Mar 2008
DIY Spray Foam Insulation
Mar/28/08 08:23 AM
Yesterday I did what I would classify as both the coolest thing and the most frustrating thing that I have done in a long time.
There is just something inherently interesting about spray foam insulation. Being an artist, I could play with a can of that stuff for hours. Anyway, try 2 cans as big as propane tanks. Talk about cool!
The frustration stems from my own skill, or lack there of, to apply it evenly. That and the god-awful mess it made. In fact it was making such a mess that I don’t think that Kristin could bear to watch, so she went home.
During a meeting with the architect, we had expressed interest in using spray-foam insulation between the ceiling joists above the stairwell. Us, not knowing that it would be waaaay expensive to pay to have it done, Bret suggested that we try and do it ourselves. He recommended several companies that manufacture the foam. A few clicks on ebay and a coupla weeks later I had the goods.
We have been waiting for a good 70º day to use the foam, as per the manufacturers suggestion. Yesterday was that day. I got up at 3:30 am, went to work at 5:00 am so I could leave work early and spray the foam. Ok so maybe I was a little tired, when I began. But I unpacked the canisters and shook them up and then called Bret because he wanted to see the installation. I think it may have been his own curious fascination with foam, either that or like a criminal that feels guilty, he wanted to stand trial in case anything went awry.
The installation went as follows:
- 1.I unpacked and shook up the canisters, by rolling them around on the floor.
- 2.I placed the canisters in a central location, since they are heavy buggers. Also if you stop for more than 30 seconds to move the canisters, you have to change the tip on the gun. (This was stressful and made me rush the job.)
- 3.I spent ten to fifteen minutes looking for the right sized wrench to attach the hoses, not realizing that they provided a wrench in the kit. Then I hooked up the first hose to the “A” canister and the second hose to the “B” canister and opened both valves.
- 4.I started on the ceiling in the stairwell and worked my way up. This stuff was raining down like a blizzard. BUT DAMN IT WAS COOL!
- 5.I made sure to hit all the important areas first so that any thing I had left would just be gravy.
- 6.After I hit the stairwell I hit the ceiling in the dormer bathroom. Taking time to carefully cover our new clawfoot tub beforehand.
- 7.After that I just went until I ran out, which happened when I had only about 6 feet left to go from doing the entire upstairs. I think, however, that batts will suffice in those areas.
Overall, I’m not even really sure if I did it correctly, but Bret seemed to think I did. I would recommend this project to any of you DIYers considering something similar; because, quite frankly, it was fun.
Afterwards I went out to the bar for boy’s night, and I have to say it was a great conversation center-piece (Although in typical boy’s night fashion, the conversation quickly degraded into the fact that I was using a big hose attached to 2 canisters). Anyway...
If I could do it over, there are two things I would have done differently. First, I would have covered the floors, and second, I would have worn a hat...
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Insulation Installation
Mar/25/08 08:21 AM
We have begun the installation of our insulation, and it has gone surprisingly quick. Kristin has shown a surprising aptitude for this aspect of the project, so much so that it seems I’m the one asking, “Ok, what do we do next?”
I hung the foam baker board in the upstairs attic areas while Kristin hung most of the batts. We started downstairs and worked our way up. We were told that you are supposed to overlap the edges of the batts, but in an old house like ours, we were lucky to get one to overlap. I think at this point we are going to have to tape them or something.
Kristin hung the batts and I followed behind stapling them with the hammer stapler. While I was hanging the foam board in the attic Kristin got ahead of me, so I thought Sunday morning I would get up at 6:30 and go to the house and get caught up on the stapling while Kristin slept in. (For those of you who don’t know, our other house is just 4 doors down.) Anyway, I was at the house and I was rolling, I mean I was a stapling machine, Until...
I stapled my left middle finger to the wall. First of all, it’s a lot like smashing your finger with a hammer, but add on top of that two small puncture wounds. What you get is something very ^*%#ing painful! It would be all fine and dandy if my instinct was to leave my finger in place and remove the staple from my finger and the wall, but that was not the case. Nope, ripping my finger away as quickly as possible ruled out, thus adding to the injury. I quickly decided the only thing that would ease the pain was sympathy from my wife, so I headed out the door. A trail of tools and protective gear followed me, first I ditched the stapler that had turned on me like a pet snake. Then it was the one glove on the hand that got stapled, then the dust mask, and as I got to the door, for some strange reason I thought that I should leave the other glove because I knew it was best not to split them up. So I dropped the other glove. I would reckon that a good detective could have followed the trail from the door and surmised that I had indeed done something stupid.
I rambled into the house being sure to make enough noise to wake up my wife. It was great, I got hot tea and breakfast made for me. Some morbid part of me thought “Gee, I should smash my finger more often.”
Flooded Basement Photos
Mar/24/08 08:19 AM
As per my post on Friday, I’ve decided to make an update post on the flooded basement incident. In the above photos you can see the water line along the walls and across the face of the heat and air unit. In one of the photographs you can that it would have been at least hip deep for me and the last photo is the entry way to the basement that afforded the thousands of gallons that infiltrated the basement. Along with the inch or so of silt deposited on the floor, you can see that one of the steel support piers has already begun to rust.
This whole incident has become a touchy subject around the house. Kristin refuses to look at the photos and is taking the out of sight out of mind approach.
At this point we are debating on whether or not to claim it on our insurance and replace the entire unit, or just pay to have it repaired.
The Great Flood of '08
Mar/21/08 08:17 AM
Mother nature has seen it fit to bless us with rain, A LOT OF IT. We knew from the beginning that in heavy rains we could generate as much as an inch of water in the basement, no biggie, there is a drain down there and it generally drains off in a day or so anyway. Well, with ALL the recent work in the basement (foundation guys, plumber, heating and air guys, and the electrician), a path has been worn around the side of the house and into the basement. Ironically this path is also downhill, so any run-off follows this path and into the basement. (Yes, I just found this out the hard way.)
Troy, with Airtech, was worried when all the rain hit. I guess it was keeping him up at night because the next day he went to see what the damage was and tried to reach us. That evening, Kristin and I went to the house, and she said: “Hmmm, I have a missed call from Troy.” I got that sick feeling in my stomach, because I had a sneaking suspicion on what that call was about. I rounded up the extension cord and a clip light and headed to the basement: “Uh, Kristin!” I yelled, “You might want to come take a look at this...”
How much water did we get in the basement, you ask? Not six inches, nope not a foot, but TWO AND A HALF FEET of water! Our brand new heating and air unit was nearly half submerged...
Framing Inspection Passed
Mar/20/08 08:16 AM
Well, I met with our good buddy Vel from the city who inspected the house today, and overall I think it went GREAT! I half expected to have to redo everything I had done myself, but really it was just a few little things. Here are the things we have to change. This however is only the framing inspection.
1. Seal holes with draft stop or tuff stuff in the top plates and between floors. The shed dormer in the dining room can be sealed with spray foam insulation.
2. Sheath the back sides of the walls on second floor with some sort of rigid material: Foam sheets, or fiberboard.
3. Create access 22"x30" for both attic and above the master closet.
4. Install batt insulation
5. Blocking above closet under stairs.
And on top of that good news... Spring is here, more daylight and better weather for working on the house!
Venting
Mar/10/08 08:15 AM
This week has been a week of venting, and not the anger kind. Over the past few days I’ve installed 4 attic vents, 2 bathroom vents, 1 range hood vent, and 1 dryer vent. All this venting has indeed lowered my stress level, as we are behind schedule for our drywall, and it seems that moving in by march is probably out of the question.
The weather was beautiful this weekend as was last weekend. In fact at one point I got hot while working on the roof, but I was reluctant to take off my fleece, as it was my emergency back up to keep me from sliding off the roof.
I reasoned that if I were to slip and fall, I could go prone and spread eagle and “hopefully” my fleece would act as a velcro safety device and attach itself to the shingles. But the sweating and beautiful weather eventually won out, and I had to lose my velcro safety system. Oh, the risks I take for this house...
Open House Party
Mar/05/08 08:14 AM
Well, our open house was a success, and thanks to all our friends who came to show their support.
We had a great time, and of the 25 or so that showed up, ALL agreed that Fluffy was the “life” of the party.
Kristin and I were so frazzled by working on the house all day and preparing for the party that we forgot to take pictures of the event! So I guess you’ll just have to trust me that it was indeed a success. And luckily, no one had to use the bathroom.