Prepping for tiling - Cement boards

Spent most of Saturday putting down cement boards and prepping the floor for ceramic tiles. Apart from the normal thinset, a screw every 8th inch is needed to ensure that the we get a stable base for for the tiles. About 400 screws later and over 50 lbs of thinset, we were almost done, but for sure done in for the night. Hard work getting all the screw to properly sink in.
Actually, had to take almost every one out on Sunday and counter sink them in order to get a proper surface - even though Hardie's instructions tells you not to, but I refuse having screw heads being clearly above the surface - makes setting tiles impossible!


At least some is done


Just like a pro - hard to find good workers these days

Fixed the "hidden" corner

Dad built this corner when he was here in April, but one can see his eye sight is not what it used to be (and, if that matters, neither is mine), so I decided to "straighten it up" and make it plumb before putting up the drywall.


Being plumb is important! Hidden corner with heating duct going down under the floor (in insulated box) to pop up under the large western windows.


Secret lines... (and mandatory temporary smoke detector, a tad low, but still better than nothing).


Yes, there is mastic underneath, and then the duct tape is secured with metal tie wraps to ensure it stays in place even it dries out over the years (cheap insurance).
Wires to three way light over stairs in background and control circuit to central vacuum haging down. In here (but hidden) is also Cat5 to a security camera, power to the same, wiring to a new alarm system keypad, and other goodies. Part of corner will eventually be an "odd" shelf, since there is room to "do something" with it.


Everything is sealed and nicely secured. Central vacuum pipes to be terminated as soon as drywall is up.


Home made weights work as well!

Heating and insulation underneath...

With the duct extended and now terminating in the crawl space, it was time to route it to where it was needed - a floor outlet under the big westerly windows. I could have routed an insulated flexibled duct, a quick install, but they really do not last, and the last space I want to have (heated) air leak out of a duct is outside the heatid living quarters (do not care as much is a duct is leaking inside there, the air still heats the house).

Routing the rigid duct and mounting it was not too tricky, after that we insulated it and built a box around it. Also added an electrical conduit for futre outside lights (easier to do it now than to put an ugly one on the outside).

With box finished, really left to do was to insulate the floor with R-30 fiberglass batts. With dad cutting batts outside, I pushed them into place and it did not take ling until the entire place actually also started to look good. Since this is going to be an "active" stiorage area, we covered it all up in OSB boards and could carry in all the stuff (mainly firewood and lumber) that we removed in order to be able to work there.

Upstairs, one could note a difference in that the floor no longer had that "canny" sound to it, but a more dampened "thump". Insulation is not "only" for energy efficiency...


BTW, also added a conduit for a fire alarm/heat detector here. Not needed by code, but it can be a cheap piece of mind since there is a lot of wood stored under here.



Duct from upstairs


Running under joists


Insulation, insulation


Cranky two-dimensional bend since I wanted the duct hidden up in between floor joists where possible.


Mastic underneath and notice the metal ties that secure the duct tape. No leaks here - ever!


Stringer anchored to the contrete wall. Notice how the batts are allowed to fully fill the cavities. OSB will be put up here as a "Celing" since this is after all a "working" storage area, and insulation needs to be protected.


Box is taking shape


See, bend is gone, hidden...

Wanting something to do...

Dad, visiting from Sweden, wanted something to do, so he was tasked with casing in the inside (hidden) corner. Sort of an odd design, but this is a remnant from the old (exterior) overhang. Earlier this was over the steps leading up to the front door, now it was at waist height inside the new addition.

After having pulled a new 6" heating duct, a new branch for the central vacuum, power, and alarm cables, it was time to close it up. Fairly simple task, but never the less needed.










Big saw for a small hole


Protection for the metal casing, and so no animals step on the sharp edges and cut up some paws (like in 2006...).

Taping and mudding...

With me having an inherited disgust for drywall, I realized that the "finishing" of said products was not really up for me.

In comes Ben, who some long time ago had promised to give me a hand with the taping and mudding. Clearly an expert and it looks like a "whole different place".

Ben was rewarded with some beer and promises for future help when he needs a hand with electrical, mechanical, or carpentry stuff (+wife tiling his bath room floor).


In action...


...from a different angle, different profession

Scaffolding gone - drywalling done!

With scaffolding gone, all of the T&G up in the ceiling, it was easy to work in a cleaned up area and put up the few remaining pieces of drywall. Sure, a lot of cutting around windows, but still not to bad.






Can't see it in this picture - and that is sort of by purpose - but did spend some considerable time ensuring that the vapor barriers seals as good as possible along each side of the ridge beam.

Painting - upside down

With all the strips in place, all the trim and fitting done, I put on two layers of clear polyurethane since the wood otherwise has a tendency to rapidly turn yellow. It will do that eventually, but it'll take longer time if treated.

I thought about doing this before the strips went up, but I really did not have time - or room - and it wasn't too hard to put on these two coats - working upside down.

With the ceiling completed, time to remove the scaffolding so the final sheets of drywall on the "walls" can be hung.

Vaulted ceiling completed

Wood is expensive in the US, and therefore most everyone use (the hated) drywall. Thought for a while to put up drywall in the ceiling, but I knew I could not do that myself (due to the sheer weight of the sheets and the tricky finishing) and I just do not like the look of it.

In comes knotty pine T&G. Not as cheap material wise as drywall, but it is sturdier, can be put up by myself, and it looks a lot better. Actually, adding all the finishing costs to a drywalled ceiling, wood problably still comes out ahead in this case.

After rigorous work with the vapor barrier to ensure as good as possibly moisture management, I started nailing up the T&G strips. Managed to get 16 footers, meaning they'd span the entire distance and no need for joints anywhere.
And, biggest help, apart from three small wooden strips with screws, came after a trip up to Harbor Freight and the purchaee of a cheap pneumatic brad gun (nail gun). W/o that one, this job would have been sheer hell, working alone (although still better than drywall).


This little piece of wood - and its two brothers - made solo hanging the 16 foot strips easy


No cheating on the vapor barrier!


Notice generous overlaps. Empty cavities will be filled with insulation.


Do not trust the "faced" batts, so a proper vapor barrier is to be added before the drywall goes up.


See the straight cuts!


Getting the ceiling up changed it all!

Insulation completed

As much as it is NOT fun to work with fiberglass batts in a vaulted ceiling, as fun is it to say that the work is completed!

In order to reduce the chances of moisture penetration and following mold and rot damages, I probably worked on a few overkill solutions, but a vaulted ceiling is an area where you are better safe than sorry. Once it is up, you cannot get to it later. There's not attic to crawl into, or an exterior hatch for inspection. No, it has to be done with care, quality, and a proper design from day one, so you never will have to touch it again.

In order to allow for proper air flow and ventilation under the roof deck, I decided not to just "trust" that there'd be a void between the top of insulation and the underside of the roof deck. In order to ensure adequate space I put up 1x2" stringers, running along the roof rafters, from the bird blocks, all the way up to the ridge vent. On these stringers, I nailed sheets of masonite boards, creating a "plenum" to ensure unobstructed air movement from intake at bird blocks to discharge at ridge vents.

Did take a few hours and some added material, but after having seen what lack of proper ventilation and moisture management can do to a vaulted ceiling, it was really a no brainer.


Notice how the stringers meet up with the bird blocks at the soffit. A masonite board will be strung across the stringers, creating a continouos "plenum" from soffit to ridge vent.


Roof deck cut wide open to ensure proper ventilation under valley


Notice box and wiring for mandatory hard-wired smoke/fire detectors


Even cross members were "stripped" to allow for proper air flow

Torching down in the valley

The valley is sort of a compromise. It only slopes 1/12 and is also an area where there is a lot of water congregating during rains, before draining down over the front door. But, w/o lifting the roof over living room/kitchen as well (no budget, nor weather this year...), this was the only solution. It was clear we needed some type of "hot mop" or torch down to ensure that we have a 100% waterproof membrane in this area.

On the other hand, the valley has done just fine with just our installation of Polyglass last year, so my concerns are probably just a tad unwarranted.

Felix put in a layer of asphalt paper to ensure that we do not burn down the house (or rather, damage the underlayment, he does not care for the house...) and then showed great skills in "torching" the top layer. Even managed to find a color that nicely matches the green metal roof.



Nice view from up here


HOT!


No missing any areas


Master of fire!


One has to be careful to not burn too much...




Warm even on a November day!








A nice "flaot out" is needed to ensure that the layers really seals together