Insulation!

Finally! After a tedious (and extremely dusty) removal of the old fiberglass insulation in the attic, followed by a thourugh cleaning up (removal of construction debris and vaccuming), it was time to seal up the house and get it properly insulated for the first time in well over 45 years.

The old batts were "on location" but what a crappy installation. I thought of actually keeping them, blowing in insulation on top, but it would have been the easy and wrong way to go. In order for insulation to work properly, one need to minimize the movement of air closest to the interior. The way the old insulation was laid out between the old rafters, there was no chance in hell it would have worked properly. So, after a few VERY dirty days, I had over a truck full of old insulation (filled with nails, roofinmg material, and other cosutruction debris) to take up to the dump. The trusy LandCruiser hauled it all away in style!

After several additional trips to Home Depot, picking up 40 bales of cellulose insulation, a new trip to pick up the heavy and bulky blower I finally managed to get a promise from the wife to man the blower. It was all done today!

But, man was it dusty up there. I would not even want to think what it would have been like, should we have decided to blow in fiberglass insulation instead. Wife, outside in the winter sun, complained about the dust, but I can guarantee that she saw less than 10% of what I had up in the attic.

Solid Waste

Finally today got around to get the old roofing material off the drive way and on a trailer to the King County Solid Waste transfer station, down in Houghton. Since I was doing a run any way, I also took some stuff from neighbors. No point in having them doing a separate run.
A flush with the garden hose and an "ocular" inspection to make sure no nails were hiddin in the piles of discarded roofing, the drive way is now in its best Christmas dress.

Final Electrical Inspection + attic insulation

Had called for an electrical inspection and expected "Art", our neighborhood inspector to show up, since he's been here from the very beginning and know what I'm up to, but this time he was just to busy. Instead "Walt" showed up and just as Art before, he approved of my work and signed off the final electrical inspection. Means that I can now start to focus on getting everything properly (insulation and drywall) covered up inside.

Also started cleaning up the attic (to be a third floor later on) in order to properly insulate over our bedrooms, craftroom, bathrooms, and office. It was originally done sometime in the early 60ies, and the insulation lists it as being 2 and 3/4 inch, but at the very best, it has been one inch thick. Add to that the very crappy workmanship when it was put in, it probably has done done much good. This time around, I'll add a solid layer of blow-in insulation. Hope to get all that taken care of just after Christmas.

Feeder runs

A small concern have been how to get power to the new addition from the service entrance panel. First plan was to use some old and now decommissioned feeder runs that I disconnected earlier in the project. At the same time, even though these wires were in excellent condition, I really wanted brand new wiring all the way from the panel. Just "feels" better knowing that it has been installed correctly.

I needed to cut up the plywood sheeting in any case in order to get to the old wires and relocate them, and when that was done, realized that the old feeder actually moved fairly easily through the floor joists. Time to gamble and pull them out.

I attached a "fish line" to them and pulled them out. Worst that can happen now is that I have to hack up the drywall celing in the downstairs family room, but based on how easy the wires came out, someone when the house was built in the early 60ies actually planned a bit and did drill decent sized holes through all the joists.

With help from John (neighbor) I managed to get four brand new circuits pulled all the way to the SE panel, and that allows plenty of options for wiring up the new addition. It was sort of gamble, but this time it paid off. Final inspection of the electrical install can now happen early next week.

Cans over the garage

In a construction project, or rather a remodel project, everything is sort of connected. You can't start B until A is finished, and C has to be done before A can be touched, all the while not until you're done with B. Makes sense?

We've had an area over the garagedoors open for a while, allowing COLD air in on top of the insulation in the garage ceiling, and thereby also cooling down the hardwood floor in the master bedroom. That open area was waiting for recessed lights (cans), but before those could be put in, had to drill all the floor joist AND get the electrical feeders run, as well as some rewiring of old outlets and outside lights. Everything takes time, and since all this had to be done from the outside, I was not eager until we had a few dry but not too cold, days.

It's all taken care of now and the end result looks good (wood paneling will be added in the spring), but most important is that we finally got this area better sealed up than ever before. When we moved in to the house in 2000, there was no insulation in the ceiling above the garage, nor were the garage doors insulated or sealed. All led to really cold hardwood floors, I mean REALLY cold, in the master bed room.

I took care of that in the fall of 2001 and it made a world of differcne but I was never totally satisfied with how the overhang over the garage doors was insulated or finished. That's now taken care of and should show a noticeable difference indoors.

Electrical, scaffolding, baffles, and insulation

Past couple of days have been spent on running electrical wires (rough-in) and having that inspected (with flying colors), so insulation finally can be put in. It is starting to get cold outside and wife wants to turn on the heat...

A run down to Lowe's to pick up insulation filled the Cruiser to the brink, but I managed, dog in the passanger seat, to get everything I needed home in one run.

In order to reach up to the tall ceiling, I had to build a scaffold, or rather an intermediate floor, so I could put up the baffles and the R-30 insulation up between the roof rafters.

Modified drain line

After a few days of contemplation, I decided that I was not totally happy with the way Tom did have the storm drain line put together. On top of that, we had to wait a little for the roof to dry off before going up and nailing down one of the final edges. And since we had left the trench open, I decided to attack and modify the drain line for better flow of water from the downspouts. Even with a good sloping yard, one does not want to hav to dig this up in a few years because there's an area with a bit of backwater where debris will collect over time and clog.

Never easy to work on a 4" pipe that is "immobile" at both ends but with some dedication and brut force, we managed to make it the way it sort of should have been built, with much better "flow".

Rest of the day was spent working on putting up the gutter over the deck (remind me that I HATE piecemeal gutters), cleaning up (showers), and then running around Eastside shopping since it was dad's last day in town. We were sort of lucky since the rain literally started just as we had pulled in all the tools...
Day ended with dinner at at Mexican cantina and a few margaritas. Well deserved I must say.

Sort of mazed that dad, at over 76 years of age, both is able and so interested in helping out with this stuff. Most people would just call someone and have it done, with far less final quality (guess that's the American way), but I really want this to be a HOME well built that can stand literally for centuries, not just a "spec house" who's sole purpose is to be "flipped" to the person one can trick the easiest.

Shitty Gutter System

Gutters are no high tech items. They are simply a tray, diverting water away from where you do not want it (near or inside the walls) to a more desired place (drain, dry well, flower bed, etc). Simple, been done for centuries.

Bought gutters at Lowes. Both HomeDepot and Lowes carries the same system from Amerimax Products. Does look flimsy, overly complicated, and literally a pretty shitty system overall. Since I have good help (dad) will put up over the critical areas, but likely to review again when the spring arrives.

Get the hell out of there...

The guys came early this morning, eager to finish up and finally "get the hell out of there", after essentially two months on location. In a way, it'll be empty without them.

Tom started putting Tyvek on the front with Mike's assistance. When he started (alone) in the back, I offered to help but he declined. It was sort of amazing to see how he managed to handle that giant roll, all by himself. But Steve eventually showed as well and now Tom eagerly accepted the help. Later I heard that Tom did take a spill into one of the bushes out back. I guess that changed his mind.

Mike added brackets on the inside that the inspector called out for, and then started gathering the tools and other miscellaneous material left all over. With my help, it did not take that long to load everything up on the trucks and get some time to relax. These guys might looks like they are from "the hood" (they aren't, staged photo) and they have proven to be a great group of skilled craftsmen, that really done an excellent job. Tom has been the one who has been here from day one (over two months ago), and he is an increadibly hard worker. Never leaving before he has made sure that he is happy, which most of the time is a more stringent requirement than what I or inspector is asking for.

With the guys now gone it sort of turned empty here and I started washing the drive way and getting all nails, saw dust, and other debris taken care of. Has not been looking this nice - nor been this clean in months!. Just the side benefit of now being able to drive on it w/o risking a puncture is worth "millions". Maybe in a while we can even get the cars into the garage as well...

Just as I finished the drive way, the sun came out in force and it was the perfect time to "tack off" the final loose ends on the roof. I had a number of runs that needed to be tacked down, as well as some longer pieces that needed to simply be cut off. This time, it was all done with harness and rope - properly secured!

We also folded up the gigantic tarps that we've used as weather protection (but really only needed one day). Tarps that are 26'x40' are not small, and just a little wind moves them with a lot of force. Despite late evenings, it looks like we've been able to keep these tarps w/o any ruptures or punctures. Time to put them up on Cragslist so they can be used on their next project.

Once all done, a LONG shower and later a great sushi dinner with dad at Salmon Creek sort of ended this hectic phase. I still have a hard time realizing that we actually have gotten this far (this late in the fall) w/o any major weather issues. It being November, we could have seen both wind storms and torrential rains, but we've been really, really lucky.

Sprint to the finish

The rain we did get on Wednesday was thankfully shortlived and Thursday - after the morning fog lifted - came with decent and warm weather. It gave us the chance to do the leaking valley "the right way", even though it'd result in a real waste of this expensive stuff (Polyglass). Probably have four layers in a few areas, but better to leave it and make sure the top layer is "solid". The rest will eventually (summer heat) fuse together to form a solid mass of "hard core" roofing felt.

Mike dug up for foundation drainage and installed that with Tom's guidance/direction. This ended up being somewhat of a rush job, and I was not too happy with how the connection was finally done. The main gutter drain hits a sharp 90 and it'll eventually clog with debris up a little used pipe. Tom offered to redo it, but I declined. It was more important that he continued inside and finished the sheathing. I can always take care of the drainage later so I asked them to just leave it exposed. Need a few days to think about how it can be done better.

When the guys left in the late afternoon, essentially all the framing work had been completed. It was time for me to start cleaning up the drive way from the "big stuff". Dad and I went at it for a while, but it was not too long until I cursed and jumped high in the air: I had stepped on a nail, or rather on TWO nails! Both penetrated my clog, but only one got into the foot, just behind the toes. Luckily I'm still pretty fast and it really never got any chance to penetrate deep inside. Up to date on Tetanus shots, so I should be OK.
In retrospect, if this is the only incident (apart from sliding off the roof) we've had, I'm still pretty happy.

More rain - and a LEAK!

Wednesday turned out to be a wet day, but only during hte morning hours. Never the less, we had a small trickle of water coming down along the newly installed beam in spanning the entry way. A leak in the valley we worked so hard on - while disputing the approach - yesterday. Thankfully it was not more than a small and short lived trickle. In one way, it was a good sign, allowing us to redo that darn valley the right way tomorrow - the way it should have been done from the beginning!

Due to the weather, the guys worked mostly inside today, finally getting the long awaited supporting beam into the kitchen wall. Originally the architect had placed this one in the basement, supported by two additional pillars, but that was all due to a drawing error, adding four non-existing feet to the span. Since it now was only 11 feet, one long beam would do it, and putting it upstairs inside the kitchen wall made it all much easier than pulling out floor joists and all the associated wiring.

After the beam was in, Tom continued sheathing the internal shear walls. He even managed to get the sheets to pass all the way past and behind the stairs, allowing for a much stronger shear. It also gave me the chance to finally properly insulate that wall since it is towards the garage. If nothing else, it does add to the fire protection as well.

Rain...

Worked on the roof most of the day, at least after it heated up. Hopeless to be up while the morning dew is still present.
debated a long time how to do the "valley", and after having gotten too many inputs from too many people (sounds familiar), we decided on a compromise (which turned out to be a mistake). This Polyglass stuff though is good. With a little bit of heat, it melt (or floats) together to form a tights seal between rolls. And, it is guaranteed to be able to handle 90 days in Miami sun and rain, so it should last a long time in the Washington winter shade.

Very late Tuesday evening we got a few sprinkles. Of course we're not 100% done with the roof, but an "emergency patch" should be keeping the fort until tomorrow when we are supposed to at least get some dry (and potentially sunny) weather. Thursday looks decent, but after that fall/winter is arriving to the Puget Sound region, making any outside remodel work wait until we get into april/May. Will we be able to wrap it up? Really have no choice...

Apart from that, after me adding a layer of insulation to the front, the guys finished sheathing it and the house now actually looks finished, not counting siding. Left for them now is some shear wall work inside and adding another beam for reinforcement inside a kitchen wall. Add to that a little digging around the foundation for drainage, they are getting pretty close to wrap up this project.

Way behind - on updates...

Been working 16-17 hour days for the past ten days in order to benefit from great fall weather, so updates are coming slowly. Apart from sunny skies though, we've had (and still have) a great set of contractors. Without them, nothing would have been possible!

It now looks like we'll be able to be "sealed up" and weatherproof by late Tuesday, just in times for the rains that are rolling in for Wednesday...

On the below pictures, you can see "a before" and "in progress". It is still the same house - on the inside.

Falling - off the roof!

We started today putting on the VERY expensive underlayment (roofing felt). Normally you just put on a type of "tar paper", its thickness determines it durability, but since this is likely to be exposed for a while, I decided to go with something called "Polyglass". At about 7 times the price for normal "felt", it'd better be good.

It took a little while before we go the hang of it, but after a few laps, it was much easier. But as with everything new, it takes longer time than planned, and darkness started to fall. After having placed big flood lights and really only producing pitch dark shadows, we decided it was time to quit. But just as I was crawling to put in a few more "tacks" for the night, I suddenly started sliding backwards - towards the edge (and the abyss). With a small amount of moisture on the Polyglass, not even its sticky surface will halt a sliding person. It did not take long before I slid over the edge, went airborne, and landed perfectly in a large bush below. It was such a perfect and soft landing, still standing straight up, so my feet did not even touch the ground. Wow! If this would have been closer to the street, it could have ended really bad! Harness on from now on!

New roof almost on

Tired, so it'll be just pictures for now. Will update more during the week, but the guys did an amazing job today in essentially finishing the roof sheathing and putting up all the framing for the front gable. So far, we've been doing OK with the tarps...

Gigantic Progress!

Just after 7.00 AM, Tom and Jim rolled in their big white truck. At about 7.30 AM, Pat and the rest of the crew showed up, for a total of six abled bodied men. The rains had subsided overnight, and the sky was cold and clear. You could see that these guys meant business. Forecast right now calls for good days at least into next week, so the goal is to get the new roof on the house - preferably today, but Saturday is the spare day.

I was the first one on the roof, pulling off the tarps. After having had a nice and properly prepared surface laid out on Thursday afternoon, it was now a breeze to pull these tarps out of the way. But man was it slick up there. I think it dipped below freezing for at least a few hours and a thin layer of ice had formed on everything up there. Not the least the old torch-down roof.

But this was a day of big progress. Plates were finished early in the morning and by 10.00 AM, the crane showed up and shortly thereafter the truck with the new trusses. Did they look small from up here? Would we even get standing room inside? It wasn't really until they'd been all lifted up on the "roof" and I could lay down inside one and "test", I realized it might be even better than expected. I can even stand with my arms straight up and not touch the ceiling (to be). As you can see from the pictures, so can my dad who's been enjoying (and being instrumental in helping me along the way) the progress and seeing American building techniques up close.

Before proceeding with the trusses, the guys they replaced the big beam spanning the hallway and extended it so the old closet can be totally taken out for a wide and open hallway. Just have to move one switch to make that happen.

Seeing Tom, Pat, Jim, and Steve work away was quite amazing. It did not take long until the first truss was up and one could see the profile from the backyard. The rest of them sort of popped into place during the day, even though Pat considered the pace a tad on the slow side. This is after all a remodel, and unknown issues are popping up all the time.

The best surprise of the day was the girder trusses. Instead of just allowing for a smaller opening above the existing hallway, these trusses now allow us to open EVERYTHING up all the way through. Something to consider when the inside is to be attacked.

Roof is off!

After a day of heavy rains, today was followed by a beautiful - and for roof work - perfect day! We actually had a thin layer of ice on the roof this morning, but it melted away as the sun came out.

Tom and Jim worked mostly on the front, building up support for the new facia, while we continued tearing the old roof off. By late afternoon, it was all gone, and cleaned up (well, maybe not in a perfect sense since we tossed a lot of debris out of sight into the backyard). Managed to get the tarps up and anchored by 7.30PM so we almost got it all done by sunset. Just bracing for a cold night inside since there is nothing to trap the heat in the house and the forecast calls for bone chilling temperatures (considering Seattle weather).

Lots on the plate for tomorrow, so no lengthy update tonight. I'll let the photos here talk for themselves.

PS: Do not EVER - EVER - buy a Firestorm Powertool by Black&Decker. I did by a reciprocating saw (aka "sawsall") specifically for this project and it did not even last an hour. A real piece of junk that goes back to the store! I borrowed Tom's DeWalt saw (also by Black&Decker, go figure...) during the day today and if we would have had that one from the get go, it would have cut the roof demolition time by more than 50% - what a difference! :DS