Basement, part III

It's construction season again. This time, I'm tackling 2 rooms and a hallway (by default). This will bring the basement to 50% completion, and will leave very little work to do to bring the basement to 100% completion.

The basement is stubbed for a full bath, although I'm thinking that the full bath is actually a full bath for very small people. The HVAC unit is a scant 65 inches from the shower drain, and the shower drain is stubbed for a full-sized tub. According to setback guidelines, I need 12 inches of clearance between the HVAC and a wall. Well, that isn't going to fit. Time to re-engineer the walls.

You're looking down the hallway towards the bathroom through the mechanical room. The treated lumber is for the bottom of the walls. Also have to build access for the water shut-off. The next step will be to continue to frame so as to get an indication of the room size, and wiring and plumbing. Then insulate and drywall and finish. Tile on the bathroom floor and carpet in the hallway.

Here's another view of my progress: Just turn your head to the left. The white pipes are the shower and toilet stubs, respectively.



It will be a few days until I'm able to work down there again. Hopefully on Friday I'll be able to get quite a bit accomplished.

Home Renovations, Again?

Evidently our bricklayers were given the reject bricks for our fireplace. They had mortar all over the front, they were horribly messy, and just looked like crap. So, this is all a recipe for "hey, honey, time for you to do some work.After




Here's the pictures:

See - that's the framing. If you look closely, you can see the other room behind this one. It's done. Well, no flooring and trim, but otherwise it's done.

There will be a hallway to the right of the framing that leads to a full bath, mechanical room and of course, the laundry.

The Laundry Room - In One Week

To quote my friend Susan, Sharon, wtf am I doing during Holy Week completely constructing a room?

Well, friends, it goes like this. The wife and daughter are out of town, and this is the most excellent time for me to:
1. bang hammers loudly at all times
2. run the compound miter and table saws
3. have no freaking hot water cause I screwed up 3 solder joints. dammit!
4. Almost electrocute myself because I wanted to see what 15 amps look like when it is grounded. In the fuse box. My burned up screw driver, let me not show you it.

I'm not so good at mud & tape. Yet

Alright, the walls are up. Tape is up. Tape is down (I pulled it). Adhesive tape is up. I like adhesive. I hate mudding adhesive.

Did I mention we're into paint now? 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of finish. Here are room shots prior to wall finish color. Ceiling is textured and lit. I'd like to be lit, but there's church tonight.

Drywall Fest

So here it is - I begin drywall. Electrical is done, no death. Drywall is heavy, especially when you're doing it yourself.

Pictures this week, I'm sure

Who designed this HVAC anyway?

So, here I am, framing a storage room in our unfinished basement, and the HVAC is running through the room and turns at 90 degrees and heads across the room. It's causing a bit of a nightmare in the attempt to frame for drywall.

Otherwise, my construction is great! I've got the whole room framed, a new dryer vent installed (we're moving the dryer 90 degrees to the wall it's currently on), and finished for the door. Got to work on electrical and insulation this week - Friday I'm hoping to get the drywall here and start that little joy.

Poor Wife, she's trying so valiantly to be supportive of my home-improvement efforts, but I think some days she's really very concerned with my construction. Oh well.

And yes, Sharon, I'm doing this during Lent. Lent's only on Wednesdays.

More to come, unless I electrocute myself.