavers next spring, but getting the screed of the sand right scares the crap out of me.


----------



## ddawg16

CoconutPete said:


> Wow!
> 
> Did you find it challenging to screed the sand on top of the gravel? I'm thinking about doing pavers next spring, but getting the screed of the sand right scares the crap out of me.


Not that hard. I made a 'scraper'.....4' long straight board with a handle. That got me in the ball park....then I used different lengths of 2x4's to make sure it's flat. You will spend a whole afternoon getting it all flat.

As it is...I have a few spots to clean up....not a big deal...I have not put down the sand between stones so it's easy to lift up a few and make corrections.

Chances are it's fine as is....but I know that my OCD would kick in later if there are any 'off' spots....and it would kill me.

BTW...this is one of those projects that is hard on the beer budget.....


----------



## CoconutPete

ddawg16 said:


> BTW...this is one of those projects that is hard on the beer budget.....


It seems like it was going to be. That is why it's on next year's agenda. This year was kitchen.

Your house looks great, you've made a lot of progress with not really being home.:thumbup:


----------



## 123pugsy

CoconutPete said:


> It seems like it was going to be. That is why it's on next year's agenda. This year was kitchen.
> 
> Your house looks great, you've made a lot of progress with not really being home.:thumbup:



That's kind of funny right there.
He gets more done when he's not there half the time compared to guys who are at home everyday. :huh:


----------



## ddawg16

As anyone knows.....90% of a project takes 50% of the time....the last 10% takes the other 50%.

I'm down to details now....translation...lots of woodworking......or as the trades say, 'finish carpentry'.

We have solid wood interior doors....stained a couple of them today....man, I really love the smell of oil stain in the morning....

The door....before (and in case your wondering, it's knotty Alder)



After the stain



And maybe some people don't like it....but I love the 'character' of these knots....


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> As anyone knows.....90% of a project takes 50% of the time....the last 10% takes the other 50%.
> 
> I'm down to details now....translation...lots of woodworking......or as the trades say, 'finish carpentry'.
> 
> We have solid wood interior doors....stained a couple of them today....man, I really love the smell of oil stain in the morning....
> 
> The door....before (and in case your wondering, it's knotty Alder)
> 
> 
> 
> After the stain
> 
> 
> 
> And maybe some people don't like it....but I love the 'character' of these knots....


Very nice doors. :thumbsup:
The stain looks good.


----------



## ddawg16

Not much progress on the house....but I have the backyard 'almost' back to normal condition. Between scaffolding, excavation, and just general yard abuse, most of the grass was killed

Added about 250 sq ft of pavers...seeing how the area next to the house does not see any sunshine.

Then I covered the dirt with new sod. 

First I got the sprinklers moved to better locations (I have more pipe down there...but damned if I can find where it is....



Got it all graded....



And I used some of that new instant grass. Just toss down the seeds....water...in 30 min you have a yard full of grass



It's not a rush...but I still have a few pavers to cut to fill in some odd spots.


----------



## ddawg16

Well....out of town again....but the past couple of weeks have been productive. Most important....I'm really close to being done with all drywall. Over the weekend I finished all the mudding in the Master Bedroom. Area wise, pretty expansive. I think I've got the mudding down pretty good now....at least for me. 

Because I'm not in a big rush like the professionals, It does not bother me to wait a day for mud to dry. For corners, I've found that if I do one side one night, then the other side the next night....I have less do-over.

I've also learned....ALL mud shrinks. Hence, it's no use trying to mud those seams in one go. So I'll use Red Dot for the tape layer. Then the next night I'll mix up a batch of 90 min...getting it a little thin...and put that on. I've gotten pretty good at just mixing it in the mud can...



Slap it on...making sure the edges are feathered....in most cases, no sanding before the next coat.

Here are some pics of my efforts.





Big wall here....18' w...12' high...the big 'patch' area is me trying to feather out the butt joint. I used a butt board...but this is an example of why the lightweight stuff is not as good as the heavy stuff...screws were pulling through...and one side flexed a bit more than the other....but you don't see the spot after it was painte...



Bay Window....lots of corners...



And some primer going on....



What is more significant....I got the walls painted (sorry, forgot to take pics) and we got our bed up there. Our #2 son now has his own room....in fact, all 3 kids are in their own rooms. Our queen size bed now looks small in the space. The dryer for my compressor blew up yesterday so I couldn't put down the bamboo floor...that can wait until next weekend.

But the really really important part....my throne.

I got the tile down in the toilet area....flange glued and anchored...



And my throne set. Now....I, master of the house....does not have to share the throne with any of my humble subjects (except for for my wife..she can use it all she wants)

And, yes....it's a Toto Drake II


----------



## TheEplumber

I think your wife might like a seat attached to that Drake 

BTW- how'd the joints at the ridge work out? I recall a good back-n-forth thread about cutting the face paper....


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> I think your wife might like a seat attached to that Drake
> 
> BTW- how'd the joints at the ridge work out? I recall a good back-n-forth thread about cutting the face paper....


Yea....one of those little details that I forgot about on my HD trip. As she puts it, no seat beats having to walk down stairs.

As for those joints...meant to take some pics. I ended up putting a small amount of mud in them. The line was so sharp and there were a couple of places where it was not exactly perfect, applying a couple of layers of thin layers of mud rounded it enough that it now looks perfect. 

I have another spot where I cut the drywall on the backside. It's between two door frames. That spat worked perfect. No mudding at all.

Once I get home I'll take some pics when there is good lighting. Overall, I am extremely happy with how it turned out.


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> BTW- how'd the joints at the ridge work out? I recall a good back-n-forth thread about cutting the face paper....


Sorry for the delay getting you a pic....I was in Texas all last week....home for the weekend..now I'm back in Texas....



Before paint....



and the initial install


As much as I like clean sharp lines.....in this case, anything less than perfect would have driven my crazy....especially as I lay in bed and the early morning sun shines on it...

Regarding the question of back cutting....would I do it again? In a second.....even though I softened the edge with mud....it saved me quite a bit of time. I need to post up a pic of one section between two doors where I used the method....saves a ton of time. And so easy.


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Beautifull Job......:thumbsup:


----------



## ddawg16

I think I can officially say the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT an on coming train.

I am down to mudding the last room in the addition....the master bathroom.
Before primer....


After primer..


Before primer....this is where the sinks are going to be...the shower is to the right


And after primer....


Skylight....and it does a great job of letting the heat out...


Shower and bathtub area...I still need to finish hanging the 1/2 hardibacker



And some of you might recall a thread I did where I talked about cutting the back side of the drywall to create a nice inside corner...here is an example....worked great in this example.





I got the first coat of semi-gloss paint on the ceiling....and of course, all those really subtle defects show up...so tonight I'll do a bit more mud touch up....

But a major point is that I was able to wash the filter on the shop vac and I mopped the floor....Tile will go down this weekend....

Then it's time to start making cabinets.


----------



## TheEplumber

I see a lot of tools that will need to be stores when you're done. Time to add on to the garage.......


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

TheEplumber said:


> I see a lot of tools that will need to be stores when you're done. Time to add on to the garage.......


WHAT!!!!..... You built backwards....

( I thought that beutifull Alder back a while ago were garage door panels... I'm dissappointed)


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> I see a lot of tools that will need to be stores when you're done. Time to add on to the garage.......





MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> WHAT!!!!..... You built backwards....
> 
> ( I thought that beutifull Alder back a while ago were garage door panels... I'm dissappointed)


You guys are killing me.....

Actually, I do have enough room for all the tools.....just check out the garage build.....those cabinets are only half full.

My big problem now is that my wife has been 'encroaching' on my space in the ground floor of my garage. I'm kicking her stuff out this weekend.

On my list of 'soon to start' projects is making a new stand for my table saw. Besides a larger working surface that will do double duty holding large sheets of 'what ever', it will also be a wood working bench. Included is going to be lots of drawers for all my wood working tools and it's going to be on casters so I can roll it around as needed. I hate to think how many beers that project is going to cost me.


----------



## ddawg16

Yep.....that time again.....

I haven't got as much done as I wanted....I'm weak....I gave in....the last two evenings I've sat down on the couch with my boys and watched movies....BTW....Mitty with Ben Stiller is actually very good. I'm not a Ben fan....but this was well done and he played the introvert nerd quite well.

First....I have to show off this fan......now that we are in the upstairs master bedroom and we are having unusually warm weather....a fan would be nice. I'm not one to get overly excited about 'accessories', unless it's for a tool....but this fan is sexy....pricey, but sexy. Remote control...LED light (dimmable) and really quiet.



Officially all the drywall is done. Master bath is painted....the only painting left is a few touchup's. Now it's time to finish all the details....those details that we all know take so long. On the list was the bedroom door for my oldest boy. It's been up for 5 months...but unstained. Well....I showed him how to stain.



BTW....that knotty Alder is really sexy when stained....

And now it's time to make the master bath usable....The wife's, excuse me, 'my wife's' bath tub is in temporary position. We need to pick and order the faucet for it....I need to hook up the drain and also make a platform for the base.

I'm also starting the tiling. I'm starting to put down the hardibacker....I'm going to have a lot of waste....this room is anything but square.



As a final note....let us not forget why we celebrate this weekend and why we are free to enjoy it. Thoughts, prayers thanks goes out to all those who served.


----------



## ddawg16

Now that I'm into the fun part....woodworking....this part is not going to be easy. 

Need to build the knee wall and Newell post.


----------



## ddawg16

Not sure why I feel like I'm not making progress...I'm working every evening....well, almost....I guess I'm a bad day....I took my boys to a movie on Sunday....they were not expecting it....BTW....Edge of Tomorrow is really good....

Anyway...I finished the hardwood bamboo floor....as soon as I can locate the stair edging...I can get the stair treads done...

I finished putting down the cement board for the master bath...



And I finished putting up the cement board for the shower....that 1/2" stuff is so much fun to work with....I followed the advice you guys gave me and made the hole for the flow director larger...



And I've figured out what to do with the space that is at the end of the tub....I'm going to finish framing this out....I'm essentially going to make a table so I can cover it with granite. I'm waiting for the granite guy to call me back...I'm hoping my idea works...basically, I want to make the tube look like an under-mount with routed granite all around the perimeter. 

This space is going to have a 'box' that will be held in place with screws. The idea is, if I want access, I remove the screws and slide the box out which will give me access to the drain.


----------



## ddawg16

Putting down the tile in the master bath


----------



## ddawg16

Yep...that time again....considering how busy the past weekend was with scout graduations, birthday parties and Dad's day, I'm surprised I got as much done as I did.

I don't think I have a single square corner in this bathroom except where the tub and shower meet....so it became our starting point....it's a bonus the outside shower corner was exactly 3 tile widths from the tub



Cutting the tiles for this section was 'so much fun'.....



This part was a bit easier and straight forward....



And I thought my drill deserved some thanks. I only have 2 corded drills (out of 6) and this is one of them....I've had it over 20 years and it has served me well. Typically gets used for one of two things...mixing mud or drilling pocket holes.



I'll cut the last 5 pieces of tile tonight. Let it dry and grout tomorrow.

I'm taking a week of vacation next week....kids will be on summer vacation....so except for one day at Universal Studios with my boys (oldest boy's birthday), I'll be in full cabinet and stair making mode. I hope it's a productive week.


----------



## ddawg16

The master bath floor is done....well...at least cutting and laying the tile....I'll grout tomorrow. But as any tile person will say...it's a real PIA cutting some of those 'non straight' pieces.

And....I guess I'm pretty good and estimating my quantity. I only had 2 full pieces left from the last box....and about 3-4 partial pieces....

This was one of the easier cuts....



The lines seem real obvious now....but the grout I'm using is pretty close in color to the tile so it's going to look a lot cleaner once I get the grout down.

I'll post a before and after to show the difference.



It's bed time....


----------



## ddawg16

One part done.....floor tile in the master bath is tiled.

Overall it came out well. I have one spot with lipage..typical thing...it was one of the last tiles of the night so I didn't have one next to it to set the edge. Good news is, it's one of those spots that is going to be covered with a mat.

We considered several options on how to do this transition.....I wasn't until last night where I thought that maybe I should have moved that seam of those two transition tiles over so the seam is lined up with the center of the tile in the toilet area. Too late now.





Now I just need to let is sit a couple more days and then I can seal the grout.



I'm taking next week off....so with luck I can get a lot of work done.


----------



## ddawg16

So....I'm taking the week off....this is Wed....and not a whole lot to show for it.....but....it's been a good week so far. Took my boys to Universal Studios....oldest boy's birthday....he invited his girlfriend...(both are 12)....too cute....ok....so I'm a dad who is enjoying time with his kids.....call it catch up time....

So today the wife an I got around to getting the paper up on the ceiling of the pub. 

Paper on the ceiling you ask? What is this strange thing you talk of? 

It's an English thing....I've learned to deal with it.

Before.....



After....



And in case your wondering what the paper pattern looks like.....



And we had a few 'issues'.....it would seem the 'good deal' my wife got on the paper had a good reason it was a 'good deal'...the 'pre-pasted' glue on the paper was not working. We had to use wall paper paste to get it to stick...but note before we had some 'casualties'.


----------



## TheEplumber

Paper always outsmarted me.... that looks real nice- must have been the wife's idea 

How's the neck and arms feeling.....


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> Paper always outsmarted me.... that looks real nice- must have been the wife's idea
> 
> How's the neck and arms feeling.....


Yep....her idea....she is English after all....and it is going to be a pub....and truth be told....I like it....it also means I didn't have to spend a lot of time getting the drywall perfect up there.

And...it was not that large of an area..so the arms are fine....but it did take quite a few beers...


----------



## ddawg16

Just a quickie.....

I'm working on the newel post for the stairs.....stressful. Reason being, after I make the basic post I have to route in the groves. One mistake and you start. All over. 

Job is made easier with a jig.


----------



## ddawg16

More work done on the stairs.....

This is my 'center' of the newel post. 3x3 steel post. It's NOT going anywhere.



The wood portion of the newel post fits over the top....and I have a square chunk of wood that slides down inside and screws to the block of wood inside the post. Nice and snug.....and if I really had to....I could take it apart.



This cap is removable....my wife wants to be able to change out the top depending on the season....for example, instead of a ball, for Halloween, she wants to put up a 'Pumpkin'....women....if that is the case, I want a cannon ball for off season....



The risers are installed....and I glued the knee wall up....



Sometime this weekend I'll get the other side done....I need to build up the outside board first.



And....I thought I'd share a magic trick.....

Want to see me turn this 4x8 sheet of plywood into a small object?



Barely had enough....



edit....I just realized I missed putting the beer bottle in the pic.....I've saved a couple of beer bottles just for the purpose of planting them in the pictures......and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.....


----------



## ddawg16

Long over due update....

I've been a bit lazy these past few weeks....spending time with the kids...camping....etc.

Ok....so I was having some family fun....but when you take your boys scout camping....and the younger one didn't want to go...and then admits that night in the tent just before he falls asleep that it's one of the best days he has ever had...HELL YEA....it's worth it.

Anyway...some of you might recall that we applied 'textured' paper to the ceiling of what is going to be the pub....(it's an English thing)



Well...I finally painted it....



Additionally....my BIL cleaned out his storage unit....and gave us a 2 year old top of the line washer and dryer....



Now....what is really significant in this picture is not the washer and dryer....but if you look behind them, you will see the window is trimmed out. Yes....it's done. I've gotten a couple windows trimmed out as well. Really cleans up the look of the wall.

My big delay is I won't buy the molding from HD....their selection....well...just basically sucks. So I end up going to a specialty molding place about 15 miles from my house.

I've received my bamboo stair noseings....so the stair treads are next.


----------



## ddawg16

I have come to the conclusion that some parts of my project are fun.....and some are not....and for some reason, the most 'necessary' parts are the least fun.

This week (month) I've been doing the stairs. I had to order the bamboo stair noseings....they are here....time to get it done.

The 'style' (if you can call it that) is bamboo treads with painted risers.

This is the virgin look with just the risers installed.



Now painted.



Now....complicating our stairs was the fact we had to have a 'slight' turn. Upside is I did not have to butcher an existing linen closet....downside...stairs are more complicated.....

But...there is an upside....have have this little platform that covers the void created by the stairs. It has in fact had some benefits....for example, I can set the ladder on it and reach the window above the stairs. Without it, that window would pretty much be on it's own. And my wife sees that platform as a great place to put her Christmas angles or maybe a small tree. If you look closely you will see an outlet....one part is always hot...the other outlet is controlled by a switch.



So....here are the glued down bamboo pics....



Because the wood can shift if you walk on it before the glue dries....I did every other step..



The interface between the platform and landing step was a bit complicated and required some 'detail' work.



I used my moto tool to shape the wood to match the noseing..



I think it came out pretty good....


----------



## shumakerscott

Looks Great!:thumbsup:


----------



## ddawg16

Final pic of the stairs. 

For me this is a minor milestone. Getting all this wood cut was a significant task that I had been putting off. Now it's done. 

The blue X's are the fresh glued parts...don't step. 

Time for a beer or two....or three


----------



## forcedreno2012

Wow been off for a bit and its amazing how far you have come. Everything is looking great. 

RJ


----------



## ddawg16

Just a quicky

Starting to tile the downstairs bathroom shower.....working with this style of tile has to be one of the most tedious tasks I've done. Those 'sheets' move all over the place and the then set squeezes up between each tile.

I thought I had the mix pretty thick. Next batch even thicker.


----------



## ddawg16

Been a little busy at work lately. Only one day off in the past 3 weeks. 

Our last door arrived. It's for the master bedroom. Now we will be able to keep the dog off our bed when we are gone. He liked to chew on a bone in our bed....after her rolled around in the dirt a bit.


----------



## ddawg16

Fresh stained hardwood is just down right sexy

And it only took half a beer


----------



## ddawg16

Door installed


----------



## ddawg16

Ever have one of those tasks you just couldn't get up the motivation to do? Well, finishing the flooring in my sons closet was one of those tasks. Besides all the angles, the crawl space access door is in there as well. 

Not hard....just a lot of walking from the room to the garage to use the saw. But I got it done. And I like how the trap door came out. The pull ring is fitting for the room. 

And since I had the access open I crawled in and hooked up the antenna ground wires that I ran down there about a year ago. 

Feels good to get those two tasks done.


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Really like that door.......:thumbsup: :thumbsup::thumbsup: Alder huh


(And what a beautifull ground rod.....:laughing

Best


----------



## ddawg16

Took this pic this morning. Thought it would be cool to show what the house looked like in 2003 vs now.

2003



Now


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looks awesome!!!


----------



## kwikfishron

Looks good dawg but how do the old and new roofs come together? It doesn't look ideal from this angle anyway.


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

kwikfishron said:


> Looks good dawg but how do the old and new roofs come together? It doesn't look ideal from this angle anyway.


??? Isn't it like any two 90* gables.... and a Cali overbuild...???


----------



## ddawg16

kwikfishron said:


> Looks good dawg but how do the old and new roofs come together? It doesn't look ideal from this angle anyway.





MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> ??? Isn't it like any two 90* gables.... and a Cali overbuild...???


I'll go up and take you a couple of pics. The right side was easy.....left side, yea, 'Cali' build. 1:2 roof slop with torch down.


----------



## ddawg16

Let me know is this does not make sense. I'm standing on the front side of the roof shooting the backside. You can get an idea of the angle from the windows. I really like the setup. I can get on the roof from either window. 

And that glass bubble in the second pic? Some for the light tube to the existing bathroom. On a day like this it's about par to a 500w light.


----------



## kwikfishron

When I asked the question I was wondering where the water was going. Now I can see...Nice funnel. 

It's a good thing that is doesn't rain much there. That detail would be a nightmare just one State to the North.


----------



## ddawg16

kwikfishron said:


> When I asked the question I was wondering where the water was going. Now I can see...Nice funnel. It's a good thing that is doesn't rain much there. That detail would be a nightmare just one State to the North.


In a good year we get around 15". This past year it is more like 5". Of course one of the 15" years had to be when I didn't have the roof yet. 

But I think your right. If lived further north my roof line would be different. That would have dictated a slightly different build.


----------



## ddawg16

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been too busy working on projects before I go for surgery to my knee. Now I'm sitting here killing time until I go to the hospital...and I can't have any coffee. Not sure what is worse, the pain in my knee or not being able to have some coffee......It's killingme.

Well, we finally moved up to the 20th century. We have replaced our 37" LCD TV with a 55" LED. 

We have always planned on the space under the stairs being 'data central'. In other words, ALL of the AV and data comes into this central spot. On the outside is the TV and the associated AV components below it with easy access to the rear from inside the space under the stairs.

This is the view from the front. The space below is where the AV components go.



On the backside of the area where the TV is, is where all of my cabling comes in. I have wired each TV location with RG6 and two Cat6 lines. Some rooms also have a dedicated Ethernet as well.

Each one of those 'wall boxes' represents a set of wires going to a specific room. For example, the very top is where my house antenna and the cable internet comes in. Right below it is the MB TV and dedicated Ethernet. The other boxes are for other parts of the house. Behind that panel I also have 2 sets of conduit. One is a 1 1/2" going to the existing attic. The other conduit is a 1" going to the crawl space. Thus, I have an easy way to add more stuff.

I already have one of the back boards on. You can see the 1" conduit I have going through to the backside of the TV. Makes it easy to run cables. One is for power, the other for Ethernet and Cable.

BTW....notice the 2x12's between studs? That is to give me a nice large surface to anchor the TV bracket to.



This is the other board installed. I used 1/2" plywood so as to make it easier to hang stuff on it. I don't have to worry about finding a stud or using drywall anchors.



Now it's time to build the cabinet below.

When it comes to joining a face frame to a sheet of plywood, hard to beat biscuits.





The center section is for the AV components and the side compartments is for 'stuff'. Like game controllers, etc.



You non woodworking types may not understand or car how I did the back center panels. Instead of a 22.5 angle cut to join the sections, I make 45 deg cuts with the side panels a little shorter which gave me a much larger glue surface.....and a perfect line inside. I used the red straps to hold it in place while the glue dried.



Final sanding done.



And stained.



And installed.



Notice the difference in stain tone in this pic vs the one above? I'm guessing the difference is due to the effect on the camera by the fl lights in the garage vs natural light.


----------



## ddawg16

All along we had planned on using ceiling paper in the family room. It adds a nice detail and you don't have to get the drywall surface as perfect. The paper hides a lot...including small cracks. And, it's an English thing (my wife is English)

This is the ceiling prior to paper. Kinda rough



Prior to drywall, I ran all the wire for the surround sound speakers. I 'thought' I knew where each wire was. In this one case, I was off one stud. Crap! Thank goodness for 45 min mud.



Overall it's not hard. Just time consuming. it took us about 7 hours to do a 14x20 room. Part of the difficulty was some of the angled walls. The strips are over 14' long and the ceiling is 9' high. We have a "T" to support the paper while I press it onto the ceiling. But to make life easier, I made this little 'bracket' that I screwed to the top of the ladder. It's a couple of left over bamboo nosings screwed to a piece of OSB which then screwed to the top of an 8' ladder. We just drape the whole strip over it and my wife then uses the T to support the section of strip I'm working on. This made it a lot easier.



This will show you the pattern.







And a final view. The room with the blue ceiling is the pub. We also did that ceiling with paper.



I'll post a final pic as soon as my knee recovers and I get the trims on the lights and grill on the FAH vent.


----------



## ddawg16

Since we had the family room empty to do the ceiling, it was a good time to finish grouting a couple of spots and doing some touchup. When I originally did it, I did the wipe down a little too soon and removed too much from the grooves between the tiles.

Some might recall discussions I had earlier regarding large tiles, flat floors and lipage.

I learned a few things on this. One of them...a big on in fact. When doing tiles this large, it's best to block out enough time to do the whole project at once. I only had one noticeable lipage part, and it was where we stopped for the night and continued the next night.





And one other issue.....tiles 'slide' at night. This corner was perfect when we went to bed. Then woke up to this. 



But overall, it came out well.







And.....I wish I knew the secret to this little girl. She will mop the floor but we can't get her to clean her room.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good.

Wonder why the tiles pushed like that.

Bud....you out there?


----------



## forcedreno2012

Dawg...just wanted to post that I hope all goes well with the surgery. Don't push it when you get back or it will take looooooonger to get back to where you need to be.

Love the tile.

Robyn


----------



## ddawg16

Update pic on the AV center. Wood is clear coated and some of the components installed.


----------



## Pat Martin

Hey dawg16, 

thanks for sharing your project, and in such detail  I'm no master diy, so I can only be impressed. Work looks good, and really professional. I'll keep my eyes out for more info and pictures. 

I'm not in a similar situation at all, but I do enjoy following the progression of biiiig projects, so! Good job, on everything, again thanks for sharing, the practical aspect brings much inspiration for my own dreams 

Thanks
Pat


----------



## ddawg16

Slow progress the past week or so....post surgery on my knee has slowed the progress. 

This week I'm working on completing the stairs, or rather the hand rails and balusters. 

All of the balusters are cut to length. I only messed up one. 

The lower handrail is bolted in place. And the upper one is painted and in place. 

I'll install the balusters tomorrow.


----------



## forcedreno2012

Like the beefy newel. One of the things that bugged me with the house up north was the skinny one they had at the start of the run....have a few teenagers running down stairs hanging on to it as they sling themselves around the corner and it was toast after a few years.


----------



## ddawg16

forcedreno2012 said:


> Like the beefy newel. One of the things that bugged me with the house up north was the skinny one they had at the start of the run....have a few teenagers running down stairs hanging on to it as they sling themselves around the corner and it was toast after a few years.


Thanks force. 

That newel won't be going anywhere. Inside of it is a 3x3 steel post bolted to the floor and stairs. If that newel move, some major carnage is taking place.


----------



## ddawg16

More progress.....balusters installed


----------



## CoconutPete

Looks fantastic!

What type of coax junction box is that above and slightly to the left of your cable modem? How do you like how its' working?


----------



## kwikfishron

Looks good ddawg BUT your handrail is suppose to be continuous down the entire flight. 2009 STAIR BUILDING CODE


----------



## ddawg16

kwikfishron said:


> Looks good ddawg BUT your handrail is suppose to continuous down the entire stair. 2009 STAIR BUILDING CODE


Well....that sucks....nothing about it in my prints....

But not that big of a deal to fix. Looking at the stuff you referenced (and thanks for that one), I think I can use where the wall begins as a newel post. I'll just get a 90 and attach it. I have enough length there to play with


----------



## ddawg16

CoconutPete said:


> Looks fantastic!
> 
> What type of coax junction box is that above and slightly to the left of your cable modem? How do you like how its' working?


Worked on that stuff some more last night....got some more of the cable terminated and plates on...it's cleaning up nicely.

The 'junction' box is actually an Amp. Bi-Directional amp. We have cable for internet....but if you use more than one splitter, the signal is too low. Typically the cable goes to the modem and the antenna is for the TV's. I've 'heard' that you can also get all the local channels on that cable as well....but our TV antenna works just fine. What we don't get off the antenna, we stream via the net.

It's working out well. Everything is in one location. Getting some of those cables tucked away makes it look even nicer.

Don't forget, I also have a 1.5" conduit behind that panel that also goes to the existing attic....it's going to make it easy to pull more Cat6 and coax. A set of security cameras is in the near future.


----------



## cheapstairparts

You are correct. Handrail must continue. This is so no clothing gets caught on it really. 

That part is called an S-Turn or Offset.

Your handrail doesn't look like any of the typical styles so you probably wont be able to find one pre-made.


----------



## ddawg16

cheapstairparts said:


> You are correct. Handrail must continue. This is so no clothing gets caught on it really.
> 
> That part is called an S-Turn or Offset.
> 
> Your handrail doesn't look like any of the typical styles so you probably wont be able to find one pre-made.


Thanks....the clothes catching actually makes sense.

Because of the 'angle', any reason we couldn't call the transition a newel post and treat it as such? That way I could terminate the upper rail into the side of the 'newel' post with a 90?


----------



## cheapstairparts

Can you post a better photo of the left side of the stairs? You may be able to move the wall rail over on the left side and avoid the issue you are having.


----------



## ddawg16

I'm not overly excited about moving the handrail to the other side. I guess I can if I have to. I have a call into my local inspector to see what he says. The guy is real good about helping with solutions and not just telling me I can't do something.

Here is what the transition looks like.



And a better view of the stairs...you can see the wall on the left side. 

Makes me wonder why it's ok change sides...but if on the same side, must be continous.



This pic gives you a good idea of how the stairs change direction.


----------



## cheapstairparts

With that landing on the left there really isn't a way to run the wall rail on the left. Yea ask your local contractor. 

Do your two handrails on the right meet up where if you have to you could miter cut your own offset?


----------



## ddawg16

cheapstairparts said:


> With that landing on the left there really isn't a way to run the wall rail on the left. Yea ask your local contractor.
> 
> Do your two handrails on the right meet up where if you have to you could miter cut your own offset?


I think that would be difficult. Because the tread is short at that corner, the angle is odd.

I have the height of the handrails perfect. As in, I'm in that 34-38" zone no matter how you measure the distance related to the stair nose (within reason). I spent hours making sure it was right.

But because of the short tread on that landing, the handrail lines don't intersect. 

That is why I"m hoping he will let me do a 90 right into the side of that fixed 'newel' post.


----------



## kwikfishron

ddawg16 said:


> I"m hoping he will let me do a 90 right into the side of that fixed 'newel' post.


I doubt that will fly...It's more than just clothes catching. For someone that actually needs the rail to get up and down the stairs they should be able to slide there hand continuously up or down the entire flight without having to let go of one rail to grab the other. Even more important for the sight impaired that there's no breaks in the run.


----------



## ddawg16

What about this exception in the code? Since I have a turn and I'm creating what I call a 'newel' post for the top of the lower section....and the stairs turn...would this not meet the below exception?


----------



## cheapstairparts

I know a guy on the SMA board. let me show him these and ask his advice.


----------



## ddawg16

I have a call into my building inspector.

I'm surprised I haven't already heard from him. If I call before 9am, he usually answers...if not, he is good about calling back pretty quick. He might be on vacation.


----------



## kwikfishron

ddawg16 said:


> What about this exception in the code? Since I have a turn and I'm creating what I call a 'newel' post for the top of the lower section....and the stairs turn...would this not meet the below exception?


You're calling it a newel but that's not what I'm seeing. You probably should run this one by the inspector before you commit to anything.


----------



## cheapstairparts

I'm being told it could go either way.. You could be allowed to miter a return into the post there and be good because it does turn. Or the inspector could say the turn isn't great enough and/or that doesn't classify as a newel because its on the wall. 

Ultimately it will depend on how your inspector interprets the code. 

If you have to change it, luckily handrails are not terribly expensive.


----------



## ddawg16

Thanks cheap.....I buy that.

At a min, I'm expecting I need to put in a 90. The existing handrail is long enough for me to cut off part and attach a 90


----------



## ddawg16

While I wait to talk to the inspector....I took care of one nagging issue last night. 

The upstairs toilet was rocking ever so slightly....all my fault....large tiles....slight lippage in the worst place....right where the toilet sets.

When I set it, I was in a hurry and didn't use silicone on the bowl.

Pulled it up last night to rectify the issue....

I was very pleased to see the wax ring was nicely compressed...



I ran a nice 1/4" bead of silicone around the bottom, leaving a 2" gap at the back. I let is sit for about 1 hour. That way it's not sticky and acts more like a rubber seal...but is still wet enough that when you put it in place and put some weight on it...it deforms to the contour of the floor.



And something I tried this time....I put down a piece of tape showing the exact center point. Wish I had done this before. Removes the guess work on where the position should be.



Nice and solid now.....and, yes, I used a new wax ring.

Now it's time to get the baseboards in.


----------



## ddawg16

Just a quick update regarding my stair railing...

I went by the building inspectors office this morning with pics.

Because I'm residential, I'm ok with a 90. But, if I were commercial? No way....it would have to be continuous. 

Thanks for all the input guys.


----------



## ddawg16

And here is a better pic of the stairs


----------



## ddawg16

So many little details....so little time....

Quick update....

I got the drain done for the wife's bathtub...well, mostly done....still need to tie it into the ABS drain. Just need the Fernco coupling.





I'm on a big push to get the downstairs shower done. I've started on the tile on the walls.



Got the remaining light switches installed.....and found a nick in the wire....bright flash and then darkness gave it away....on a bright note (pun intended) the AFCI worked as expected.


----------



## ddawg16

Now that my knee is much better, my energy level is up and I'm going more stuff now.

My big push is to get the guest bathroom shower done....especially since we have friends coming in a couple of weeks to stay for 5 days.

I'm really starting to have a much greater appreciation for tile guys....at least the good ones. It's not easy getting it perfect....heck, it's not easy getting it almost perfect.

Anyway....at least one thing is going in my favor. I received my shower trim today. And I must admit, while I thought $140 was expensive....once I opened up the package....well, it's a hell of a lot better built than the trim we bought a few years ago and was only about $30 cheaper. Big difference in 'beefyness'...

But even better....my tiling just got easier. 



The trim plate is large enough to cover some tile cuts. So instead of spending too many minutes trying to cut a square hole in the tile, I can just make simple cuts and they will be hidden by the trim.



And since I was sort of on a roll....and the stack of tiles in the pub was in my way....time to get them down.

This is where the pub will be....





Tomorrow? More shower tile....


----------



## ddawg16

I'm doing the downstairs shower....

Everything was going well.....and then.....not so flat tiles.

Had I seen the problem early on, I would have stopped. But, I didn't run into a bad tile until I had at least 1/3rd of the tiles up.

Most of them are ok....but I have about 6-7 that look like they will need to be replaced. Compounding the issue is I have friends arriving in another day or so and I need to get this shower working....otherwise, there will be 4 adults and 3 kids using the same shower.





This gives you a good idea of just how bad some of them are.



What sucks is these are not cheap HD tiles. They came from a well respected established tile supply store.

My wife took care of the tile ordering....she is going to show them the pics and see what they will do for us. I'm not looking forward to replacing some of those.

I'll be asking some advice soon on the best method to remove.


----------



## ddawg16

A way over due update.....work has been a bit on the crazy side.

We are expecting some rain....and I'm going out of town (Israel) on business. So, it's time to make sure all is water tight. 

My last item on 'that' list was the rain cap on the chimney. My first one did not work out like I expected....I was having to use duct tape as a temp seal.



Cleaned a few things up....



Made a new one out of 14g stainless steel. It helps having access to a 12' brake....



Liberal doses of Silicone in the right places.....



And now I'm water tight.....



Side note.....we put a lot of thought into the design of the addition....including making sure it was easy to get onto the roof....it's so easy to open this toilet room window and step out. If I need more space....I can use one of the casement windows on the bedroom side.


----------



## ddawg16

One more update. We officially now have 2 showers. 

Yea, I know, the shower head is a bit gimmicky....but my oldest son loves it and it is his shower.


----------



## Msradell

The tiles looked much better in those pictures of the finished shower. I'm assuming that the supplier made things right with the replacement of the ones that weren't flat? Everything looks great, you certainly had a lot of patience doing it right.

One other question, both pictures of the tub show it hanging in the air, I'm assuming you build up underneath it and grouted it into place? Otherwise is going to put an awful lot of stress on the lip of the tub.


----------



## ddawg16

Msradell said:


> The tiles looked much better in those pictures of the finished shower. I'm assuming that the supplier made things right with the replacement of the ones that weren't flat? Everything looks great, you certainly had a lot of patience doing it right. One other question, both pictures of the tub show it hanging in the air, I'm assuming you build up underneath it and grouted it into place? Otherwise is going to put an awful lot of stress on the lip of the tub.


I have about 5 rules that need to be replaced. My wife is working that part out with the tile shop. We don't expect any issues getting new tiles butt I'll have to do the work. Low priority at this point. But I did learn a few things. 

As for the tub....this might explain things


----------



## ddawg16

Msradell said:


> The tiles looked much better in those pictures of the finished shower. I'm assuming that the supplier made things right with the replacement of the ones that weren't flat? Everything looks great, you certainly had a lot of patience doing it right. One other question, both pictures of the tub show it hanging in the air, I'm assuming you build up underneath it and grouted it into place? Otherwise is going to put an awful lot of stress on the lip of the tub.


 I have about 5 tules that need to be replaced. My wife is working that part out with the tile shop. We don't expect any issues getting new tiles butt I'll have to do the work. Low priority at this point. But I did learn a few things. As for the tub....this might explain things


----------



## ddawg16

Little late on an update.....trips to Texas and Israel slowed things down....as well as the holidays. To say Christmas day was obscene would be an understatement. The kids did well. 

Ok...now that Christmas and Boxing day is done....and I'm about 10 lbs heavier, it's time to get back to work on the house.

And since it's getting kind of cool here (down to 36 deg last night), time to get the HVAC ducts finished. The only thing left was to connect the main feed to the addition to my existing FAH....something I had been putting off due to the cramped space....and thinking it was going to be harder than I thought. 

First I had to pop the top and cut the hole for the 12" ring. I was expecting the sides to be metal....but it's only insulation. Pretty easy to cut.



Installed ring...liberal application of mastic.



Duct attached....taped....lid put back on.



This is the duct going to the addition.



And another view.



I was expecting a shot of dirt out of the ducts when I ran it the first time...nada.

On to the next project.


----------



## Gary in WA

Looking good, you are almost done!


Is the p-trap for the tub hiding from the pictures? Not a plumber, thought they were required... Gary
PS- Is your chimney pipe 4 or 6"?


----------



## ddawg16

Gary in WA said:


> Looking good, you are almost done! Is the p-trap for the tub hiding from the pictures? Not a plumber, thought they were required... Gary PS- Is your chimney pipe 4 or 6"?


Haven't put on the p-trap yet. I was going to do the mortar base for the tub first. 

Chimney is a 5" B-vent


----------



## Gary in WA

Hard to measure from here, chimney 30" and bigger require cricket........ thanks, Gary


----------



## ddawg16

Gary in WA said:


> Hard to measure from here, chimney 30" and bigger require cricket........ thanks, Gary


The top is 28x28
26" at the base


----------



## ddawg16

It's nice being off work this week. Getting some woodworking done on the cabinets for the bathroom vanities and cabinet above the master bath toilet.





Can never have enough clamps....





Yea, I know...2-story garage and still not enough room......


----------



## TheEplumber

I think you need a bigger garage, dawg..........


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> I think you need a bigger garage, dawg..........


NO kidding....1040 sq ft.....between the wife's junk and the kids bikes....I'm running out of room. I see a garage sale in the future.


----------



## ddawg16

Cold morning here....very cold by California beach standards. Around 33 deg or lower depending on where you are. I have frost on the roof. 

Took this pic...it shows the hot spots on the roof of my addition. Since my upstairs is vaulted, I can get an idea of how well the insulation is working. You can see the thermal bridging from the roof joists (2x8). I have about R30 in the roof. Heat is off in the house now. I didn't notice any significant running time of the FAU. Nice and comfortable. The downstairs family room has walls with 2x6 construction. Considering one wall is 18'x9'...I'm glad for the extra thickness. 



edit.....
Just noticed the frost on the existing part of the house where the kitchen is. That ceiling is vaulted as well. Can't wait to do the front of the house. All that wood lap siding comes off this summer. Re-insulate. Shear wall....stone veneer at the bottom...Hardiplank on top. Larger kitchen window.

Yea....it never ends.


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> NO kidding....1040 sq ft.....between the wife's junk and the kids bikes....I'm running out of room. I see a garage sale in the future.


Sounds like it's time to build a shed for the bikes and stuff.
None of that stuff is allowed in my cave, ha..:no:


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Sounds like it's time to build a shed for the bikes and stuff.
> None of that stuff is allowed in my cave, ha..:no:


That is an option. But, not a lot of room for a shed.


----------



## ddawg16

Now that the holidays are over....time to get serious about getting this house done.

I'm working on the cabinets and vanities for the master bath.

Pocket hole cutters make quick work of face frames.





Before stain...



After stain...but no clear coat...that will be later. This vanity is for my sink.



Working on the wife's side now...



This may not be too clear now...but this is the kick board. The 2x will support a good % of the weight and sits on the subfloor but butts right up to the tile. The actual kick board will be stained and put on last. I want it to sit flush on the tile.


----------



## CoconutPete

Nice update! I hadn't had a chance to check on this thread for a while.


----------



## ddawg16

Teaser time.....I just received this....LED light kit for the stairs. I must admit I'm impressed with the kit...pretty much all inclusive.

I'll post more pics this weekend after I've finished some of the painting and have the lights installed. Kit came with 8 lights, I'm only installing 5...lower section, every other tread.


----------



## ddawg16

It's really hard to get any work done on a weekend when you have football playoff's.....on top of that, the 30% chance of drizzle became a 100% good rain (we needed it).

So...I worked on a lot of little things.

Got the cabinet hung that goes above the toilet. (made it last weekend). 



edit: Excuse the white paint at the back. I got lazy and didn't want to bother with a back on the cabinet. So I'm painting it all the same color. By the time my wife gets it filled with all the 'usual' stuff, you won't be able to see the wall anyway.

I got my tolerances so close I had to pull off the molding on the window so I could get it in.



Got the wall painted and base installed for my wife's 'war paint application center'. Granite to follow.



And I got this register installed. It felt good to actually reuse something from the original house. 



And.....the Cowboys lost to GB.......I'm bummed.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good!


----------



## ddawg16

Notice how some days you don't get squat done. And then others, you wish you have more like them?

Well, this afternoon after work I didn't expect to get much done. Jeep tossed some water so I looked into that issue. Fan is working...t-stat is working....I'm pretty much convinced my radiator was built wrong. I don't think the neck for the cap is right. It's too easy to screw/unscrew the cap. (my jeep is anything but stock...kinda like my house)

Anyway....jeep is back running for now...so house stuff.

I received the sinks last week....football got in the way over the weekend...so it was time to give the sinks a home. So, I cut the holes for them.



And sinks dropped into place.





These sinks are not as deep as your typical sink. Read a lot of comments....and everyone had the same concern...splashing....but it didn't happen. My wife is not going to be soaking stuff in them....so we don't need them to be deep.

Now I just need the granite guy to do his thing.

In case you are wondering about that vent pipe....I will be building a corner cabinet which will hide that pipe. By running it that way, it made the penetration in the roof easier.


----------



## ddawg16

Busy weekend with my 'other' activity. This is what I did today.....

My wife can now wash her hands upstairs in our master bathroom.



And....I have determined that I am in fact OCD.

It's killing me the drain extension is white and not black.

And this is the sink....prior to granite....


----------



## ddawg16

Finally getting around to painting the tread risers and hand rail.


----------



## ddawg16

Getting the little details done. This is a fun one....doing the lights for the stairs.

I still need to pick out a photo sensor to turn them on....but at least I have them installed.

This was the kit....about $120 or so....but includes everything. Including the bit to drill the holes.



The hole....



And what it looks like....I turned off the flash for these two pics...





I picked every other tread thinking it would be easier to distinguish the treads at night. The kit came with 8 lights....I might try one more to see if it makes a difference....though I doubt it...I think it might be too much light.

This is the light installed.



The kit came with 2 of these....basically a junction block for the DC power. DC power supply is included.


----------



## Vegas Sparky

You've done a fantastic job, and this is a great thread to read, ddawg. :thumbsup:

You've earned every compliment you've received. 

I'm looking forward to all the things you'll be posting about here in the future. Very inspiring. :thumbup:


----------



## 123pugsy

Vegas Sparky said:


> You've done a fantastic job, and this is a great thread to read, ddawg. :thumbsup:
> 
> You've earned every compliment you've received.
> 
> I'm looking forward to all the things you'll be posting about here in the future. Very inspiring. :thumbup:


X2.


Nice lights Dawg. :thumbsup: Now you got me thinking.....


----------



## RHeat

what a big project.


----------



## ddawg16

I didn't want you guys to think I had stopped working. At this point, all that is left is a lot of the finish work....tile the master shower, decking for the balcony, granite for the tub and vanities and just a lot of trim work....oh, at the double sided fireplace. 

We are getting a little bit of much needed rain which puts a 'dampener' on my wood working tasks. I was browsing pics, and I must admit, I'm amazed at how it's changed. I thought I'd post some before and after pics.

The addition right after the cement was poured.



Now






That is my water heater enclosure where the vents are. Most people don't even notice it.




One of the walls in the master bedroom






The stairs.....






And the pub ceiling....


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Dawggie...... *Really fine job*... and I think you know I've specially enjoyed it as we were right behind you adding 1600 finished/ 550 garage onto my son's Dana former shack.

Nice F'n job....:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:




(Ps: We still have to redo the old 1000 foot cottage/playhouse/dump... wanna hire out:laughing

Best

Peter


----------



## ddawg16

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> Dawggie...... *Really fine job*... and I think you know I've specially enjoyed it as we were right behind you adding 1600 finished/ 550 garage onto my son's Dana former shack.
> 
> Nice F'n job....:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Ps: We still have to redo the old 1000 foot cottage/playhouse/dump... wanna hire out:laughing
> 
> Best
> 
> Peter


Peter....you couldn't afford the beer bill.....

And I'm too slow.....


----------



## ddawg16

Update....funny how those little details take so long.

Some of you might recall my debacle with my stairs....or the "hand rail must be continuous".

I discussed my issue with the inspector. Because of the slight turn in the stairs, we are treating the midway point like a newel post....but the rail has to terminate into it.

So....I got the 90 attached.





This is it attached....



This is my only remaining question. Do I anchor this end against the wall or let it float? One of my issues is there is no wood behind that section of wall. It's between studs.


----------



## ddawg16

Forgive me for the long delay for an update. Life has been getting in the way. Scout meetings....Father-Daughter dance night...family time....

On second thought....no apologies....

Actually, we have been getting stuff done...but nothing picture worthy....who wants to see the email order for the $2100 double sided fire place 

Anyway....the past couple of days I've been finishing up one of those little things that was bugging me but low on the priority list. The door for the load center.



I've had the door made for it for over a year....but just haven't gotten around to ordering the stainless steel hinge.

Well....ordered the hinge....it came in...cut to length...installed.





I have a couple of open issues.....

1. I need a door pull/handle
2. I need to find something to act as a 'hat' over the meter. I'm not really worried about rain getting in (like we get a lot of rain). I have a good sized eave above so the chances of water falling into that hole is slim. And if it does, it won't do any damage. At the bottom of the soffett around the load center is a beveled SS plate with a small hole in it. Water will drain out there.



Happy Easter everyone.


----------



## pizza0ut

Good idea, looks awesome!


----------



## Mr_White

Great job on the project, overall Dawg!


----------



## CoconutPete

Wow, hell of a transformation when you look at it like that!


----------



## ddawg16

Man, am I running behind schedule. Work travel does not help. Lets see, in the past 3 weeks....a week in Texas...and then a week in Winnipeg Canada....and then a week in Savannah GA

Anyway....it's countdown to final inspection. To pass final inspection I have to get the following done....

1. Master bathroom tub
2. Master bathroom shower
3. Flooring for the balcony
4. Fireplace

Tub is in...waiting for the granite guy to come and do the granite. We have already bought the granit.

Balcony - I'm not having a whole lot of luck to find a company to do that part. Seems it's too small of a job to get them interested.

Shower....doing that now. The floor is 'small stone' tile.....not the easiest thing to work with...but pretty forgiving.



It's going to be a pretty big shower....



And then the fireplace....double sided fireplace.

Not cheap. But, I should be able to lay in bed watching TV while looking at my wife in the bathtub....through the fireplace.

This is not my master bedroom...but this is the fireplace that is on it's way


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking great boss!!


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

Have you considered a trapeze for the shower....?


----------



## ddawg16

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> Have you considered a trapeze for the shower....?


???? Who? What? Huh?

These tiles are big....so nice to work with.


----------



## ddawg16

Update....

More tile done....between life....work...scouting...more work....

Short wall on one side



Main wall....almost done



Shower Seat...this could be a delay. We have bought the granite....and it's waiting for the granite guy to pick it up. I can't finish this seat until the granite is down...I want the side tiles to be on top of the granite.



Not so good news....I looks like UPS may have lost our fireplace. If it takes another month to get one....I'll be pissed.


And.....that 'hammer' is the hammer for my pneumatic nailer. It makes a pretty good 'thumper' for the tiles.


----------



## ddawg16

Picked up a new blade for the wet saw.....what a difference.



The big pieces are easy....it's those long narrow cuts that are not going to be so easy....that is where the new blade comes in. If you look at this pic, you will see I have about 3" of real estate that needs to be covered. On a 24" cut....any error will stick out like a sore thumb



And....just thought I'd show you a close up of the tile...12x24....I have to give my wife credit....you picked out a great looking tile and told me how she wanted it installed....the vertical look is great.


----------



## ddawg16

I'm getting closer....



We are curious to see how this window will look once the grout is done.


----------



## ddawg16

Man, I'm slacking. I guess that is what happens when you have a 'few' business trips....lets see....Canada...Savannah GA, Texas, Baltimore....

Anyway....making slow progress.....

Got the shower grouted....

I'm really happy how the window turned out.
Still have a little clean up...then grout seal



Here is a long distance shot to show the skylight above the shower and bath...this has turned into a really good decision. Opening that skylight really gets the air flowing through all of the house. 



And a full view of the shower



AND...my fireplace arrived.....a month late.

This is it outside...I've pulled off the doors so that it's light enough to carry.



Some of you might be wondering how it's going to be used....it goes between the master bedroom and the master bath. Once it's all done, I should be able to lay in bed and look at the TV and my naked wife in her bathtub.



And the view from her bathtub.... 6' bathtub. Just Waiting on the granite guy now.


----------



## de-nagorg

That is going to add nice ambience to the two rooms. nice touch.

Me personally I would have made it an aquarium, so that I could watch the mermaid in the bathtub.:wink::yes:. but I'm just that way.


ED


----------



## ddawg16

I posted the below in the tile section...but I'm so happy with how it works I also wanted to put it here

I found this good trick for cleaning up and smoothing grout.

Use a 3M scratch pad.

I tried it on my 4 week old grout in my new shower to smooth out some of the 'rough' areas...works like a champ

It also worked on my older grout. The pad doesn't last long...but it does work well.



Grout line 'before'




and 'after'


----------



## TheEplumber

Thank you Dawg! I got a little clean up to do on my backslash- just might be the ticket


----------



## ddawg16

Ya know, I just might get this house done.

The housing bust must be over because the trades are busy. I've had a hard time finding someone to do the granite. The original guy I had lined up is just way to busy. Finally found a guy....with luck all the granite will be done in a week or so.

My wife's bathtub is 6'....and we raised it up off the floor.



Got the water valves in.



Platform for the tub to sit on.



Got it set in the mortar base. This part was actually easier than I thought. I made the platform so that I could lay down more mortar to provide more support than just the feet.

I was surprised at how easy it was to just wiggle the tub and it settled down into the mortar just fine.



And the contractor showed up to lay the mortar base for the granite.






Template is made....it should be covered by sometime next week.


----------



## ddawg16

Fireplace is in.....and working.

Gas line.......



Fire....



Pictures don't do it justice


----------



## TheEplumber

i normally see or set the tub after the tile or granite is on. Why did you choose your method?


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> i normally see or set the tub after the tile or granite is on. Why did you choose your method?


Doing it undermount style. It costs more and the granite guy has to get the inside cut perfect....as well as route it.

But it looks a whole lot better.


----------



## ddawg16

Just one more pic of the fireplace


----------



## ddawg16

While I wait for the granite guy to do his thing, the weather has been outstanding so it was time to get the back yard back into shape....

Over the past 4 years I've cleaned a lot of buckets of paint and drywall mud in the back yard. Last summer I put down Marathon sod....it didn't do well. My grass guy thinks it was a combination of stuff in the dirt and not enough sun light (North side of the house)

So....I scraped it all up....after I moved my veggie patch back against the wall



Brought in 360 sq ft of Saint Augustine and put my boys to work moving it.



At least the oldest one wants to earn X-Box time



Final result



Caught this bugger the other day. There is another one...twice the size....saw him in the compost bin...he got away...but I hear him at night...I'll get him



And I finished cutting all the pavers next to the house and getting my rain barrel in



We actually planned it this way. The gutter comes down the side of the soffett for the load center.....and right into the barrel



Now we just need rain.


----------



## ddawg16

Funny how summer gets in the of progress. I'm on vacation this week so it's time to get some of the misc projects done. I need to do a lot of woodworking....so I need to clean out the garage so I have more room.



I'm purging stuff I don't need....I'm off to a good start.

I think this ADA book can go.


----------



## Beachfront

Ddawg16 great job & progress on your house, looks fantastic! Send me a e-mail I work at a local hardware store if you have questions on hardware or when prices are low for the season. [email protected]


----------



## ddawg16

It's a small thing....but it was actually part of cleaning up the garage. I had a bunch of oak cabinet doors from when my wife remodeled her moms kitchen. I used most of them in the garage. I had a few left over. I found a use for 2 of the larger doors....the cabinet over my 'throne' upstairs.



Hit the doors with some sandpaper to roughen them up a bit for paint...



Drill holes for Blum hinges....the jib is one of the best tools to have.



Primer and paint



Done.....



Side note.....

When working above toilets....it's a good idea to close the lid.....least you have to go fishing for dropped screws.


----------



## jcrizzy

ddawg16 said:


> Ya know, I just might get this house done.
> 
> The housing bust must be over because the trades are busy. I've had a hard time finding someone to do the granite. The original guy I had lined up is just way to busy. Finally found a guy....with luck all the granite will be done in a week or so.


Oh wow... I followed this thread for awhile and always loved reading your posts.... but haven't checked most of this year... didn't realize you were still at it :thumbsup: Love the work you've done.

I'm finally taking the plunge on 600 sqft master/bath addition (SoCal)... Have a GC/project manager... but trying to do as much as I can DIY to watch the budget... I'll have to review this thread again now!


----------



## Solidify

jcrizzy said:


> Oh wow... I followed this thread for awhile and always loved reading your posts.... but haven't checked most of this year... didn't realize you were still at it :thumbsup: Love the work you've done.
> 
> I'm finally taking the plunge on 600 sqft master/bath addition (SoCal)... Have a GC/project manager... but trying to do as much as I can DIY to watch the budget... I'll have to review this thread again now!


I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd love to see you make a thread for that. :thumbsup:


----------



## ddawg16

jcrizzy said:


> Oh wow... I followed this thread for awhile and always loved reading your posts.... but haven't checked most of this year... didn't realize you were still at it :thumbsup: Love the work you've done.
> 
> I'm finally taking the plunge on 600 sqft master/bath addition (SoCal)... Have a GC/project manager... but trying to do as much as I can DIY to watch the budget... I'll have to review this thread again now!





Solidify said:


> I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd love to see you make a thread for that. :thumbsup:


Same here......and yell if you need some help with resources.


----------



## jcrizzy

ddawg16 said:


> Same here......and yell if you need some help with resources.


Thanks much, if I remember correct you did all your framing (I have to revisit the early posts). I'm not that brave...but trying to do what I can... we'll see ;-)


----------



## ddawg16

jcrizzy said:


> Thanks much, if I remember correct you did all your framing (I have to revisit the early posts). I'm not that brave...but trying to do what I can... we'll see ;-)


Framing? Yes

And in relative terms, some of the most fun. 

4 Tools you will need
1. Air compressor 
2. Air nailer
3. Framers hamer
4. Laser level

Then have fun


----------



## jcrizzy

ddawg16 said:


> Framing? Yes
> 
> And in relative terms, some of the most fun.
> 
> 4 Tools you will need
> 1. Air compressor
> 2. Air nailer
> 3. Framers hamer
> 4. Laser level
> 
> Then have fun


I love you describe it as fun  and especially yours... 2 story with some interesting angles if I remember correctly. Gotta be very rewarding though to see it go up... and now nearly done. whew


----------



## ddawg16

I think I've been spending too much time watching pugsy's place go up....and soon it will be jcizzy's.

Anyway.....took last week off to get a bunch of crap done....well...at least I went fishing with my boys. 

Ok....I did get some things done. Things that just take time. Like staining and coating flooring.....or parts of it.

These are the steps leading into the laundry room. They have been like this for about 3 years now.



This is the oak wood flooring I yanked up from the original (no defunct) master bedroom and adjoining hallway.



So, using some of those pieces I made steps. Glued the pieces together....



And then stained them....



Of course the riser boards need a little detail (just noticed the screw pop)



And the end result.....


----------



## 123pugsy

Nice stair treads dawg.

Hope it doesn't take another 3 years to trim off the doorway...ha....


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Nice stair treads dawg.
> 
> Hope it doesn't take another 3 years to trim off the doorway...ha....


That is a winter project.

Need to order the pocket door too.


----------



## ddawg16

The granite for the master bath is close to being done. The granite guy finished the templates and picked up the slap. It should go in next week.

I found it kind of interesting how he made the templates.

Taped to the side of the slab is our templates.


----------



## BigJim

ddawg16 said:


> The granite for the master bath is close to being done. The granite guy finished the templates and picked up the slap. It should go in next week.
> 
> I found it kind of interesting how he made the templates.
> 
> Taped to the side of the slab is our templates.


You should get a piece of the off fall to sharpen your knives and plane blades on, that is great stuff to use for sharpening tools, using the scary sharp method.


----------



## ddawg16

BigJim said:


> You should get a piece of the off fall to sharpen your knives and plane blades on, that is great stuff to use for sharpening tools, using the scary sharp method.


Good idea....thank you sir.


----------



## JohnB81

interesting


----------



## ddawg16

Major Step completed today. The granite guy installed the granite on top of the tub and counter tops. Wife is VERY happy. As soon as I get back from my business trip I'll install the faucet and she can take a bath.

I wasn't home but I'm guessing those white boards were part of keeping thinks straight while they carried it upstairs. I was afraid it would break in half while trying to get into position.





Our sinks. I've already started on the vertical tower that will go in the corner....and hid the vent pipe.



And her makeup vanity.....like she really needs to wear makeup...




Now we need to go find more granite that will match the shower.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good. 

Love the solid surface tops. They make the tub a breeze to keep clean. 

Great work.


----------



## ddawg16

Forgot to add.....and I'm sure some are wondering.....

The granite slab that all came from cost $960. It was aprox 7'x11'.

The labor is $2530 for the job. 

What is not seen is the work still left for the shower. He is going to frame out the door opening and pony wall tops with granite along with the seat.

There was not enough granite to do all of it from the slab we had so we need to go get more. Which in reality is ok. We are not thinking the shower stuff should be a different granite to match the tile.

We don't need a whole slab so the wife is going shopping in hopes of finding a partial slab of the right color.

I really like our granite guy....he cares....and takes pride.


----------



## 123pugsy

I'm not a big granite fan but the slab you pic looks great. :wink2:


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> I'm not a big granite fan but the slab you pic looks great. :wink2:


My wife gets the credit for that. She is the one with the eye for color.


----------



## ddawg16

Now that I'm back home after spending 3 weeks in NC working 7 days a week....12-16 hour days...a little progress

Counter tops are in...but too thick. By the time you add the 3/4" granite, 3/4" plywood and some thin set, faucets don't fit.







So following the excellent advice from you guys.....







But that might be the end of any work for awile.

Had a wreck on the mc this afternoon. broken collar bone. Don't think ill be doing much for a few days


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> Now that I'm back home after spending 3 weeks in NC working 7 days a week....12-16 hour days...a little progress
> 
> Counter tops are in...but too thick. By the time you add the 3/4" granite, 3/4" plywood and some thin set, faucets don't fit.
> 
> So following the excellent advice from you guys.....
> 
> But that might be the end of any work for awile.
> 
> Had a wreck on the mc this afternoon. broken collar bone. Don't think ill be doing much for a few days


It's good that you got the faucet install worked out but broken collar bone?
Damn.

Relax for a while. It was time for a break (NPI) anyways.


----------



## ddawg16

Well....that M/C accident sure has put a wrench in my progress. Not much I can do one handed....but I'm trying.

Working on making the hardwood tread for the step down to the family room using existing oak hardwood pieces.

Bought new red oak nosing....

Can never have enough clamps



And a hand plane is still useful....since I can only use one hand.


----------



## 123pugsy

I feel your pain dawg.

I fell a couple weeks before I started my kitchen cabinets and had to do so many things left handed that it drove me bananas. Hand sanding lefty was the worst.


----------



## Sdyess

I never thought I would see such a fantastic guide on a forum above all places.


----------



## ddawg16

Update.....on a very important part.....my pub.

Due to my MC crash and broken collar bone, I can only use one arm. So, with the help of my older son, I've made some progress on the pub bar. 

What I would normally get done in a weekend has taken me 2 weeks.

This is the first cabinet....holds the sink. 



And stain.....I must admit, I love the grain on Mahogany 



Lower cabinet in place with plumbing ready. The electrical box is for my 2 ckts. I'll have a GFCI right there...I plan to install some LED DC lights above the bar. One of the ckts will go down the wall to where the bar fridge will be.



The sink is going to be under mount. 



This sink is actually plastic....or more like a composite material. Just ordered the drain and faucet...both also black. We opted over this vs the 'typical' SS.



This is actually pretty important....it's one of the last items needed so I can get buy off on my final inspection. The inspector is going to want all fixtures working.


----------



## ddawg16

Slight delay this week while I attended a trade show in Dallas.

Picked up more wood today....making good progress on the bar.



This is going to be against the wall and hold glasses and bottles of 'alcoholic beverages'.



You can never have too many wood clamps.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good man.

Really impressive set of comprehensive skills.


----------



## ddawg16

Making progress.

Faucet and drain arrived. I got the conduit ran for the bar fridge. It will be at the opposite end of the bar from the sink. I've got 2 ckts going here. One is a dedicated 20A and the other is tied to the wall outlets of the family room. 



Time to get the granite guy going.


----------



## ddawg16

Working on about 10 different things at once.

I'm kinda OCD on some things so there was one little thing that was killing me.....the transition from the family room to the laundry room. I had the steps in but the transition from the oak step to tile was acting like a perfect dog hair catcher.

I felt like it was taking longer to find the right transition vs just making one....so I made it. Router, hand plane, spare piece of oak flooring.....



It took me maybe 30 min to make the profile I wanted. It was actually a lot easier than I expected.



Stain and clear coat.....



This is where it goes......



This is only a test fit. I'll glue it in tomorrow morning after the kids head to school.


----------



## ddawg16

Now that my shoulder is healing, I can start to use my left arm (a little) and get some stuff done. Took yesterday and today off so I can get some things done before I go out of the country on business.

Main task....do the a couple of the little things I've been putting off. One of them was the transition....got that done last night. Today was getting the stair lights wired into the photo sensor.

Basically, I'm using a Lutron occupancy sensor to turn on the lights when it gets dark. This setup is actually somewhat complicated in that I didn't plan for it from the onset. 

So.....I cut a hole in the inside wall under my stairs above an outlet that is on the other wall. And, yes, I'm kinda OCD and vacuumed up the mess from inside the wall.



Ran NM from the outlet below up to this one....the outlet will have a always hot recpt and one that runs off the occupancy sensor. The transformer for the stair lights will operate off the switched outlet.



I made a command decision.....I'm NOT going to seal up the seams of the drywall I cut out. It's not going to be real visible....so why bother. I might want to get in there again.



What my stair light wiring looks like. Not as pretty as I would like.....but....who is going to see it? I also have lights in the 2 steps that lead down to the family room.



And this is where the occupancy sensor is. Those gray spots are from the wood putty. 



Here is a pic of what the lights look like at night.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Nice progress boss. Like the stair lighting as well.


----------



## ddawg16

You never have enough clamps



I ran out of 1/2" Mahogany plywood so I glued some 1/8" Mahogany to some spare 3/4" stock.


----------



## ddawg16

Our house was built in 52.....ALL the flooring was 1/2" solid oak.

The previous owner had carpet installed. The previous owner had dog. The previous owner kept said dogs in the master bed room. Said dogs liked to pee in the same spots.

When we moved in, the first thing we did was yank out the carpet. 

Fast forward....had to rebuild the bathroom floor which is adjacent the master bedroom. I ripped out all the oak flooring in the hallway and master bedroom tossing those pieces that were beyond hope.

So....here is my remaining pile of oak flooring.



Started putting it down in the pub area.



I have a new appreciation for guys who do this for a living....this is 5 hours later. Slow progress.



It's Sunday...I'm missing the football games.....at least I can have a beer....or two.....or three.




Side note.....got the sink bar working



And....

You can never have enough clamps


----------



## diyazen

Very informative thread , thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## DinBolingbrook

I consider myself a DIYer, and you my kind sir, ARE NOT....this is better designed and built then most so called professionals.....WELL DONE!!!


----------



## ddawg16

Lets see.....M/C accident......3 weeks in Kinston NC, 2.5 Weeks in Mexico....Turkey weekend....not much time to get stuff done.

But I did get some stuff done.

I'm just about done with the cabinet that will be between the 2 master bath sinks.



Started getting the backsplash tile installed around the wife's bathtub


----------



## ddawg16

On our cold mornings, I've found that it's more enjoyable to do some minor tasks in the house while I'm still in PJ's and drinking coffee.

This morning I got 2 of the surround sound speakers installed in the master bedroom.

I pre-wired all the speaker locations before I drywall'd (and took pics so I knew where the wires were)

I've found it's easier and less messy to cut the holes with a box cutter. Takes a little longer but the hole looks a lot better and very little mess.

First I made a template from scrap wood. Saves a lot of time.


Then cut the hole





Installed box...pulled wire out...



Speaker done....



2 more to go....


----------



## ddawg16

And I need more hardwood flooring to complete my pub floor.....

This is what 'used' to be the dinning area....



What used to be the living room will now become the dinning area....so the old dinning area is going to become part of the kitchen and get tile. So, the wood floor in this area is not needed.....I need it in the pub.

This was a lot of work. Took about 4-5 hours to just pull up this section. but that also included pulling out all the nails from the planks.

Plywood goes down in the morning.


----------



## ddawg16

Still working on getting the flooring done in the pub and hallway.

I finished pulling up the rest of the oak flooring in the front room and got the 3/4" T&G plywood down. In a few months it will get tiles when we put in the breakfast bar.

Along the way , I figured out a good way t pull up the oak planks without tearing them up.

I'd tap my flat bar under the outside edge near the nail and pull backwards. This would rock the plank causing the nail to lift out.



This is a clasic case where havig the right tool is priceless. Even if it is a cheap HF multitool.



Away from the walls, the cordless sicrcular saw worked great.



then I stacked the wood according to lenght and end condition. Ends that are cut will have to be used at the walls.



I'm still not sure I'll have enough wood to finish the job...






I think I'm going to come up about 10 sq/ft short;


----------



## ddawg16

More progress. Slow.......





Time consuming cutting the pieces around the stairs.





But I'm sure we all agree, not much work will be done the next few days due to Xmas......Especially Wed....taking the boys to see Star Wars

We are tentatively planning on sanding the floors after xmas. I want to do it all at once and get it over with....so the kids and do will move in with the in-laws for a few days


----------



## ddawg16

Happy New Year everyone. I hope it was a safe, enjoyable and 'productive'. Now it's time for the first update of the year.

As usual, I didn't get as much done as I hoped....but, I did get one of the major projects done. We moved the kids and dog over to Granny and Granddad's for a few days and did the hardwood floors.

As you can see from my last post, I was completing the put down of the original hardwood flooring. I kinda clump that work in with plumbing. Not that hard, but not that much fun either. I think only drywall is worse.

Anyway....I finally got all the hardwood down...patched up a few bad pieces.....and for anyone who does not have one of those 'multi-tools'.....get one. I've only used mine about 6 times....but it does a job that you can't really do any other way.....like cutting out a strip of existing hardwood so you can put in another piece.

I rented a floor sander from HD and went to town.



I got my #2 son to do part of his room. 





To 'paint' a picture of the task at hand, I basically have 4 areas to do. Main dinning room (original part of the house that 'was' the living room), #2 son's bedroom, hallway and pub. The logistics of the task means once the stain goes down....you basically can't reach most of the house. The new family room is in the back of the house so I have one bathroom and a bedroom. If I go out the back door, I can reach the kitchen. NO access to upstairs.

The sanding would have gone a little quicker if the sander had not died on me at 11pm. Hence, my hopes of getting down the stain that night was shot.

Up early the next morning....swapped out the sander...finished sanding...returned it to HD...then had to go work new years eve.....(have to keep the streets safe)

New years day....tossed down stain....after more extensive cleaning.


Let me stress......besides drywall, this is one of the dirtiest jobs you can do.

This was the Swiffer after several passes with the shop vac and compressed air.

The below pics are after the stain and first coat of finish. I decided to go with oil based.


----------



## ddawg16

And while we were making such a big mess....might as well go for broke.

Part of the changes to the house included closing off a door way between the old living room and hallway to the bedrooms. Since our old master bedroom is now the location for the stairs and pub, we blew out a 5' opening and closed off the old doorway. The wall in the hallway was done but I needed to mud the dinning (old living room) side.



Mudding done....



And everything primered.


Wife is happy now....it means she can paint the wall it's final color and put things up as she wants to knowing it's not coming down for some 'construction' reason.


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> Happy New Year everyone. I hope it was a safe, enjoyable and 'productive'. Now it's time for the first update of the year.
> 
> As usual, I didn't get as much done as I hoped....but, I did get one of the major projects done. We moved the kids and dog over to Granny and Granddad's for a few days and did the hardwood floors.
> 
> As you can see from my last post, I was completing the put down of the original hardwood flooring. I kinda clump that work in with plumbing. Not that hard, but not that much fun either. I think only drywall is worse.
> 
> Anyway....I finally got all the hardwood down...patched up a few bad pieces.....and for anyone who does not have one of those 'multi-tools'.....get one. I've only used mine about 6 times....but it does a job that you can't really do any other way.....like cutting out a strip of existing hardwood so you can put in another piece.
> 
> I rented a floor sander from HD and went to town.
> 
> I got my #2 son to do part of his room.
> 
> To 'paint' a picture of the task at hand, I basically have 4 areas to do. Main dinning room (original part of the house that 'was' the living room), #2 son's bedroom, hallway and pub. The logistics of the task means once the stain goes down....you basically can't reach most of the house. The new family room is in the back of the house so I have one bathroom and a bedroom. If I go out the back door, I can reach the kitchen. NO access to upstairs.
> 
> The sanding would have gone a little quicker if the sander had not died on me at 11pm. Hence, my hopes of getting down the stain that night was shot.
> 
> Up early the next morning....swapped out the sander...finished sanding...returned it to HD...then had to go work new years eve.....(have to keep the streets safe)
> 
> New years day....tossed down stain....after more extensive cleaning.
> 
> Let me stress......besides drywall, this is one of the dirtiest jobs you can do.
> 
> This was the Swiffer after several passes with the shop vac and compressed air.
> 
> The below pics are after the stain and first coat of finish. I decided to go with oil based.


Looking good dawg.

I now realize why I'm considering pre-finished for my entire project.


----------



## Colbyt

What a special way to spend New Years Eve.


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Looking good dawg.
> 
> I now realize why I'm considering pre-finished for my entire project.


I hear ya.....but.....there is something to be said about solid wood and being able to refinish it in a few years. Tough call.

In my case, I really wanted to keep the look of the original stuff.

I'll post some pics tomorrow of the pub area. By then it will be totally dry and you will be able to see it as it really is. One of the thing we like, because all the wood was 're-used', it is not perfectly flat. Has somewhat of a rustic look. Fits well with the intended look of the pub.



Colbyt said:


> What a special way to spend New Years Eve.


LOL

I prefer to look at it as starting the year off on a positive note......the bloody floors are DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> I hear ya.....but.....there is something to be said about solid wood and being able to refinish it in a few years. Tough call.
> 
> In my case, I really wanted to keep the look of the original stuff.
> 
> I'll post some pics tomorrow of the pub area. By then it will be totally dry and you will be able to see it as it really is. One of the thing we like, because all the wood was 're-used', it is not perfectly flat. Has somewhat of a rustic look. Fits well with the intended look of the pub.
> 
> 
> 
> LOL
> 
> I prefer to look at it as starting the year off on a positive note......the bloody floors are DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!



I'll go solid but probably hand scraped.
I have no clue how one would refinish something like that. We'll have to see when the time comes. (if I'm still alive, that is)


----------



## Colbyt

ddawg16 said:


> LOL
> 
> I prefer to look at it as starting the year off on a positive note......the bloody floors are DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!



I understand that. The last time I did some floors they whupped my butt and I was just screening them.


----------



## ddawg16

Colbyt said:


> I understand that. The last time I did some floors they whupped my butt and I was just screening them.


Yup.....sounds about right.....

My body hurts.....too much bending over. I did about 450 sq ft....


----------



## ddawg16

Just a quicky.....getting into a lot of the little details....translation...lots of wood working...

BigJim....this is for you.....solid Mahogany planks....about 1.5" thick...22" wide...10' long...


----------



## ddawg16

One other addition......hard to knock the multi-tool. I don't use mine very much....maybe 10x so far...but it does things that would be almost impossible with anything else.

In this case, I had to cut off an inside lip on the bath tub to install the faucets.

It's the Harbor Freight variable speed version....I think I got it for $29 on sale. Worth every penny.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Stop kicking the crap out of those idiot jokers and their silly argument and get back to work.


----------



## ddawg16

Windows on Wash said:


> Stop kicking the crap out of those idiot jokers and their silly argument and get back to work.


I am....but I also got distracted.....floors came out so nice that the wife wants to redo the one in our daughters bedroom and basically just get a lot of the misc stuff in her room done (I still need to trim out the inside of her windows which were replaced 2 years ago)

One of the big issues in her room was the closet. Not sure what the architect was thinking....but the door into the closet is 4" from the wall. Hence, you basically can't put anything against that wall or it blocks the doorway.

Solution? Move the doorway. I have wood...I have a hammer....I have drywall...I have mud....let's move a wall.

Oh....and I 'borrowed' some of the wood from her closet floor to finish the pub floor.


----------



## BigJim

ddawg16 said:


> Just a quicky.....getting into a lot of the little details....translation...lots of wood working...
> 
> BigJim....this is for you.....solid Mahogany planks....about 1.5" thick...22" wide...10' long...


That is one nice slab of wood John, I can't wait to see it in place and finished. Thank for the pictures.


----------



## sleepyg

ddawg16 said:


> One other addition......hard to knock the multi-tool. I don't use mine very much....maybe 10x so far...but it does things that would be almost impossible with anything else.
> 
> In this case, I had to cut off an inside lip on the bath tub to install the faucets.
> 
> It's the Harbor Freight variable speed version....I think I got it for $29 on sale. Worth every penny.


I have the same one, helped me out many times!


----------



## ddawg16

Here is some eye candy for you BigJim.....

Got the first piece of the bar top cut last night and glued. Because the section where this is going is wider than the slabs I have....I have to glue them together.

Love the smell of cut Mahogany....


----------



## ddawg16

See the post above....see that piece of wood? 

This is it after being sanded. Found a place just around the corner from me....they have a 52" wide planer/drum sander. I'm in hog heaven....opens up all sorts of potential projects. He did all three pieces for me for $100.....a bargain when you consider what it would have taken me in time to do it myself.


----------



## ddawg16

I think I need more clamps.....I used all but 2 for this....it's going to be the header above the side of the bar/pub


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> I think I need more clamps.....I used all but 2 for this....it's going to be the header above the side of the bar/pub


Yep.

There's no such thing as too many clamps.


----------



## bigyellowones

im about to start redoing an old home.. its posts like this that makes me realise how much work i have in for me...


----------



## ddawg16

bigyellowones said:


> im about to start redoing an old home.. its posts like this that makes me realise how much work i have in for me...


Yup.......but it's fun.

If I had it to do again......well.....I'd be doing it again.


----------



## ddawg16

Making progress on the pub bar......after getting the solid Mahogany slabs planned and sanded...I have them rough cut to size. 

The miter cut was much longer than my radial arm saw could do so I did it with my circular saw and a guide. It's not true enough for gluing. I'm going to contact my 'source' to see if I can borrow their joiner.

I picked up a router bit from the local Rockler store....I like the profile.

Overall, we are very happy with how it's coming along. The height is perfect....

My wife is working on the mirror for the wall. She is doing a custom design where she will etch the glass herself. She is not sure yet if she is going to use etching chemicals or use my sand blaster.


----------



## ddawg16

Got part of the bar top done....

Picture does not do it justice....


----------



## 123pugsy

Lookin good dawg. :wink2:


----------



## ddawg16

Other bar top glued and stained.....will install tomorrow and start the 'many' coats of finish.


----------



## ddawg16

I passed my final inspection. It was a last minute dash to fix a few things from last weeks inspection...., but I did it. Now I just have to have the title 24 inspection. Least of my worries. I have one incandescent bulb in my house...it's in the oven.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Woot!!!

Good work boss.


----------



## 123pugsy

Excellent news ddawg.
Congrats.


----------



## ddawg16

But it doesn't mean I'm finished......I still have a lot of little details to finish up.....

At least that light at the end of the tunnel wasn't an on coming train


----------



## ddawg16

Now for some pics....nothing earth shattering...or fantastic. But as Pugsy is about to find out, that last 10% takes 90% of the time.

To put it into perspective....I started this project almost 5 years ago....this July will be 5 years. We have been living in the addition for over a year now...I finished up almost all of the drywalling a little over a year ago (or was it 2 years ago?)

Anyway, now it's the final details....which is a lot of work....compounded by my OCD attention to detail. 

As I mentioned above, I passed the final inspection today....but the 'first' inspection was last week....and there were some things he wanted done....like ALL of the baseboards....case framing around doors....etc.....(oh, those pesky details). 

So....guess what I have been doing the past week?

Lots of baseboards....I put my oldest son to work...after all, it was for his bathroom.



And then our upstairs throne....
Before.....


After


I glued most of mine baseboards...saves me having to patch a bunch of nail holes. I also pre-painted all of the baseboards...saves a bunch of time.....but I also took the extra time to caulk all of the baseboards on the bottom edge. I run a bead of caulk along the bottom edge before I install it. The prevents crap from getting stuck underneath. In the case of bathrooms, it stops water from getting under it and causing problems.

I did have one good 'oh crap'. After spending about $250 just on knotty alder case molding, I cut and stained the pieces....then found out the hard way I grabbed the wrong can of stain. Needless to say, I have a few hours of work ahead of me sanding the stain off and redoing it.



I had been putting off doing the surround around the fireplace. Part of the issue was us deciding what we really wanted. The inspector solved the problem for us. "You want to pass? Put drywall around it!"

I did all this in one afternoon and the next morning. 90 Minute mud and a fan works wonders.



Drywall in but before mud and paint.


And painted.


And it's the little details I am proud of.....


----------



## jcrizzy

ddawg16 said:


> Now for some pics....nothing earth shattering...or fantastic. But as Pugsy is about to find out, that last 10% takes 90% of the time.
> 
> *To put it into perspective....I started this project almost 5 years ago....this July will be 5 years.* We have been living in the addition for over a year now...I finished up almost all of the drywalling a little over a year ago (or was it 2 years ago?)
> 
> Anyway, now it's the final details....which is a lot of work....compounded by my OCD attention to detail.
> 
> As I mentioned above, I passed the final inspection today....but the 'first' inspection was last week....and there were some things he wanted done....like ALL of the baseboards....case framing around doors....etc.....(oh, those pesky details).


oh nice! I was thinking about you this week. My master bed/bath started Oct 2015 and I'm finally seeing some light at the end of my tunnel (but I haven't done as much myself as you have). So as I'm itching to get done within 6-7months, I was thinking about your project ;-)


----------



## ddawg16

It has been a BUSY few weeks and I'm well overdue for an update...

We got final buy off on the house permits (still a ton of stuff to do...cosmetic)
The house refi is done...3.9% fixed
We had our family trip to DC...got to meet WindowsOnWashington...

Now it's time to finish up all the little details.....so we can start the next project (yea, it never ends)

One of the next projects is going to be a revamp of the kitchen....making it larger. One of the things we need is storage for all the fancy dishes my wife has that have never been used since we got married 15 years ago. They are still in boxes in the attic. No room in the existing kitchen. Since our living room is now the dinning room....I'm taking one end of it which is a recessed nook about 9' wide and 30" deep....I'm building in a built in hutch. I'm doing the base first, then I'll do the towers on each side.

Anyway....a project like this requires a bit more 'detail'. I'm sure Pugsy will appreciate some of this.

I do my own fluted columns....not hard, you just have to be careful. I like my Ryobi table saw...part of it acts like a router table.

Anyway...all was going good on my last board....last run....and I got the board turned the wrong way.....



Not a biggie.....flip it over and do the other side.

This is what one of the columns looks like after flutes are in and the edge routed.


And the bottom cap. This is before any sanding is done.


----------



## 123pugsy

You got the part about me liking custom correct ddawg.

The flutes look great.
Good thing boards come with two sides. :wink2:


----------



## ddawg16

You're going to love these things.

I'm building a china cabinet in a recessed area of the dining room (see above). The 'nook' is 9' 1" wide. The cabinet has a base the full width. As soon as it's totally done, I'll build the towers that will go on each side. The middle will be open.

Anyway. The cabinet is covering the sole outlet on that wall. So....I installed these. Slicker than snot.....

Each pull up has 3 AC outlets and two built in USB charging ports.











These things are so cool, I'm going to order another one and install it at the back of the bar.


----------



## ddawg16

More progress on the pub.

Yea....I'm good..............

Before Granite.......no, I didn't cut the granite...but I did everything else.



Granite installed.





I like how this turned out.
Picked up the 'sliders' from Rockler. Then had my local glass guy make me two glass doors...and for safety I had them tempered. Tinted glass 1/4" thick...tempered...$60 for both.


----------



## ddawg16

Finished the first half of the built-in china cabinet. The base is done. Drawers installed and doors on. Wife is having fun stuffing it now.

These are Blum slides....soft closing.....full extension. At about $30/pair, kinda pricey.....but I think worth it. The only other option I would have considered was the old fashioned wood slides. But I wanted full extension.


----------



## j.anderson

Man that quality and progress on this build is crazy! Awesome job so far ddawg. I've been contemplating on doing something like this for quite some time. Seeing this is just telling me to take the plunge and do it already.


----------



## jrp458

I really like that self made fluted trim!


----------



## 123pugsy

Sweet! :vs_karate:

I used similar slides with horizontal and vertical adjustment for fine tuning. They really make life easy these days.


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Sweet! :vs_karate:
> 
> I used similar slides with horizontal and vertical adjustment for fine tuning. They really make life easy these days.


Yep....those are the ones. The drawer faces are a snug fit and the adjustments make it easy to get perfect.

For the record....I didn't make the drawers and door/drawer faces. It's just a lot easier to just buy them. 

Drawers are solid maple....about $40 each. Big doors, $90 each....drawer faces around $40 each. 

All told....about $700.....Worth it considering the quality they have and the time it saves me. And delivery was free.

So, for the China cab base....I have about $900 in materials in it. Took about 3 weekends to build and stain.


----------



## 123pugsy

Good deal on the pieces.

I take they came bare and you finished them?


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Good deal on the pieces.
> 
> I take they came bare and you finished them?



Yup....and they are so well sanded, I don't have to do any finish sanding.....


----------



## ddawg16

While this is not exactly related to the 2-story addition....I have been wanting to do this project for years.

My garage is in the back, so we only have a single car drive that goes up the side of the house and into the back. Not really a big deal. BUT....the front part of the driveway has been irking me since day one. It's not straight or level...or wide enough. When you get out of the car, you have to step on grass.

I saved up the money...and had it done.



I HATED that driveway.....

This was the closet originally for the water heater which ended up getting moved to the back of the house.....don't need this now.


It's so much fun to watch someone else doing the hard work





And the final result................


----------



## TheEplumber

Don't you have a couple of boys that would love to try 90lb jack hammers or a bobcat w/hammer?


----------



## ddawg16

TheEplumber said:


> Don't you have a couple of boys that would love to try 90lb jack hammers or a bobcat w/hammer?


I'm sure they would have loved to try it. Especially the Bobcat


----------



## kwikfishron

Nice addition for the driveway :smile: but it's a shame to see that rebar laying down flat in the dirt. lain:


----------



## ddawg16

kwikfishron said:


> Nice addition for the driveway :smile: but it's a shame to see that rebar laying down flat in the dirt. lain:


They pulled it up.....watched them do it. Experienced crew.

One guy was shoving his hand into the cement and making sure it was at the right level


----------



## ddawg16

Update time.....Pugsy is making me look bad with all his wonderful cabinet work.

One of the 'parallel' projects to the addition was to enlarge the kitchen. Now that we have a family/living room, the existing combination living/dining room can now be just a dining room and we can enlarge the kitchen a little to include a breakfast bar.

For 'historical' reasons, here is a pic of what we moved into 16 years ago....


6 Months later we had this....and yes, I made all the cabinets....



But that wall blocked the view into the other room. Not a big deal when it was the living room....but now that it's going to be a dining room, we wanted to 'open it up'.

View from the other side.....


One of the issues, the fridge is at the end and even if we take the wall out, it blocks the view. And since I know how to make cabinets, heck, I'll just make more...move the fridge over to the other side and give ourselves a nice long breakfast bar......at least, that was the initial plan.

With the help of the boys, we gutted the wall.

That black object on the other side of the wall is the fridge....



I actually got some physical labor out of the boys....under duress....



Of course I had to move the fridge out of the way....pushed it to the adjacent wall......and then.....





Ya know that 'think out of the box' saying?

After a short 'discussion' with the wife....it was decided. Fridge goes there....we build a cabinet around it....and gain a whole lot more counter space. Yes, the fridge is not in the center of the 'work triangle'.....but, we really like the extra space....we can make this work.....and it really opens up the kitchen and makes it a whole lot bigger.



Time to get cracking on cabinets....


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> Update time.....Pugsy is making me look bad with all his wonderful cabinet work.
> 
> One of the 'parallel' projects to the addition was to enlarge the kitchen. Now that we have a family/living room, the existing combination living/dining room can now be just a dining room and we can enlarge the kitchen a little to include a breakfast bar.
> 
> For 'historical' reasons, here is a pic of what we moved into 16 years ago....
> 6 Months later we had this....and yes, I made all the cabinets....
> 
> But that wall blocked the view into the other room. Not a big deal when it was the living room....but now that it's going to be a dining room, we wanted to 'open it up'.
> 
> View from the other side.....
> One of the issues, the fridge is at the end and even if we take the wall out, it blocks the view. And since I know how to make cabinets, heck, I'll just make more...move the fridge over to the other side and give ourselves a nice long breakfast bar......at least, that was the initial plan.
> 
> With the help of the boys, we gutted the wall.
> 
> That black object on the other side of the wall is the fridge....
> 
> I actually got some physical labor out of the boys....under duress....
> 
> Of course I had to move the fridge out of the way....pushed it to the adjacent wall......and then.....
> 
> 
> Ya know that 'think out of the box' saying?
> 
> After a short 'discussion' with the wife....it was decided. Fridge goes there....we build a cabinet around it....and gain a whole lot more counter space. Yes, the fridge is not in the center of the 'work triangle'.....but, we really like the extra space....we can make this work.....and it really opens up the kitchen and makes it a whole lot bigger.
> 
> Time to get cracking on cabinets....


Looks like some fun on this project. I think you actually "enjoy" working with wood. I do it out of necessity. lain:

The "work triangle"....what a crock of $$*&.


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Looks like some fun on this project. I think you actually "enjoy" working with wood. I do it out of necessity. lain:
> 
> The "work triangle"....what a crock of $$*&.


We actually spent some time on Sunday walking through the 'work triangle'.

Yea, it would be nice for the fridge to be across from the counter top....but, any time the fridge is open, you have a choke point and that 'work triangle' now becomes the 'choke triangle'. While the fridge might be a little bit away from the action, we really like how it opens things up. We can now bring in food, put it on the floor and your not tripping over it.

We (me) are going to hid the fridge by putting a wall on the side covered in book shelves for all the wive's cook books and other misc things. Above the fridge, a large cabinet for all the misc BS stuff kitchens have but you don't need too often.

Pugs...I have a question for you but I'll ask on your thread.


----------



## DIYknot

Nice progress pics.


----------



## ddawg16

Another over due update.....

Along with the kitchen overhaul....I'm also doing the front face of the house. Pulling off the old T&G, cleaning up some plumbing, replacing the kitchen window, repairing some termite damage...and putting on LP Smartside and ledger stone.

Here is an old pic of the house...(before we started the addition)


The washer and dryer 'used' to be in the kitchen...I removed the old plumbing. And since we are replacing the kitchen window...I have to drop the vent lower. And since I'm adding another sink....I might as well redo all the plumbing in the kitchen and get rid of the old steel pipes.....good thing I did...the were coated so bad with junk that only about 25% remained.



I knew I had some termite damage.....



Along with grass trying to grow in the walls.



Got the walls insulated better.



This is my frame for the new kitchen windows...



Front Window is fixed....side windows are casement.....(they crank open)



I have to remake the base cabinet on this side (putting in a copper farm house sink). The granite will continue into the base of the kitchen window.


----------



## ddawg16

And yesterday I finished getting the existing bay windows reset. When I installed them 10 years ago, because they were replacements, no nail fin. Lucky for me, the windows have the channel for the nail fin to slide into. So I was able to buy the nail fin and put it in. 

This is my jig for cutting it.



The side windows were pretty easy to test fit....but the main window? That beast was heavy. And the existing window frame was NOT square. So I made a light template the same size for testing the square, size and fit.







And it's flashed....calked.....and installed....


----------



## ddawg16

Oh.....and here is the copper sink.....


----------



## Windows on Wash

Nice!!!


----------



## Gary in WA

I didn't see it until now; your Romex should have been fastened within 8" of the boxes... so it doesn't pull out of the receptacle outlet and start a fire when "the big one" hits here (seismic). Does your Energy Code require plastic vapor barrier- wrapped FG? You can still saw between the vertical plywood panels to get required gap before the WRB... may need to un-stick the sticky wrap under the windows to lap over on to the WRB-- that little bit of lap is better than a reverse lap. Is that a golf course across the road? Looks like you are moving right along!

Gary


----------



## MTN REMODEL LLC

GREAT .... Getting near finish...????


(If that's a golf course accross the street and I'm playing.... hope that window is laminate glass.:wink2


----------



## ddawg16

Gary in WA said:


> I didn't see it until now; your Romex should have been fastened within 8" of the boxes... so it doesn't pull out of the receptacle outlet and start a fire when "the big one" hits here (seismic). Does your Energy Code require plastic vapor barrier- wrapped FG? You can still saw between the vertical plywood panels to get required gap before the WRB... may need to un-stick the sticky wrap under the windows to lap over on to the WRB-- that little bit of lap is better than a reverse lap. Is that a golf course across the road? Looks like you are moving right along!
> 
> Gary


If you are talking about the second pic, all of that wiring has been redone. That box was changed from a double to a single and moved about a foot closer to the window. Remember, all that wiring was done 16 years ago when I first remodeled the kitchen.

No on the plastic wrap....it's California....the walls originally didn't even have insulation.

I'm doing LP Smartside.....if I wanted, I could have attached directly to the studs. I didn't 'have to' install the 1/2" CDX...but I wanted shear wall as insurance for the next 'big one'.

So, I'll have studs....1/2" CDX....WPB (Water Proof Barrier...AKA, tar paper) and then ledger stone and LP

On the windows....I double it up. When I do the wrap, I'll use the bulitine again on top of the wrap. As those windows are now, there is no path for water to get in. They are completely sealed on the outside. The nail fin has silicone on both sides. There is a 'generous' bead of caulk behind the nail fin. When I do the wrap, it will be stair stepped up and sealed around the window. I will also install a cap flashing on top of the trim at the top of the window.

I'm even going to paint the bottom of my plywood and caulk before I install the weep screen.


----------



## Gary in WA

Sounds good, be sure to leave drainage behind the window bottom flange (no caulk there) to your sill drainage membrane. Yes, having the plastic wrapper would worry me in your climate zone and warm outside air would easily get around it to condense on the colder drywall. Plywood also helps stop the warm air infiltration- as does foaming the outlet boxes- not just interior foam covers as they don't stop air in the plug where RH condenses on cold contacts with AC on.
Stagger joints on the LP from the ply joints, you knew that, lol. 

Gary


----------



## ddawg16

AC? What is AC? (I'm 4 miles from the ocean....we don't need no stinking AC)

As for LP....I'm using lap siding....and with the boards being 16' long, I won't have to worry about butt joints.

But....speaking of the bottom flange of the window.....

My 'plan' is to take the ledger stone all the way up to the bottom of the windows....or rather the bottom of the window trim. I'll have LP trim around the windows. Then below bottom trim will be kick out flashing and the ledger stone will tuck under that.

Before the ledger stone is put on, I'll have a contractor come out and do the equivalent of a scratch coat on the bottom section of wall....it will be 2 layers of builders paper....wire mesh....kick out flashing at the top edge and weep screen at the bottom.


----------



## ddawg16

Passed window and framing inspection today.

I was at work...just happened to take a peek at the cameras......just as the inspector was pulling up. For 10 minutes I watched him and my wife....arm swinging...finger pointing....and I'm thinking for sure there are issues.

He leaves....I send a txt to the wife..."How bad is it?"

She..."He was telling me about all the mistakes"

She..."That other people make".

He said good job...He liked how we did the kitchen window...found only one nail too deep....but all the others were perfect.

On to the next phase....ledger stone....and LP Smartside (Thanks Eric)


----------



## 123pugsy

Looks like we both had inspections yesterday with good results.

Good job of it ddawg, even though you needed your wife to smooth over the inspector, ha.......


----------



## ddawg16

Wow....over 4 months since I've done an update?

A lot has happened....not all of it with the house. But it's time for an update.

Working mainly on some extraneous stuff. Stuff not originally related to the addition...

One of the projects I needed to do was an awning/pergola above our back patio. The recent rains we had created some issues for me. Because my backyard slops down to the house, we had so much rain that it caused the water to saturate the soil enough to make the soil in the crawl space damp.

So I built an awning/pergola. Wish I had done this sooner.
I used 2x6's 16" OC. Ledger board bolted to the house....double 2x8's on the other end....and 5/8" plywood for the roof.

To top it off I used a 2 part roll down material. 1st Is an underlayment, kinda like synthetic underlayment with a real sticky surface. Then on top of that is the actual roll down roofing. Once you pull off the protective plastic......it's not going anywhere.

I got my boys to help me put down the stuff...it really is a 2-3 person job.


----------



## sardner

Wow, looks great.


----------



## ddawg16

I'm finally getting around to finishing up the front of the house. 

To be honest, I was kinda putting off the ledger stone install....never done it before and I was afraid of making one of those 'can't fix it' mistakes.

Well, it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. A lot of cutting....(thank God for the wet saw). 

I made a 'template' board to make sure I got the bottom row at the right height.....with luck, the top row should be at the right spacing so I don't have to trim any stones...and the cap fits right in.

I like the way it's looking.....


----------



## ddawg16

Been too long since an update.....

Here is an older pic of the front almost finished...I'll post a better one tonight


----------



## Windows on Wash

Well...its not like you haven't been a bit busy with some "life" type stuff.


----------



## ddawg16

Windows on Wash said:


> Well...its not like you haven't been a bit busy with some "life" type stuff.


LOL.....actually, life is much better

Got a job about 6 weeks ago....they found me....(long story)

Startup company....making Li batteries for electric vehicles. Not related to Tesla....

Better pay....MUCH better benefits....3 weeks vacation....great group of people to work with.....life is good....now I don't have much time to work on the house.....I have the kitchen torn apart right now.


----------



## ddawg16

Another long over due update.....it's those little things.

While the addition is pretty much done except for a couple of trim details....I got sidetracked on the kitchen.

We now have 2 sinks....solid copper....the floor is about done....rebuilt most of the cabinets and added a new one. The wife is pulling the trigger on the granite today.

Last night I got the trashcan done. I'm kinda proud of this setup. Regular and Recycling trash cans are side by side....Kids have no excuse now for not putting trash in the right one. And there is a place for the trash bags....no excuse for the kids to NOT put a new bag in.

Of course, if Pugs was doing this....it would all be stainless steel.

BTW....I'm getting too old to be doing tile.....


----------



## 123pugsy

Ya, it would probably be stainless if I were doing it, ha... :wink2:

Do yourself a favor and pick up a couple of spare bins. By the time you want to replace those, they will no longer be on the market.


----------



## gma2rjc

X2 on buying extra bins while you can find that size.

I love the extra space for keeping rolls of bags handy.


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Ya, it would probably be stainless if I were doing it, ha... :wink2:
> 
> Do yourself a favor and pick up a couple of spare bins. By the time you want to replace those, they will no longer be on the market.





gma2rjc said:


> X2 on buying extra bins while you can find that size.
> 
> I love the extra space for keeping rolls of bags handy.


that crossed my mind....but they are Rubber Maid brand....I'm willing to bet the size sticks around for awhile.....


But...I'll order some anyway


----------



## ddawg16

Kitchen tile is done.....We do like the 'texture' of the tile. It kinda massages the bottom of your foot.

Quartz is on order....it goes in next week....

Ordering the cabinet doors today.....hey, what's a couple grand....just for the cabinet doors.

And really loving the copper sinks. SO easy to keep clean


----------



## 1995droptopz

That trash can setup is pretty sweet!


----------



## ddawg16

1995droptopz said:


> That trash can setup is pretty sweet!


It's actually working out better than expected.

One of the nice things, you don't have to remove the trashcan to take the bag out. Our old setup was front to back. You have to remove the front one to get the back one out.

With this one, they both lift out and it's easy to put in a new bag. Even the kids don't mind taking out the trash.


----------



## ddawg16

Major milestone reached....the quartz is in......and my wallet is empty.....(what else is new?)


----------



## ddawg16

Busy weekend. My kitchen cabinets doors and drawer faces arrived.....all 59 of them....or, in real terms...$2400 worth. Solid Maple. Sanded....all I have to do is blow them off and stain.

I really love that Var stain. Goes on so much better.


----------



## ddawg16

And....found this little trick is real time saver.

I clamp a board 1/2" below the face frame opening....I set the door on it...mark my holes for the hinges....drill hole...put the door back on the board....insert screws. 

Makes a one man operation so much easier....especially with a door that weights 30+ lbs.


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking good ddawg.


----------



## ddawg16

First off.....Merry Christmas all you DIY slugs......

Seeing how the wife had already taken care of all the Christmas shopping....I worked on my pub. Got the doors in. I really love how they come with a groove and the seal the pushes into the groove to hold the glass in.


----------



## 123pugsy

Merry Christmas ddawg.

Nice doors and ya, that system is sweet.


----------



## ddawg16

Back splash up...I'll grout it tomorrow.

I was pretty good at estimating the number of sq ft I needed. This is all that is left over.


----------



## 123pugsy

Looks good.

Good job of the estimating.
I have 2 full boxes and more of floor tile left over....grrrr.... lain:


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Looks good.
> 
> Good job of the estimating.
> I have 2 full boxes and more of floor tile left over....grrrr.... lain:


You just need to find something else that needs tile.....


----------



## 123pugsy

ddawg16 said:


> You just need to find something else that needs tile.....


Arrgghhhh......no way.....I'm already thinking of tossing the shower tiles and gluing stainless to the walls to look like a prison for all I care....


----------



## ddawg16

123pugsy said:


> Arrgghhhh......no way.....I'm already thinking of tossing the shower tiles and gluing stainless to the walls to look like a prison for all I care....


do you have any idea how hard it is to keep SS in a wet location clean?


----------



## Windows on Wash

ddawg16 said:


> do you have any idea how hard it is to keep SS in a wet location clean?


Let the soap scum build up until it cakes and then...


----------



## 123pugsy

Windows on Wash said:


> Let the soap scum build up until it cakes and then...


LOL.........ha....

Nah, I wouldn't put stainless up, but I'm so fed up with tiles that the thought did occur.....


----------



## ddawg16

Finished one project I had been kinda putting off. 

I originally built my own kitchen cabinets 17 years ago....including all of the doors and drawer faces...solid Maple.

As part of the kitchen Redux, I replaced a couple of the lower and upper cabinets and added a new lower cabinet and upper. Part of the redux was replacing all of the doors and drawer faces. Having learned from experience (the hard way), it's not worth my time to build doors and drawer faces. Hence, I cut up the old doors and saved the good parts of the wood. There was just too much good soft Maple there to throw away.

I' added 6 new drawers....4 of them quite large (3 are 32" wide). So I used the old pieces of Maple strips to make the sides. It was a lot of gluing and clamping...and sanding....but it's now done.

Only a few pieces left over. I feel much better now being able to re-use all of the old wood. I feel like I 'saved' the original kitchen.


----------



## lenaitch

Dams, you're good.


----------



## ddawg16

I can officially state, the kitchen cabinets are DONE!
Last doors are up (was waiting on glass). Wall plates installed. All handles installed. Lucked out...was able to find the same style we originally used 17 years ago. We have 58 doors and drawers in our kitchen....

And I finished the last drawer. It's a specialty drawer...holds the wife's crock pot. She uses it at least once a week, but no real reason for it to sit on the counter 24/7....and a regular lower cabinet is a PIA to store it in....so I made this.

Now I just need to finish up the under cabinet lights....LED strip lighting....that will be the next post.


----------



## Nik333

ddawg16 said:


> Another long over due update.....it's those little things.
> 
> While the addition is pretty much done except for a couple of trim details....I got sidetracked on the kitchen.
> 
> We now have 2 sinks....solid copper....the floor is about done....rebuilt most of the cabinets and added a new one. The wife is pulling the trigger on the granite today.
> 
> Last night I got the trashcan done. I'm kinda proud of this setup. Regular and Recycling trash cans are side by side....Kids have no excuse now for not putting trash in the right one. And there is a place for the trash bags....no excuse for the kids to NOT put a new bag in.
> 
> Of course, if Pugs was doing this....it would all be stainless steel.
> 
> BTW....I'm getting too old to be doing tile.....


Can you patent an idea like this?


----------



## ddawg16

Nik333 said:


> Can you patent an idea like this?


I doubt it.


----------



## ddawg16

As Pugsy knows well.....it's the little things that takes the longest....

I'm getting my kitchen under cabinet lights installed. Well...wired up. I already have them in place....just have to get the magic juice to them. My big mistake was not planning all the way through on this. I got the outlet installed prior to putting up the cabinets. I have a 120Vac outlet just above one of the cabinets controlled by an switch near the prep sink.

All the lights are LED strips....12Vdc. I'm using 16g speaker wire which has lots of insulation and is easy to run.

The LED's are from SuperBrightLEDS. They come on different lengths on a roll. Unroll, cut to length...remove adhesive backing....stick in place. Just be sure to solder the wire to it first. I stuck mine to the backside of the bottom lip of the cabinet.

This is not a 'plug and play' setup.

These lights are about 4000K, CRI is around 93 and the lums/ft is about 230


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking good dawgg.

Yep, a million details in a house. Going in, I thought to myself, "well, if I can build a garage in a few months, I can build a house in two years"......haaa............ya, right.....


----------



## ddawg16

I'm bummed.....I was working on the caps for my columns that are part of my pub…..I couldn't find my router rip fence so I was doing it free hand....

I routed the wrong side of one cap....have to make that one over....

And the bit dug into the corner of two others....I have to remake those....

I'm not a happy camper...….was hoping to have them sanded and stained last night....I need to get this pub done......before Xmas.....so we can break it in right.....


----------



## 123pugsy

That's a bummer all right. :sad:


----------



## ddawg16

Time again to talk about important stuff.....I've been working on the house....albeit...slowly....

Did something we should have done years ago....installed a sun tube in a hallway that is really dark. I already have 2 of them in the house....one in the original bathroom that lost it's window...and the other in our upstairs walk in closet. During the day, you don't need a light. 

Love the things.

This one also has a night light....it self charges during the day and provides enough light at night to help us see our black lab who likes to sleep in the hallway. The pictures speak for themselves....


----------



## ddawg16

So....I've been working on this project for how long? Almost 9 years? Seems like yesterday.....NOT.

It's a major push to actually finish some things.....like our balcony. The first pic is how it's looked for the past 7 or so years.

Getting it finished became a priority when we got 2 new kittens who stay up in our bedroom....We had always planned to enclose it with a window....time to get it done.

It's not a huge area....but it's perfect for the cats and a small office for me. Because it's on the north side of the house, I don't have afternoon sun to deal with.

I parked my compound miter saw up there and just went to work. I'd cut and stain a few boards each day until I had it all done.


----------



## ddawg16

The opening is 14'. The largest window we could get was 12'. In retrospect, we should have done 2 windows. 

The cats love it.....but they go ape sh!t trying to get to the birds....and can't


----------



## ddawg16

I'm continuing that 'Mission to Completion'. I'm not starting any new projects until I have my current list complete. (not an easy task)

Back when I built my garage, I had a crap load of dirt from the foundation that had to be gotten rid of (it took 3 months of filling up my trash cans and the neighbors to get rid of it).

To use up some of it, I built a short retaining wall in the front....it leveled the yard and added more detail. That was 12 years ago.

I finally got around putting the ledger stone on it like we planned 12 years ago. Oh, what a difference. 

I was short 6 corners....I should have them by Sat...the caps to go on top are a few weeks out. On top of the cap I'm going to install a pipe anchored to the cap. My wife will then put a potted plant on top (rod going through the pot). This should stop people from 'helping themselves to the pot. We haven't decided if we want to put a light on top of the rod or do LED's under the rim of the cap. We will have to wait and see how the cap fits. I might use the rod to hold a small solar cell to with battery to power the LED's or light at night


----------



## Windows on Wash

More progress. Looking good.


----------



## ddawg16

Just so everyone knows, I don't spend ALL of my time on CBR

The caps for my wall finally came in....got those installed. As soon as the caps for the columns some in....I can chalk this project off the list.


----------



## 123pugsy

Good stuff.


----------



## elpansonloco

Wow, just started reading your posting and saw the date started, saw your kids eating happy meals and till today, Mar 2021, your kids are adults now and hopefully helping you a lot more, right? Good memories though I imagine. What an undertaking and thankfully you built this before lumber prices skyrocketed nowadays. I don't even want to build a dog house with the crazy lumber prices.


----------

