August 16, 2004

Much has been done since the last update.  The plumbing has been completed and the insulation installed.  The masons started today and the sheetrock installation was also started today.  I thought I was ready for sheetrock installation to start last week, but Abb, a retired friend who has been building houses for over forty years, came by and started showing me some things that needed to be added to my punch list.  I called and delayed until today.  It is a good thing I did.  We finished the last of the “must do now” items on the punch list at 10:00 PM last night.  Let me show you some of the things we did:

 

First, many people forget to add some type of blocking for important things like drapery rods, toilet paper holders, towel racks and grab bars.  The picture below shows the toilet area of the master bath.  The blocking on the near side is for toilet paper holders and future handicap bars.  The blocking on the back side of the stud is for a towel rack by the tub.  At floor level is access to the pump for the whirlpool tub.  A blank door will be made to cover this after the sheetrock is installed.  The orange spots on the floor mark were receptacle and switch boxes are in the wall.  One dot is for a box down low, two for a box higher (such as a switch box) and three would denote something higher.  The circle in the floor is for a light up above and the rectangle is for a HVAC vent.  This will help me keep up with the openings that should be cut in the wall and ceiling.

The picture below shows the blocking for the drapery rods on each side of the window.  The 2x6 across the top of the window can be used for drapery rods or crown molding as the case will be.  The blocking goes from above the window down below the transom.  Becky is not sure if she wants to have the draperies to cover the transom or not.  The transoms are high enough that no one can see in those on the first floor.  To make sure both bases are covered the blocking goes on down to the lower level.  Note to the left and right of the taller pieces of blocking is a shorter piece that will be use to hang pictures as the need arises.  These pieces of blocking are not being put there because this is a steel stud house.  We have found out through the years that there is never a stud where you want to hang a heavy picture.  So we practically lined all of the walls six foot and seven foot four with continuous blocking.  Lighter things can be hung lower.  We are trying to make sure we are covered for the larger pictures that will hang higher.

The picture below shows the other side of the family room with the blocking going from the foyer entrance over to the vestibule to the dining room.  You can also see the blocking in the vestibule going on continuously through the dining room.  The blocking for the hand rails for the stairs to the basement can be seen just above the fan.  Behind the fan where you can’t see it is blocking that allow the termination of the base coming up from the stairs.

Insulation is pretty much universal but this show the 9 1/2” (R-30) in the garage walls.  We elected to insulate both the outside of the garage walls as well as the walls next to the house.  That way if the garage door is left open in cold weather, then the house will not be affected.  When the garage door is closed, it will keep the garage from being so cold when going out.  The shop is insulated this way and in the coldest winter it I have not seen it drop below 55⁰ even without the heat on.

The first of the brick was laid today and this picture will give an idea of how it will look.  The brick is a “Windsor Tumbled” which is a rough brick.  We are using a buff mortar and a concave struck joint.  The brick is also an “engineered size” which is a little larger than a standard brick.  If I am not mistaken, the length and depth of the brick is the same a standard brick.  A standard brick is 2 ¼” high and the engineered size is 2 5/8” high.  Tomorrow they will bring scaffolds and continue up higher on the wall.  Due to not having scaffolds today, they bricked about half of the north retainer wall.

As mentioned earlier, the sheetrock was started today.  The crew was finishing up another house and these two started about 2:30 PM hanging the ceiling in the pantry, kitchen and family room.  This picture shows the completion of the kitchen ceiling.  By 7:30 PM they had completed all of the ceiling down to the far wall completing the family room also.  How much can they cover tomorrow with a full crew?  When they finished all of the ceiling, you could carry the scrap out with one wheelbarrow.  Most of that were the cut outs in the ceiling.  The company owner estimates to have everything hung, finished and primed by August 30.  The sheetrock company offers a USG product called “Tuff-Hide” (http://usg.com) that will be used as the primer.  It is so thick; it has to be sprayed on.  It goes on at a 15 mil thickness and when it is properly prepared and applied, no joints or screw holes can be seen.  The sheetrock company used it in their office and it was really smooth and beautiful.  It looked so good that they did not even paint the ceiling.  It was just a coat of the bare primer.

That about covers what has been done in the past two weeks.  Soon I will be able to send you pictures on the brick work and completed sheetrock installation.  The cabinets for the house should start this week or next.  I still have to plane the walnut to give the cabinet maker.  I will be doing that later this week.