Sunday, November 29, 2009

The case of the cripple wall. Pt. 2

After the demo was completed. I was able to talk a look and to my surprise there was not as much damage as I thought. The majority of the framing of the in that area was not rotten. The only wood that needed urgent attention was the last joist in the corner. The other wooden joists (uprights) were not rotten.

Our good fortune was due to the fact that my brother an I turned the water off and stopped the dripping before we closed escrow. The California Indian summer in the bay area made for fast drying wood, but there was still some damage left over.

The here is what we did:





Inserted a Sister joists next to the stud in question.














Removed the Rotten Stud.











Replaced the rotten stud with a new pressure treated wood.
( The pressure treated wood is not necessary but I had a piece laying around.)







That was about it. Due to some of the faulty work that was done in the past there is some additional work that has to be done. This will be scheduled for summer of 2010 when the second phase of this project begins. However this did take care of the the water damaged upright. There is however the root of the problem that still remains... the leak that caused the damage.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The case of the cripple wall.

As some may or may not know there where two major concerns with this house, the roof and the wall in the basement. As per the inspectors notes “There is evidence of rot damage to the cripple wall framing along the left rear of the structure." I, as with anyone, found this to be of some concern. Taking heed of the building inspector’s advice to “have a qualified contractor look at it,” I did.

First I felt it would be best that I remove the obstructions to get a better look to see what I was going to be dealing with. That is why the demolition of the house began in the basement. Once we'd finished demo, I had my father’s neighbor Kenny, who happens to be a contractor, come and take a look for me. His words to me were encouraging “I have seen worse, but it is do-able. I can help you if you like but you can do this yourself.” I took that grain of hope and ran with it.



This was the room, and the wall in question at the close of escrow. Not a pretty sight.







With the help of my wife and my trusty nephew Dex, we were able the get demolition to this point.



Still not beautiful but I can see what is going on now.


After taking a closer look. The project didn't seem bad, so I dove in. I ran to the book store to get started.



Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Poll time: you need to choose

Okay... here is the interactive part of this discussion. You've seen the plans so far... and I have one more to add to the mix. For a recap of the prior two plans you can go scroll down, or click here to re-read the options. The poll will remain open until 29th. **So you get to choose our new home!

Here are the layouts in no particular order

Plan #1: There 2 bedrooms, 1 formal dinning room off the kitchen.

Plan #2: Has a mud-room or entry way, 3 bedrooms, and a tiny dinning/nook off the kitchen.

Plan #3. (click on the image to see it bigger) 2 Bedrooms, 1 formal dining room, and a breakfast nook.




















Which design do you like best



**May not be valid in California, and we reserve the right to choose at random whichever plan we decide. But choose anyway, we want your feedback.

Getting your stuff together.

Concerning Gear

If you are like me you probably have some tools. These may be leftovers form various projects in the past. I will also venture a guess that you have some experience with them. I personally have had tools around me for a good portion of my life. Between my father, (Electrician, and Do-it-Yourself-er) and by brother (Stage Hand and Fanatical Do-it-Yourself-er) and various friends and mentors throughout my life it would be safe to say I have been around a tool before.

Here are some tips that where relevant to me:

No matter what is in your garage you are going to make at trip the store.
In my own career in Telecom and my experience building model railroads, I thought I had all I needed... wrong. As work began I discovered that my tool box is designed for a Telecom person NOT a carpenter. So as a result, off to Home Depot.

Right Tool, Right job!

Let me tell you there are some jobs that are going to need a special tool. There are no was way around it. It just happens that I have never found a substitute for a crimping tool. I have ruined a lot of material or chewed up a lot of time by trying to “make it work.”

Evaluate the state of your tools.

Dull knives and raggedy tools are the road to disaster. Be honest with your self about the state of your equipment. If it is dull sharpen it! If it is damaged fix it or replace it. Trust me you will thank your self later. I guarantee that you that the raggedy tool will fail at the least opportune time. Usually 10 minutes after the store closes, on a Sunday, but most often right before you have to finish something because the contractor is arriving in 15.

Don’t be a cheap-skate.
I have fallen prey to this may times. There is a reason that one drill is only $25 and the rest are 80+. The is because you will be buying two of them. It has happened to me before and you will hate yourself, trust me. Quality is worth the the extra few bucks. I have been caught by the bargain bin too many times.

Monday, November 16, 2009

I just broke a Nail!!!

Yep, it was bound to happen, I chipped a nail. Actually, no... to clarify I broke a nail. It unfortunately is not the kind of little break, where a girly-girl would whine "oww... my nail!!" in a high-pitched whine intended for attention and coddling. Unfortunately I split it down the middle lengthwise down to the root, all the way through the quick. It was my left thumb nail. There was no high-pitched whining. But there certainly was lots of cussing, and definitely some shaking out of the hand in an attempt to get it to stop hurting. (Which never helps by the way.)

The unfortunate thing about breaking a nail down through the quick is that you don't realize just how important the nail is in protecting the finger nail bed, until you don't have it. Nor do you quickly forget how it feels when everything you attempt to grip reminds you of the fact that you don't have a nail to protect that very sensitive skin under the nail. Which is particularly bad when you wear rough leather gloves to work in.

I wish I could say that this was the only injury from the work. Thankfully the list of injuries is all minor, with no one missing limbs, instances of sepsis, or gangrene (yet.) Here is a shortlist of injuries to date:

- 3 instances of stepped on nails, only one went into the foot requiring bactine and a bandage
- 1 instance of a nail through the hand, which required a tetanus shot and bandage
- 1 broken nail
- Countless bruises (all mine, I bruise like a peach apparently all over my body)
- Countless smashed digits, both hand and foot. (again... mostly me. I am a klutz as well I guess.)
- 4 separate instances of stuff falling on heads - but no serious punctures, or concussions all requiring just bandages, condolences, and some lumps.
- several separate instances of dust in the eyes.

All of these minor injuries are the result of a very stringent safety environment. My Husband and I repeat to everyone who asks to join in on the work that we want a "injury free weekend." Not only for our sakes, to keep the potential of lost friendships and 'workman's comp' filings down, but also because we need to acknowledge that everyone that has helped out has a day job. It's enough to ask them to come and help out, but it would be foolhardy to think that they'd be willing to sacrifice their paying job because they helped out a friend and are now unable to work because they are concussed and in the hospital.

The other item of note that needs to be mentioned is that there are many people, family and friends alike, who are eager to help. What is the most surprizing is who and how many people have offered their support, and come through with so much effort. It has made this project feel less lonely and much more communial. We've had co-workers, long time friends, cousins, Aunts, fathers (in-law), nephews and even little ones come out and help.

(don't worry the little newphews got clean-up duty on the lawn, no tools for them.)

For all the time and effort that has gone into this first phase of demolition for me to loose a nail... I'm willing to pay that price.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Home Layout

We're presented with a rare opportunity to completely remake the house in the way that we want it due to the renovation. There are a few limitations, 1) we need to stay within the existing footprint of the house, and 2) We need to keep within budget as much as possible.

Some other considerations:
  • The house didn't have much in the way of storage to begin with, so we will likely need to make sure that there is ample storage for what we currently have, and some space to grow.
  • The bathroom was too narrow at a scant 5'4" in width for mine and my husbands liking. However we can't upscale too much without taking from another room - due to the 1st limitation mentioned.
  • The layout of the house when we bought it was 3 bedrooms 2 baths. All of the bedrooms were on the main floor, but the second bathroom was in the basement. We'd like to keep it that way to maximize the potential for a better HELOC rate should we need it.
  • The kitchen needs to be big 'enough' to accommodate modern amenities and our 'foodie' tastes as we both love to cook and entertain.
So, when you step back and take a look at what should be a pretty easy plan - it sounds easy enough. We'll see. I'm currently on my 2nd 'original' floor plan, and although I'm currently satisfied, I keep getting great influences from the darnedest of places.

Here's plan #1

If you can't make it out too well, we loose one bedroom, in favor for a formal dining room that is adjoined to the kitchen.

There are two bedrooms, one is listed as an office.

The one 'true' bedroom is incredibly narrow at 8'8" wide, just wide enough for one double sized bed, and little else.

The hallway is a straight shot from the front of the house to the back- allowing a flow through the rooms.

There is ample storage, but it primarily in the kitchen.

Pro's: The bathroom doesn't change at all, so savings there.

Cons: the kitchen would require completely new water, gas and electrical lines.



Here is design plan#2

There are 3 'bedrooms' and a slightly larger bath.

I've also taken some space from the front porch to create a mud-room that is approximately 5'x5' which should be just enough for storage of boots and a few coats.

There is still a straight-shot hallway, but the dining room is moved to the end of the house, and although it appears to be cramped, our dining room table has leaves in them that allow it to be approximately 2' shorter than the image to the left shows. Fully extended it would be a squeeze, but with a pass-through from the kitchen it can also double as a buffet.

Pros: with this layout, the kitchen is already on this side of the house. So the gas line and the water won't need to be moved.

Cons: the bathroom layout is a little different, so we would need to move the toilet and bath around. Plus the creation of the mud-room would mean new siding and may not match the rest of the house as a result.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The First Steps

As I have said before when I first began this endeavor I thought it would just be repairing some damage, sprucing up a bit, moving in, and all will be peachy. Well no, not exactly. A very wise woman told me that when you work on a house remember two things:
1. It will cost you twice as much as you think.
2. It will take twice a long as you suspect.

I think she might be right. I am a computer guy by trade so I am not unused to a project getting bigger more costly over time. So I am no stranger to projects running out of control. At this has not been the case thus far but I am very wary of the runaway project.

There are two major concerns that I had originally felt were the most pressing, they were the leak in the kitchen and the subsequent dry rot in the basement below and the roof.

The Kitchen leak.
It looks like it he basement was not in as bad shape that it appeared at first. My brother turning of the water allowed the wood to try. There was also some excellent weather in the area that aided in the effort.

The roof
I was planning to replace it in the first place, therefore it was a known factor and did not worry me to much outside of the cost. I was not, however, planning to get on the roof and work on it myself. Roofs are best left to professionals. Although the roof is not high off the ground and the pitch is manageable, it is just high enough to break limbs and for me to possibly die. I made the executive decision to let someone else take the risk.

After establishing what needed to be addressed most urgently, I was feeling pretty good about the project. I decided to prepare the basement for a general contractor to take a look at the dry rot in the wall directly below the kitchen sink that had been dripping.

The intention of preparing the area is to remove the drywall and strip the walls down to the studs. I did it because when I speak to the contractor I did not want to leave anything to interpretation so I made the area clear so when they came to examine it they could get a good look at the overall problem.