mudroom trapdoor framing

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In preparation to build the rest of the mudroom floor (the floor platform and trapdoor leading to the basement), finishing touches must be done to the floor framing.  Blocking was adjusted, and a spacer to get the right elevation was added to the ledger against the house. 

Finally, the 3/4 plywood was fitted.  (Note to self:  When measuring for holes to cut in plywood, always measure from the same place, not from two different places (i.e. left side & right side) or you will end up having to move the framing to match the plywood hole rather than the plywood hole matching the framing.) 

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mudroom rafters, wall framing

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The remaining old mudroom rafters are removed.  New rafters are placed in.  Without Dave, I used a bottle jack and telepost to hold them in place.  With Dave, I pushed up and he hammered them flush with the 2×4 ledger. 

Next, the stucco around the 1F mudroom door frame was cut to accommodate a wide trim board to match the windows.  Before that, the framing had to be moved over 1-1/2″ to ensure an even stucco cut line.

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mudroom reframing continues

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New rafter 2x4s bought:

Unfortunately, I bought 12′ instead of 10′.  My mind is not on my work recently.  Now I have two-foot-something boards I cannot use and money gone that I could have used. 

The 2nd floor (“up”) suite door must be a 36″ opening by code.  The old door was a 34″, I believe.  Since we’re reframing the whole area, the grandfather clause doesn’t apply. 

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mudroom replaced timber

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So the mudroom rafter replacement began today.  I bought a turnbuckle and found my stump-pulling cables and rigged up a way of pulling the 4×4 header (a.k.a. top plate) back to where it needs to be, 3-1/2 inches (9cm) from where it was.  No easy task.  It is held in place by the rafters.  I have to disconnect each rafter and replace it with a new one as I go. 

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begin mudroom exterior wall

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In moving rubbish back and forth, I found I had a flat tire.  That was last week.  I haven’t done anything with it yet aside from pumping it back up again.  Neighbour Dave came with his portable air tank / compressor and filled it up.  Nice to have one of those things.  Thank you, Dave. 

 

Princess Auto has lots.  I’ll have to find a non-pneumatic version.  We’re continually running over nails and other junk. 

I bought two new doors for the mudroom.  They’re 36″, conforming to the current building code standards.  Why not just use the old ones?  Ever tried moving a hide-a-bed couch through a 32″ opening?  I have.  It’s a … well, it’s difficult. 

 

I did some other stuff today but forgot what I did.  No pics to prove I was working.  I think I was pulling more 

mud room ceiling, wall

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The problems with the mud room continue. 

There is more dismantling that … remantling.  (Is that a word?)  We removed the remaining house ship-lap siding from inside the mudroom.  Why?  To get at the 1st add-0n (kitchen BR3) rafters.  We removed: 

  • from wall
    • panelling 
    • ship-lap 
    • tar felt paper 
  • from ceiling 
    • on-the-flat rafters 
    • 1×12 soffit 

However, the ends of the rafters have been shaved down to make way for a level soffit.  Hence, there is nothing to which to attach new mud room rafters. 

So, the new design is to use hidden-flange hangers to attach them to the house wall studs, rather than to the rafters.  The plan can (/ will likely) change though.

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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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