New house, new renovation project :)

[Shaggy]

PLEASE tell me you're gonna take down that wall in the kitchen and open that space up.

I was going to say the same thing. Maybe extend the counter/cabinets out a little.

 

[terry5357]

PLEASE tell me you're gonna take down that wall in the kitchen and open that space up.

My Dad bought a 1200' temp building and gutted it and built back the way he wanted it. At one point you could see everywhere in the house, he ripped out all the sheet rock, moved the walls to shape interior the way he wanted it. THe crazy thing about it was, he worked for he phone company. He did a knowcked out job. I will find some pics and post them.....you won't believe it.
He passed away in '05 and I really miss him. I have 3 younger sisters, talking about a estrogen high environment....lol.

 

[i am ryan]

My Dad bought a 1200' temp building and gutted it and built back the way he wanted it. At one point you could see everywhere in the house, he ripped out all the sheet rock, moved the walls to shape interior the way he wanted it. THe crazy thing about it was, he worked for he phone company. He did a knowcked out job. I will find some pics and post them.....you won't believe it.
He passed away in '05 and I really miss him. I have 3 younger sisters, talking about a estrogen high environment....lol.

That's my dream right there. I would love to find an industrial space or an old church and gut it.
The problem with industrial spaces is that rezoning can be an expensive nightmare, not including construction or purchase of the space.

This firm Zecc in the Netherlands has done a few churches/cathedrals that are phenomenal.

http://www.zecc.nl/Projecten/Herbes..._a_residence_Utrecht,_the_Netherlands?photo=2

Anyways... sorry for the threadjacking, Gabe. Whoops!

 

[Gabe]

PLEASE tell me you're gonna take down that wall in the kitchen and open that space up.

I was going to say the same thing. Maybe extend the counter/cabinets out a little.

We thought of opening up the doorway to double it, but taking out the wall altogether is not in the plans. It's also a load-bearing wall, and we don't plan on installing the beam needed to replace the wall.
We're most likely gonna be installing a heating baseboard on the other side of that wall, relocating it from one of the other living room walls.


Today one of the things I did was I finished putting up new moisture-resistant drywall in the bathroom ceiling:
(yes I know I used a lot of panels, but I was trying to use up what I had, then ran out and ran to the store for another panel, then didn't want to take down some of the smaller panels since they were already up)

I also cut up a new 2x4 for framework duty inside the old built-in in the bathroom. We plan on closing in about half of it. In this pic the 2x4 is just propped there, not screwed down yet:

Moving to the kitchen, I finished ripping up the first layer of the floor, then opened up more of the walls, removing more of the fake brick stucco crap.
Meanwhile, the trash pile keeps growing in the future dining room. Last Sat of the month it will all go away - the local landfill takes just about everything then, with special passes that I already have (issued 3/year)

Started lifting up the second floor layer, it's splintering like crazy, so I stopped and will resume this tomorrow or Friday:

Found a gem of ingenuity inside one of the walls.
Two coax cables connected together with a double-ended connector, but one of the cables taped together, the other not equipped with a screw-on end, but a push-on piece:

Lastly, the neighbor that's been cutting up and taking wood for firewood stopped by and cut up the large tree trunk that's been sitting draped across the lawn. I'm assuming he'll return to pick up some of it tonight or tomorrow.
It'll be nice to finally have all the wood gone.

 

[skwerl]

Coming along nicely, Gabe. I'm enjoying the hell out of watching your progress.

On the floor, can you set the depth on your Skil saw and cut strips across the room so the floor may come up in strips without splintering so much?

 

[moostang09]

Great work Gabe! You have been busy brotha, your home will be looking super in no time!

 

[Gabe]

Coming along nicely, Gabe. I'm enjoying the hell out of watching your progress.

On the floor, can you set the depth on your Skil saw and cut strips across the room so the floor may come up in strips without splintering so much?

Great work Gabe! You have been busy brotha, your home will be looking super in no time!

Thanks guys, and Brian that's an awesome idea, I will try that tomorrow!

 

[terry5357]

Gabe,
Great job on keeping us up to date, this is my morning read with coffee....

 

[Gabe]

Gabe,
Great job on keeping us up to date, this is my morning read with coffee....

Lol, thanks man, I try


Today I finished early, but I got a couple things done.

I framed-in the doorway that will be getting closed-in in the kitchen.
Didn't hang any drywall there yet since electrical will move around and I'm still ripping up flooring, so I figured not having the drywall there will help.
I think I did a good job though, for my first time framing anything

Then I got back to work on that splintering kitchen floor.
Old brittle linoleum, on top of that thin wood layer, stapled and nailed to the subflooring.
NOT fun, but I made good progress with it today.
I really need to get rid of some of that trash though, lol

 

[terry5357]

Gabe just keep things plumb square and level and you'll be just fine. If not crap In crap out lol

 

[Gabe]

Gabe just keep things plumb square and level and you'll be just fine. If not crap In crap out lol

Lol yeah, understandable.
But not gonna be doing much that will require levelling.
I measure 2-3 times before I make a cut or before I screw something down, like that framework I did.

Looking forward to having the kitchen completely empty - just sub-flooring, no inner drywall, no cabinets, no countertops, no sink.

I've deemed January "demo month" and February is to be "re-building month" with a hopeful move-in date of March 1st

 

[Gabe]

Spent this morning taking the GF's Subaru in for an oil change/lube service, came home for a quick snack, then made it to the house by about 11:30.

Got the kitchen flooring all pulled up, with only some old glue being left behind, something that either will have the new hardwood flooring go right over, or maybe I'll ask the GF to scrape up

Then got to work on removing the kitchen soffits which still had drywall on them, plus of course the wood framework with its long nails ... :/
Also removed the rest of the visible drywall and the fake brick stucco that was on it.
All that's left in the kitchen now is a bit of framework for the bottom sink cabinet. the sink itself, and its countertop:

Meanwhile, the trash pile keeps getting bigger in the future dining room:

It looks like I got some dirt on the camera lens, I certainly hope it's on the outside and not on the inside ... I'd hate to have to have it taken apart for a cleaning ...


.

 

[Gabe]

GF wanted to go shopping for hardwood and other things today, so no work was done, but we did pick up the ordered front-door light sconces and the new hallway light, and also ordered the new sconces that will be going on the sides of the future bathroom mirror, and a new bathroom ceiling light.

And we decided on which hardwood we want, which, at $4.99/sq ft is about $1.50 more per sq ft than we originally thought, and at about 1300 sq ft it's gonna be a bunch.

But we're going back to Lumber Liquidators before we make a final decision, so we might still be in the $3 range. Hopefully.

 

[Gabe]

GF and I went to the house today - she tried to remove more of that lovely old glue from the kitchen floor, we removed the last of the kitchen countertop/bottom cabinetry/drywall, I installed new front-door outside lights, removed the 3 black horizontal spears from the outside of the screen door (I think it looks much cleaner with the door all white), I went up in the attic and cleaned out a bunch of crap up there and put in a new CFL light bulb to replace the old bulb that needed to be tapped-on to turn on, and we mapped out where the appliances and bottom cabinetry will go - a huge step needed and finally done.

The new front door outside look (for now, until the new wider entrance gets built with the side glass pieces):

The kitchen as it currently sits:

Old countertop + sink waiting to be picked up by the people we're donating it to:

And one of the lovely items I found in the attic:

 

[Gabe]

Today I went in and attacked the "fake brick stucco crap" as I've been calling it, this time the parts on the wall at the end of the hallway, facing the living room:

The fake brick continues down both sides of the stairs and both sides of the entry door.
It will all be gone very soon

Re-purposing at its best: I used 2x8's from the old kitchen soffit and some 2x4 scraps to make a frame for the future bed of the new generator.
I plan on adding some metal bracing on the outside of the corners to make it even stronger, and will square it up a bit better then.

 

[Gabe]

Finished removing all the "fake brick stucco crap" that was on the walls next to the stairs from the entrance to the main floor.
Removed the drywall on both sides of the door since the door will get new side lights and that area needs to be re-framed anyway, so new studs, new insulation, new drywall.
And yes, that's pretty much the way I found that wall when I opened it up, with almost no insulation in-between those studs

Started on the mortat/thinset removal in the bathroom today. Got the section right by the entrance done. This is not gonna be a fun little project.

 

[skwerl]

On the bathroom, what are you putting down after the cleanup? If you're using tile again then it doesn't need to be perfect, thinset covers a multitude of sins. Can you break up the old thinset with a hammer? The wood floor should flex more than the thinset theoretically. Either that or don a face mask and hit it with a concrete grinding disc on your 4.5" offset grinder.

 

[Gabe]

On the bathroom, what are you putting down after the cleanup? If you're using tile again then it doesn't need to be perfect, thinset covers a multitude of sins. Can you break up the old thinset with a hammer? The wood floor should flex more than the thinset theoretically. Either that or don a face mask and hit it with a concrete grinding disc on your 4.5" offset grinder.

Tile going back down.
A local friend spoke with a contractor buddy of his and they recommended using a heat gun to heat up the thinset and then scrape it off.
And yes, they also said it doesn't have to be perfect.
I think I have a heat gun here at the gf's place.
If not, I may just rent or borrow one of those grinders and shave it down that way.
The plan is to get it fairly level/south, then install the cement boards with screws and adhesive, then the tile with its own thinset.

Another project has popped up, literally.

In the living room, one of the under-floor joists sticks up higher than the others, so if you put a 2x4 stud across it, it teeter-totters.
It's about 1/4"-3/8" higher than the others.

My buddy and his character think I should pull up the plywood that goes over it, then use a belt sander to shave down the top of that joist.

And that's scheduled for Thursday. Should be interesting.

 

[Gabe]

Got the bathroom floor all cleaned up today.
No more old mortar from the old tile.

It took a $22 grinder from Harbor Freight with a $36 wheel to do it, but it's done. I then cleaned up and went ahead and screwed down the flooring to the joists, so no more squeaking when walking around

The grinder/wheel that quickly became my favorite tools today:

Today I also cut short the long vent pipe "appendage" that used to go into one of the old cabinets, and glued a cap onto it.
The sink drain connects to this vent pipe in the basement, and that white pipe goes straight up to/through the roof, to vent the plumbing, so that "appendage" was not needed, unless we were gonna move the sink in the corner, which we're not.
I also added a new 2x4 stud right next to that pipe, since the stud that the pipe goes through has a 2" hole in it, rendering it almost useless, or so I believe.

 

[Gabe]

Today a buddy and I attacked a high joist in the living room, had to remove part of the sub-floor, sand down the high spot, then replace the removed plywood, but not before adding some insulation, then adding glue to the tops of the joists, before screwing down the new panel.
After my buddy left, I went ahead and screwed down the sub-flooring in the hallway and the small bedroom, eliminating a few squeaky spots.
Still have to screw down the other 2 bedrooms, the kitchen, and the dining room.
I also started the framing of the new closet wall in one of the bedrooms, bringing out the existing wall about 15" to make the closet almost twice as deep, almost a walk-in unit.