1403 3 Ave N main – Page 2

mould resistant drywall

2026061920260605 by Allan

So yesterday I went to Rona to pick up some mould resistant drywall (blue). I got nine sheets, drove to the job site, and began to unload it … except that I didn’t. They loaded the wrong drywall. Dave was very curious as to why I would purchase more regular drywall. My invoice said I bought mould resistant. Rather than make two more trips (there and back), we just carried on with other stuff. The bathroom will wait. That evening, the manager of Rona gave me $45 off my purchase. We unloaded it all and reloaded the correct sheets.

This morning, it still sits on the trailer; no one has walked off with it.

I wondered why I never notice that what we loaded up yesterday morning wasn’t blue. It is apparently not hard to miss.

bathroom drywall, door, tape, mud

2026060720260604 by Allan

A picture is worth a few words, so here they are.

First, secure the wiring.

Sonopan for bathroom

2026060420260603 by Allan

I spent most of the morning cleaning up and organizing the place. I bought a new exterior light a bit ago but found, at home in the garage, another one. Hmm. I’m disorganized. It gets expensive buying and misplacing and forgetting about building supplies.

I also completed the mudroom / exterior lighting switch wiring.

This afternoon, when Dave showed up, we added Sonopan soundproofing boards to the bathroom / living room wall.

Some cuts were made with a utility knife, and some were made with the table and mitre saws. Using a power saw makes one appear like Kermit the Frog as they are covered head-to-toe with green.

Next: drywall.

kitchen seepage

2026060420260602 by Allan

Because of the rains in the past few days, I found that the window installed by the previous owner leaks. I have water seepage on the floor from the window framing. I have to reframe now. Not sure if I have to take the window out completely. Knowing me, I will. I can’t take chances. In the mean time, the neighbours have to look at a wrapped window.

3-way rewiring

2026060420260602 by Allan

This is what happens when you do wire-as-you-go electrical without first drafting.

Yesterday, I thought I could ‘borrow’ the hot (live) black wire from the mudroom 14-2 to run the exterior light, use the black wire from another 14-2 as a traveller, and use the white wire from that same wire as a common. It seemed like it would work at the time.

rear wiring, spray-foam insulation

2026060420260601 by Allan

The blue arc-fault wiring dangling from the 2nd floor is now connected. I had to wait for the upstairs bedroom / stairwell wall to be relocated before connecting this up the receptacle.

The kitchen 3-way light and fan switches are now connected – or, at least, one end of it. Yes, I know, one switch is a different colour. I’ll get on that as well as stapling the wires down.

rafter ties cut, reinforced

2026053120260530 by Allan

This was a big day in terms of re-construction. Four rafter ties were cut and reinforced by the new 2×6 balloon framing studs.

Before 2×6 bridging:

weld practise continues, new wall erected

2026052920260528 by Allan

More odds and ends were completed on the framing of the 2nd floor entrance.
(This post is categorized in both “main” and “up” of 1403.)

More practise with the welding was done, as well. I bought a new spool of flux core wire from Princess Auto, replacing the Benchmark wire bought at Home Hardware.

Yes, I know – the welding looks like crap. This is my first time welding – ever. As the day went on, and Brock came by to guide me through it and practise his own welding, things got a little better. However, I am still unsure if the stairway will be made of welded metal or wood. We’ll see.

In the mean time, the new kitchen / entrance wall separating the two suites is up. We started by taping Shane’s level to a 2×4, extended to the rafters, in line with bottom plate, to find where the top plate will sit. I marked it, then Dave and Floyd held the 2×6 in place with some sticks while I fastened it to the rafters.

We then measured the length and angle of these new balloon studs (114 5/8″, 29°) and cut them. This took fiddling about because the roof has a certain amount of sag (about 3/16″) from where it is tied to the house to the middle of the kitchen.