Finishing my basement
Finally insulated that crawl space where the hornets were.
I made a frame around the first access hole with a 1x8, which I was upset to learn was actually a (approx) .8 x 7.2. When I measured the hole it was going to be perfect for an 8" board... I had to compromise on the design a bit. You can see the "1x8" doesn't quite go back to the old window frame I had wanted to use as a 'backstop.' (There's an old window frame there because that part of the house was added on, and the window was converted to an access hole for the crawl space.)
Cut a 1/4" piece of oak plywood, and put a weatherproofing strip around the outside.
Not pictured: I nailed a piece of 2x4 inside of that hatch both as a support structure, and give the panel something to rest on the inside of the frame I built, above.
Perfect fit.
Stuffed a little pink insulation up in the floor joists, and sprayed a little expandable foam around the outside of the frame.
Tackling the other access panel tomorrow.
I made a frame around the first access hole with a 1x8, which I was upset to learn was actually a (approx) .8 x 7.2. When I measured the hole it was going to be perfect for an 8" board... I had to compromise on the design a bit. You can see the "1x8" doesn't quite go back to the old window frame I had wanted to use as a 'backstop.' (There's an old window frame there because that part of the house was added on, and the window was converted to an access hole for the crawl space.)
Cut a 1/4" piece of oak plywood, and put a weatherproofing strip around the outside.
Not pictured: I nailed a piece of 2x4 inside of that hatch both as a support structure, and give the panel something to rest on the inside of the frame I built, above.
Perfect fit.
Stuffed a little pink insulation up in the floor joists, and sprayed a little expandable foam around the outside of the frame.
Tackling the other access panel tomorrow.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Finished the second crawl space access. Knocked out block instead of a former window, but nothing really new. Second verse same as the first.
I had another $100 for the project as of Feb 1, but then I went and spent it on a bday present for the wife. Sigh. Next cash infusion is March 1, unless the income tax refund is surprising. Will find that out tomorrow.
I had another $100 for the project as of Feb 1, but then I went and spent it on a bday present for the wife. Sigh. Next cash infusion is March 1, unless the income tax refund is surprising. Will find that out tomorrow.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Hmmm.
I think <s>$300.</s> $400. I thought I spent $150 the first round, but I went back to the first post and I said $250. So $400 total, so far.
Not counting the $50 I spent on 4 rolls of pink insulation. That wasn't technically part of this project.
Edited By GORDON on 1296273962
I think <s>$300.</s> $400. I thought I spent $150 the first round, but I went back to the first post and I said $250. So $400 total, so far.
Not counting the $50 I spent on 4 rolls of pink insulation. That wasn't technically part of this project.
Edited By GORDON on 1296273962
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
I was out and about tonight, and bought more materials. Add $85 to the running tally, bring the total to $560.
On a side note, I bought a hammer drill the other day and used it today to drill holes in the basement floor for anchoring Tapcons.... it was like drilling into butter and I am kicking myself for not owning a hammer drill before now.
On a side note, I bought a hammer drill the other day and used it today to drill holes in the basement floor for anchoring Tapcons.... it was like drilling into butter and I am kicking myself for not owning a hammer drill before now.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
GORDON wrote:The open spaces at the top of the new plywood aren't really open. There's a floor joist up there. I will probably stuff that area with insulation and put a strip of plywood straddling those 2 joists for further sound proofing.
That was before.
This is after:
This was my first experience doing drywall. Lessons learned: imperfections with your sanding will not be hidden by 2 layers of primary and a layer of paint, and put covers over everything you don't want coated under a layer of dust during the sanding.
Also that is a recessed light fixture I installed to replace an old-timey fixture that was just screwed to the unfinished ceiling in between floor joists.
Spent about $160 on drywall, mud, screws, nails, trim, light fixture, shelves (not pictured), primer, and paint (paint is fucking expensive, wtf). Wanted to get the wife's laundry-side of the basement done and finished and pretty so she has one less thing in life to complain about. Yellow is so it will be brighter down there.
Next: finish framing the man cave walls, and get it wired for sound, data, and power. I believe the money is already in the bank.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
I did about 4 mud/sanding cycles before I decided to go with the primer. (Maybe 3, I forget. I do know that I bet I can get it in 2 applications next time, now that I know what to do.) Just a glance and a random person wouldn't notice, but I know where to look so I always see the imperfections under the paint. Lesson learned.Cakedaddy wrote:I'm going through the house and re-mudding all the spots I mudded before and thought were good enough until we started painting. Mudding is hard.
More than good enough for a basement laundry room.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
GORDON wrote:
I finished the subfloor a few months ago, never got around to pics. Here is one:
and I had a few 2x4's left over from the laundry room ceiling project, and I finished the north wall and started the west wall. Lumber yard run for more wood is tomorrow.
Also I bought a compound miter saw at some point, so now cutting the wall studs to length is a lot quicker and easier and I get a perfectly straight cut. Before I was doing it the old fashioned way with a square and a circular saw.
No new expenditures since the last update, just used up leftover materials on-hand.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Ran to the lumber yard this morning before the weather moved in, got another dozen 2x4's.
Put up a few more studs on the west wall, and removed an outlet that was there, that I didn't want buried inside the wall. Knowing it was there would bug me forever. The 2 little fang marks is where it was anchored to the wall.
And yes, the wall is bowed out, from time and pressure. At some point in the past it was reinforced with those vertical steel beams you can see in some of the pictures. I marked it last year to see if I could detect any further expansion, but so far I haven't detected any. I can't dig out the opposite side of the wall to relieve pressure, because that is crawl space behind there, with about 2 feet of access. Dumb situation.
Before I continue on tomorrow, I need to figure out what I am going to do about the duct work on the ceiling on the south side of the room. I can't leave it exposed.
Put up a few more studs on the west wall, and removed an outlet that was there, that I didn't want buried inside the wall. Knowing it was there would bug me forever. The 2 little fang marks is where it was anchored to the wall.
And yes, the wall is bowed out, from time and pressure. At some point in the past it was reinforced with those vertical steel beams you can see in some of the pictures. I marked it last year to see if I could detect any further expansion, but so far I haven't detected any. I can't dig out the opposite side of the wall to relieve pressure, because that is crawl space behind there, with about 2 feet of access. Dumb situation.
Before I continue on tomorrow, I need to figure out what I am going to do about the duct work on the ceiling on the south side of the room. I can't leave it exposed.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
The technology is here. I think you could do the same with heat. No more heating pipe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8618161.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8618161.stm
In marriage there is always one person right. And the other one is the husband.
I have finished the west wall, for the most part. Ran myself completely out of screws.
No idea what to do with the south wall and duct work, so I started framing it in, thinking I could enclose it in drywall and make it look cool. The original plan was to leave the south wall unframed, as it would be behind the big TV, and if I ever needed to get into that crawl space I can't build a new wall there because it would make the gap between the heating duct and wall too narrow. But, leaving it unframed and unfinished, I think, will look like shit. No idea what I want to do. I am really stuck for the ideas. I need to get some artisans down there to have a look and see what they come up with.
No idea what to do with the south wall and duct work, so I started framing it in, thinking I could enclose it in drywall and make it look cool. The original plan was to leave the south wall unframed, as it would be behind the big TV, and if I ever needed to get into that crawl space I can't build a new wall there because it would make the gap between the heating duct and wall too narrow. But, leaving it unframed and unfinished, I think, will look like shit. No idea what I want to do. I am really stuck for the ideas. I need to get some artisans down there to have a look and see what they come up with.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."