projects on the go
This is a house built in 1906 at 1403 3 Ave. N., Coalbanks (later to become Lethbridge), AB, Canada. I bought the house in Dec. 2021 as a rental property. It has a 3-bedroom suite on the main floor (“main”). This is the story of that suite.
So today was mostly about prepping for 6-mil poly (plastic vapour barrier). No time yet to put it up – prep was kind of time consuming. We wound the kitchen circuit wiring (a 20-Amp kitchen counter and a 15-Amp microwave) through the furring strips.
That done, we all stood around the 2nd storey stairway to determine the best plan of attack.
I generally take pics of everything I do to keep a record of stuff. Today’s big task was re-routing electrical wires. The previous person had 16 objects on one 15-Amp circuit. To me, 10 is about maximum, and they would be mixed within various rooms. These 16 were mostly in one bedroom, the living room, and the bath. As well, they mixed lights with receptacles (outlets), a no-no in today’s practices. I cut the circuit in half, ran a new 14-2 wire from a new breaker to the second half of the circuit in question (living room, now total 8 items), added four extra receptacles to the original one (total 9 items), and cut the lights from this circuit, adding them to another light-dedicated breaker. Sorry, no pics. Maybe later. Late night. I got home 15 minutes before the New Year celebration on TV (CBC, I think).
Also, a partition wall between the hall and the stairway leading to the 2nd story suite was taken down. Not to code! A fire-rated wall will be put in its place.
I also found my notes from the last renovation four years ago.
Lighting was the main reason for starting first-floor renovations.
Bedrooms 1 (front) and 2 (middle) had no lighting. Well, that’s not entirely true. Long ago, it had lighting. It seems that when panelling was put up to hide the plaster, they simply paved over the light fixtures. (Boneheads.) I’ve had the house for about four years now, and this has always been a sore spot. Now? Let there be light!
The insulation of the first floor has begun.
From the looks of the framing, there used to be a west-facing 30″ x 60″ window in bedroom 1 (front bedroom).
They framed it in and paved over it with rock-dash stucco during the stucco craze. In its stead, they added a south-facing window. I’m not sure if the front porch was built before or after, but this new window opened onto the porch (a.k.a. sun room). So, if in the middle of the night you wish to get some fresh air, you can’t, unless you wander outside and open the screen door window. No other window in that porch opens.
“The trailer’s a bit heavy,” I said.
“I think it’ll be fine,” HFT said.
“Looks heavy to me,” D said.
We didn’t make it more than 5 blocks when a tire blew. We stopped along 13 St N, hazard and overhead lights blinking. I put out my safety triangle 10 paces behind the rig. Luckily, I decided to bring the spare trailer tire this day. Yay! Except…
More work must be done to raise the 2nd floor back to its rightful elevation. The load-bearing partition between the living room and laundry / bathroom is, by my measurements, two 2 1/8 inches too short. The floor dips that much from over 28 inch span across the hallway. The installers of this wall didn’t really care enough to make it the same height as the other interior partitions. So, it has to be removed and another put in its place.
Nearing the end.
So is my back.
Today was pretty much devoted to pulling panelling, furring strips, plaster, lathe, and bricks from the walls. The exterior walls all had bricks inside. These are not structural but, rather, meant as a heat sink, barrier from wind, fire block, and insulation. We have better quality insulation that acts as a fire block (like Rockwool) available now.
I finally got a piece of glass for the front porch of the house. The roofing company accidentally broke the window as they were throwing down refuse from the old roof. The same guy who came to tell me, on a different day, that he put his foot through the ceiling of the porch also told me about the broken glass.
I told them not to worry about it as I had another pane in the basement, but it turns out someone else broke that one. $25 later, it is now replaced. Needs putty though.
As the roofers were completing their project – the last roof surface was the front porch – one of them fell partially through the roof and ceiling below due to rotten boards. Three rows of ceiling tongue-and-groove boards were broken or detached from the roof rafters. Along with the boards came chunks of planks that used to be the roof sheathing, 120 years of dust, new roofing material, and plant debris. Yes, plants were growing in their at one point.
I reattached the boards today with wood screws. It ain’t pretty, but it will suffice for now.
Next: the broken window. I’m still waiting to hear back from the window shop.