stairway reconstruction

I’m really not sure why they built the upstairs with this weird little crooked landing area.  Was it a feature?  Did they run out of lumber?  Was there not enough headroom in the first floor?  (It already intrudes at a 45° angle halfway through the bathroom entrance.)  Was the last step too steep, so they added a little landing?

 

We tore off the top layers to see how this thing was built.  It seems that the entire set of stairs are attached to the floor joists by two lag bolts.  Hmm.  And the top step, the landing, is kind of resting on the ceiling boards of the first floor.  It’s not framed very well. 

596kg of rubbish

Another trip to the landfill, this time with 596kg, mostly old wood and plaster.

 

After the dump run, FT and I worked on tearing out the rest of the ceiling nails from the roof trusses. 

 2/15/2025 12:52 PM      3246190 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250215_125209 roof trusses.jpg
 2/15/2025  5:17 PM      2660152 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250215_171757 roof truss ceiling nails.jpg
 2/15/2025  5:18 PM      1102801 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250215_171820 Allan pulling roof truss ceiling nails.jpg
 2/15/2025  5:18 PM      3472656 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250215_171829 Floyd pulling roof truss ceiling nails.jpg

And this is how the living room, kitchen, and bedroom look now.

living room
kitchen
bedroom

Almost finished!  (Right.)

new planer

I bought a new planer a few days ago.  It was on sale for … I think $550, regular $730.  Some reviews of it say the motor burns out after a few months, but lots have no issues with it.

I planed a bunch of lath boards pulled from 1403 main floor and upstairs.  None of these boards need sanding now.  Perfectly smooth and brought back to their original “woodness”.

My neighbour at home saw my van full of lath boards (not yet planed) and asked, “What are you doing with all that s***?”  I said, “It’s valuable trim board.  It just doesn’t look like it yet.”

You can buy MDF (basically cardboard) trim board at Rona for $2.69 per linear foot.  The cheapest quarter-round is $1.29/ft.  And it’s all white!  No personality.

When SF moved into 520, she made a comment about having to paint the trim around the windows and doors.  I said that it took a long time to make them all smooth and polished in natural wood.  Please don’t paint them.  Unfortunately, I was still using my old planer, and the wood isn’t nearly as baby-skin smooth as the ones I’m doing now.  The whole look of that place was a mix of modern and rustic.

I’m going for a similar look at 1403 (but slightly different – you’ll see).  But I have yet to do the sides of them.  That will take time .. and experimentation.

cheap faucets

I can’t determine the brand of this faucet, but they are less than two years old.  And they leaked!

SF told me on Saturday that there was a leak.  I arrived that same morning.  I asked when it started to leak.  She said she didn’t know.  I asked when the water leak alarm went off.  “Oh, is that what that is?”  She’s never seen one before.  Likely, most people haven’t.  I have three at home, but I believe most people don’t.  This one was apparently beeping since Wednesday.

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chimney removal

I’ve planned for a while to have the chimney removed.  I’m surprised it took so much money to do it, but these guys did work hard.  It will take two days.

The work begins inside and out, including a roof patch.

Have a look at the pictures.

 1/20/2025  9:51 AM      3271853 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_095118 chimney removal begins.jpg
 1/20/2025  9:52 AM      3799148 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_095246 chimney removal roof patch.jpg
 1/20/2025 11:34 AM      3077708 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_113411 chimney removal to ceiling.jpg
 1/20/2025 12:36 PM      3057036 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_123650 chimney removal half-way.jpg
 1/20/2025 12:46 PM      3605206 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_124654 chimney removal nearly to floor.jpg
 1/20/2025  3:44 PM      2389340 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_154427 chimney removal hole in ceiling.jpg
 1/20/2025  3:44 PM      3546133 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_154430 chimney removal down to floor.jpg
 1/20/2025  4:47 PM      2651504 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_164735 chimney removal down to floor, walls.jpg
 1/20/2025  4:47 PM      3079132 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_164740 chimney removal down to floor.jpg
 1/20/2025  4:47 PM      2671003 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_164745 chimney removal roof patch.jpg
 1/20/2025  4:48 PM      3063430 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_164815 chimney removal workers' tools.jpg
 1/20/2025  4:48 PM      2492423 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250120_164819 chimney removal coats.jpg

Tomorrow: first floor.

 1/20/2025  4:50 PM      2364196 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB main 20250120_165017 panels removed for chimney removal.jpg
 1/20/2025  4:50 PM      2912182 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB main 20250120_165026 panels removed for chimney removal.jpg

both ceilings

So the Structural Engineer came.  And so did a plumber.  Not a lot of time to do physical work today.  I looked into the attic

… and found cobwebs, dust, an old chimney, and a little insulation.  More:

  1/3/2025 11:46 AM      3012141 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_114644 attic.jpg
  1/3/2025 11:46 AM      2691156 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_114659 attic.jpg
  1/3/2025 11:47 AM      2619088 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_114708 attic, doorbell transformer.jpg
  1/3/2025 11:47 AM      2817146 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_114726 attic.jpg

So I continued with the floors.  An idea struck me – to soundproof the floors while I had access.  I bought 11 pieces of SONOpan from Home Depot and began cutting them to width.

 

 But I hit a snag – literally – and wondered why there was 1st floor ceiling light wiring when there were no ceiling lights.

 

Some jack*** cut through the ceiling light wiring.  Thanks, Jack!

  1/3/2025 11:56 AM      2642814 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_115626 cutting floor plywood.jpg
  1/5/2025  8:21 AM      1017147 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_155354 floor boards removed.jpg
  1/3/2025  3:53 PM      3128910 1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250103_155359 Sonopan soundproofing (11).jpg

Structural Engineer

I met a Structural Engineer today.  We had a look at various parts of the house to determine why there is such a slope in the east half of the structure.  We have determined:

  1. Concrete footings in the crawlspace had broken apart due to slumping in the soil.
  2. Upright supports have moved due to soil slumping, and 6×6 notched support beams have split and come away from the house.
  3. The living room and bathroom addition to the structure was done poorly.  They cut through many of the framing members (balloon frame studs) to open up the walls.  (See diagram below.)

So, to correct this, most likely:

  1. Screw piling will be put in the front and rear of the property.
  2. A beam will span this length under the house.
  3. An LVL bulkhead will be added to the living room / bathroom span.

I will open up the floor in the 2nd storey to expose more of those cut-through timbers and email him pictures.

I did a brief laser level check.  (The laser should be 1-5/8″ above the floor, from my measurements.  Funny – nothing in the manual stating this.)  This shows that, in about 4 feet, the floor dips down about 2-1/16 inches.  Wow!