Monday, June 15, 2009
A start in the bath
The tub has been in the upstairs bath for awhile. I've put down Hardiebacker on half of the floor and will be able to finally set the tub (it's on a dolly). Then, I can finish the Hardiebacker and tile the floor.
Kind of elaborate framing, but the sink is a vintage wall mount with a built in medicine cabinet and sconces on both sides. It might even need a little more framing. Makes a good place to put small tools for now.
Finally
The foam is sprayed into the rafter bays and then shaved back so that drywall can be attached to the "attic bedrooms." You can begin to get a feel for the shape of the bedroom ceilings.
Conduit was routed from the attic to electrical boxes in the bedrooms and the livingroom in case somebody wanted a telephone or cable TV. The hardwood flooring is stored around the room perimeter.
Here's "smurf tube" flexible conduit to allow the routing of data cables, etc., to the computer work station. It also starts in the attic.
Here's an interior partition wall for the bedroom, you can see the lower part is shaved back to the rafters and the upper is not. The stove chimney goes though a 12" length of ductwork stuffed with rock wool. That gives you the 2" separation from combustibles for an 8" stove pipe.
Up above the collar ties, the foam was allowed to "run wild" and was not trimmed. It averages about 10" or more, giving an R-value of greater than 45. But the real value comes from it's ability to seal air leaks. I'll try to get pictures up on that.Time out for clam digging
This is our local giant clam, the geoduck. One clam feeds four people, and that's four people that love clam.Steel framing
While waiting for the county to approve my use of spray foam insulation (3 months!!!), I framed in the downstairs. I had planned on using steel for several reasons. First, there's no fuel for fire. Second, with radiant floor heat, the steel studs act as a radiator, transmitting heat more than 50 times faster than concrete. Third, I can carry all the framing material at once on the top of my truck (it's a small area). Fourth, steel has a lower sound transmission than wood. The toilet is right next to the dining area, usually a forbidden design. But with a 6" steel stud wall and fiberglass insulation for sound, we will see.
Fireplace install
Here's the fireplace installed in the livingroom wall. The area above gets framed in with steel, some hardiebacker, and then plastered.
The zero-clearance fireplace has ductwork that will be routed to heat the upstairs.
The zero-clearance fireplace has ductwork that will be routed to heat the upstairs.