The Saturday Morning Home Repair Blog (SMHRB) is where we gather to discuss the many and varied aspects of home repair. Some here are trained professionals. Some, talented DIYers. All are welcome. Please feel encouraged to ask questions, share successes, lament sags, drips and cracks and, as always, share any advice that you have for the rest of us.
Good morning, this week's installment of SMHRB is presented by laughingRabbit. I provide home repair and interior refresh services, working mostly by myself. I am fortunate enough to have a wife who is skilled and will lend a hand when needed. Here is part two of my series covering finishing a basement.
When I left you at the beginning of the month, I was mostly finished with the primary wall framing for the bath, furnace/storage room, hall and bedroom. During the past three weeks I have completed the bedroom framing, rough electrical, insulation, drywall and paint. Here's how it went --
The client checked on the progress in the bedroom, and we discussed storage. Initially she had thought she didn't need a closet, then decided if we built a small closet, it would leave her a morning sit, sip and think about the day nook. So, I framed that in.
With the wall framing complete, I began the electrical rough. Fortunately, a couple of outlets had been run into the space shortly after the house was built. I removed the existing outlets and boxes, pulled the wire back to a better starting point, then began adding boxes and pulling wire in the new framing.
Once the outlets and switches were roughed, I began to place the R13 insulation. I just tucked it in, no stapling, using rolled product and cutting it to length in place. I do not know what the manufacturers have done, but I swear this stuff is not as irritating as it was a decade ago.
With the insulation complete, I built the soffits for hiding the ducting in the room. The image above also shows the soffit for the bath vent as well as the furring on the ceiling for drywall. Below is the soffit for the HVAC duct. I used the low end 1 x 3 spruce from the big box store. It is cheap, and if the bundles are not broken, fairly straight. Nail them up quick, before they have a chance to warp.
I was able to use space in the HVAC soffit to cut into the system and add a register for the room using a 6" wye, some soft duct and a 4" x 10" boot. The system had enough power that even without a return, I am getting a good flow. I will add a return later in the project.
Now comes the fun part -- hanging drywall on the ceiling. The space in between the two soffits is just under 10', so rather than use eight foot material and have butt seams to finish, I am going to torture my wife by having her help me hang full sheets. I walk up the ladder with the sheet on my head, she places the deadmen under the sheet and jams them up tight, then I screw them to the furring.
It went well, no one got hurt, no material was damaged, and I had fun working with my sweetie. I then hung the walls, taped, finished, and primed everything. I put color on the walls and ceiling Thursday. Next week I install the electrical devices, doors and trim. I get to do a new finish (for me) on the floor, acid etched stain and clearcoat. I'll let you know how it goes.
Before closing I'll let you know of a new thing I learned about working with existing multi-level homes. Check the health of the plumbing upstairs before you get too far.
The toilet supply in the upstairs bath had been leaking for maybe a year judging from the rust on the trim and corrosion on the valve. This week it really started to flow, under the vanity to where it found a hole in the floor. I sure am glad this happened before I had the new bath ceiling finished. I replaced the supply line, but still need to thoroughly caulk the cabinet to the vinyl floor, along with any other potential gap.
Well, I'm on a couple of different client's projects today, wrapping and invoicing (I hope). Besides Halloween candy, what are you working on?