Lots has been happening since the last post. Just a couple days after the floor was poured I went out and spent a bunch of money on insulation. And boy did I get a lot of insulation. Both the sales staff at the distributor as well as the delivery driver commented on how much I got. And this is after I had already bought some off Craigs List. This is because I decide to not just insulate the exterior part of the house but also put R30 between all the floors (to make the radiant heat work better) and also put sound insulation between the greatroom walls and the bedrooms. I started stuffing the great room ceiling first. This was a little tricky as its 24 feet high and the scaffolding wiggles a little when its that high. The second problem was how to do the entry side as the scaffolding will not fit into that area and the stairway is in the way. So I took a break from there and moved on to the upstairs bedrooms.
Of course this was about the same time as we got hit by the heat wave. So I started getting up at 6 AM and working for an hour before work. Then when I got home in the afternoon I would work on the main floor and basement where it was cooler. On one of the hot weekends I decide it was just too darn nice to be working inside so I moved back out to work on siding again. For a while now I've been trying to figure out how to do the peak on the front side of the house. Unlike the back there is a roof that cuts across below the upper windows. This kept me from just putting scaffolding up like I did on the back. After debating a bunch of option I came up with the following. I put up 2 levels of scaffolding along the side of the house and then put a big gluelam beam across it. This beam was level with base of the wall where it meets the roof. I then put two home made scaffold planks from the beam to the roof. On top of this I built another level of scaffold, which was just enough to get me up to the peak. See the picture. When a couple of friends dropped by I explained it and Tammy said, "you built a mouse trap". I thought that would make a great title so....
Once done with that I moved back to the insulation on the inside. Taking a lesson from the framing crew and what I had done outside I figured how to insulate the ceiling in the entry. I first nailed a couple of 2x6s across each side wall, down about 4 feet from the low edge of the ceiling. Then I nailed another 2x6 across the windows. In the middle of this I nailed a joist hanger. Opposite that hanger I mounted another one on the chimney framing. I then put a 14 foot 2x6 in those hangers and supported the middle with a 2x4 nailed to the side of the stairs.
A couple of 15 foot planks on top of all this gave me somewhere to stand. Sure it looks a little freaky but it worked great. Mouse trap #2. (well it would look freaky but I must have deleted the pictures, sorry!)
In the middle of all this was the annual trip to Seaside for the volleyball tournament. Once again the Handsome Shrek Sports Bar was set up, this year with the addition of a bar style dart board and beer pong to go with the black light pool table, foosball and air hockey. Once again we took over the entire campground a had a heck of a party. Volleyball on the beach, all you can eat seafood boil, Mexican food, deep fried turkey (just a little snack, see pic), rock band competition on a 16 foot screen, 15,000 watt DJ system (we got the first noise complaint at 4:00 in the afternoon), just way too much fun!
OK, back to work now. I finished the insulation last week and called for my inspection on Friday. Unfortunately the inspector did not get my message to give me a call so I could be there to unlock the place. After getting a return call he said he scheduled me in for Tuesday.
On Monday the drywall was delivered. 2 guys unloaded the truck, part through the garage door and part through the dining room deck. Amazing how quick they moved, of course it helps when you have right carts and a really cool crane to help out. For the upstairs bedrooms they had 2 more guys show up and the 5 of us manhandled the sheet up to the balcony.
On Tuesday I was waiting for the inspector. About 10:00 I decided to make sure I was on his schedule. Jumping on line I found out that I was not. To verify I called the building department and check, nope no inspection scheduled. I was a little irritated to say the lease, especially since I was up till 3:00 AM rebuilding the stairs so they were right (this goes back to the framers not framing the floor for the 1-1/2" gypcrete). So I rescheduled again for today Wednesday. Thankfully today the inspector called me and I met him at the house. He walked in, looked around for about 5 minutes and signed me off. 30 minutes later the drywaller's showed up. In about a week I should have walls. YES!!!!
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