new, new, new

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In an effort to scrape the lipstick off the pig, the bathtubs were removed from both suites, and the old gas stove from the 1940s was brought to the dump.  So what do I put in as replacements? 

The new range for upstairs arrived.  I’m not unboxing it until it is upstairs.  Since I have no stairs, it remains downstairs.  What does it look like?  Wayfair.ca sold it to me. 

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new BR1-BR2 framing

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This is supposed to be a load-bearing wall.  It wasn’t.  It had been hastily reframed when they turned the dining room into bedroom 1 and the kitchen into bedroom 2.  (Or, at least, I’m assuming this was the layout.)  The framing to fill in the passageway from kitchen to dining was uneven, sticking out a quarter inch to the south.  This might be good if you’re covering it with plaster – anything can be covered in plaster – but no good if you wish to sheath with drywall.

So Dave and I redid all the framing in the middle of this wall along with a double-bottom plate to help stabilize the levelness of the floor and squareness of the wall.  PLSS, anyone? Because the house has been like this for 70-plus years, the levelness of the floor fell short by about 1/8 inch.  (I couldn’t jack the above floor any more without breaking something.) 

The wiring was disconnected and pulled.  I’ll reroute the wiring later. 

crank(y)

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Start the day small.  Clean up the place.  Put the window crank on.  Organize one’s tools.  Sweep.  All this grunt work must be done at some point. 

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BR2 boarded, mudded, taped

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New pan and knife: 

Can’t find my old ones!  They’re probably rusty by now.  520 was a long time ago. 

So bedroom 2 is now done being boarded, taped, mudded.  For those who don’t know what these words mean: 

  • board – New drywall 4′ x 8′ sheets (boards) are attached to the wall studs.  The edges must line up with wall studs (or furring strips) to attach – they cannot just hang in the middle between studs.  1-1/4″ Philips drywall screws are used.  A screw setter is used to govern depth of the screw. 
  • mud – Drywall compound (mud) is mixed with a little water.  No, this is not the old style powder that is mixed with water – it is premixed – but it is too thick to use when taping.  Screw holes, seams, and any other holes and gaps are filled. 
  • tape – A layer of this thinner mud is applied to joints, then paper “tape” (no, not sticky on one side – just paper) is added and smoothed out with a knife (no, not a knife that you would think – a putty knife). 

Later, a “skim coat” (even thinner mud) will be applied and, later once dried, sanded to a smooth finish to paint. 

Bedroom 2 boarded, taped, mudded 

 

Bedroom 1 half done 

 

BR2 mostly drywalled

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Bedroom 2 is mostly drywalled.  There is still a board missing above the door header and a 4″ strip at the top to do. 

 

But at least the drywalling has finally begun. 

only one new stud

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It seems I was busy all the time I was at this property today.  I got there at 2pm and left at 8pm.  So what did I do?  I put in a stud. 

But it’s more complicated than that.  Also done:

  • wiring – The reframed wall from previous had to be rewired.  Two lengths connected to various outlets had to be redone. 

  • trimming of sills – We put in sills rather than just standard 2×4 framing with outside planks and shiplap and inside furring strips.  As the exterior planks and shiplap had become de-nailed over the past 120 years, they had to be squeezed back together, and the window hole shrunk by 1/4″.  As a result, the top and bottom sills had to be trimmed in the interior. 
  • wall prep – This was mostly pulling of nails all over the place.  But there also had to be framing added to have enough wall meat to which to attach drywall.  One new 2×4 stud was placed here.  This meant pulling out five lengths of wire (14-2, 14-3, and 22-ga.) and feeding them all through the new stud. 

So, all in all, only one “new” thing was done.  The rest of my activities were fixing, completing, or redoing other stuff.  Yay. 

door latches

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This is the first maintenance done since the plumbing fiasco.  The bedroom 1 door didn’t latch because of James’ abusive vandalism of the property.  He put spikes through the door, door frame, and surrounding wall framing.  Since then, the door has been out-of-whack. 

Note to self:  Do not rent to people like this, no matter how irascible they are. 

Anyway, thanks for wood filler compound, the door latch is now fixed. 

I still have to find a plate for the sunroom door lock.  

shower stall attempt (or PLSS)

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The new shower stall base was put in, and the back and side walls were added.  The results:  The house is still crooked. 

As Dave would comment, “It’s built like a pig barn.” 

The only solution is to continue raising the add-on (pig barn) to be level with the remainder of the house.  You can’t have plumb, level, square, and straight in an old house, so I’m told.  There’s always going to be one or more of those missing from the equation.  In this case: 

  • plumb – The east exterior wall of the add-on was erected without the rest of the house being level.  It is more-or-less plumb.  It is out less than 1 degree. 
  • level – The add-on floor is not level yet as there is no support under the north wall rim joist.  It is currently being held up by 30-tonne hydraulic jacks under the joists 10-16 inches away from the footing.  The floor of the main house (1st floor and 2nd floor) are also not level. 
  • square – Because the floor is not level, nothing is square, as you can see from the gap between the shower back wall and the side wall. 
  • straight – There is no way they found the straightest timber with which to build this add-on. 

Next step:  Jack the add-on and east side of the house until it is level with the west half.  There can be no progress in the eastern half of the house until this is done. 

new fan, shower wall, vapour barrier, junk

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I bought a new bathroom fan from Rona.  It’ll be mounted in the shelving separating the toilet from the shower.  This is only 1 of 2 fans they had.  The other one is almost twice as loud at 6.0 Sones whereas this one is 3.5 Sones. 

I bought some more insulation for the walls separating the two suites (2 hallway / stairway, 2 kitchen / landing, & 1 bathroom / entrance).  Rona initially sold me four bags of 16″-center batts, but the yard guy trusted me and loaded me up with 24s, and I went back in and pair $45 more. 

But, rather than starting those walls, I wanted to design a wall / shelf system separating the shower and toilet.  It will be a 36″-long 2×4 shower wall, 4 studs, double bottom plate and shelves with 12″ 2×4 walls, a bulkhead for the bathroom fan at the top, a raceway for the dryer vent next to the wall, a 2×12 base, and four or five shelves.  Sneak preview of what it will look like: 

 

Why double bottom plate?  The studs I have left over are too short.  Reuse, reuse, reuse. 

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