Teaching Evie Animal Sounds

We've been working with Evie to teach her animal sounds, and I wanted to make sure she got the most important ones.  So we finally hung my gallery of monster illustrations I picked up at FanExpo last year.

The Beholder says Zorch
The Owlbear says Woot
The Displacer Beast says Mew

The Gelatinous Cube says Blub
The Umber Hulk says Klik

Basement illuminated

Well the basement is getting there, and this weekend so a lot of spit and polish.  We finished the second coat of paint, and there is a little bit of touch up to do, but we will wait until the end to do that.  We also finally wired up all the wall sconces.  Those have been a long time coming, and they fill the room with light (okay, it might be a bit too much light, but one of the principle goals of the room is a games room, and for that we need light.

From this point there is a couple plugs left to wire, and none of the plugs are hooked up to breakers yet.  That takes care of electrical, short of the light fixtures that don't exist yet. 

Next step is floor and trim, we have a bunch of carpet samples, and I think we've settled on one, we are just waiting on a price and setting up the install.  After carpet is trim, and I'm having a devil of a time with a contractor, so I'm looking for a second or third quote, because the first guy has fallen off the face off there earth.  I'm hoping that ~3 weeks and we done.  So yeah!

Maybe when I'm not spending every free moment in the basement, I'll get back to being more social :)

As you enter from the foyer

What Erin likes to call the Under Kitchen, I hate to quibble, but it is more a kitchenette.

Looking back at the entrance, and the pocket door

Main room, debris strewn

"hallway" to bathroom

Art niche, and horrifying tangle of wires which belong to the three-way

Looking back at the other half of the main room and the under kitchen

Basement Progress

I know it has been an age and a day since I've last posted with any seriousness, and not the least of which was about the progress of my major project, aka the basement. The reason I've been quite is because I've been working on it nearly every chance I've had, and them collapsing with exhaustion after. I took this past week off to get some work done, and I can tell by the way my muscles have been feeling at night that they think I've accomplished a lot. I, afraid I have no pictures, because with the way I'm working, by the time I'm done for the day the light is too dim for anything decent, but here goes.

In the last week I've:

•  finished drywalling the entire main room area, ceiling included, 
• plumbed the extra water lines, 
• hung two out of four doors 
• got all the electrical rough-ins finished. 

 The doors are the most frustrating story on two counts, the first is that I hired a contractor to hang them, and he never showed up, on the plus side, I hadn't payed yet, but I really hate doors from past experience, so I had been happy to pay to let someone else deal with them. The other part of the story is that the one pocket door I hung I had prepared the opening about 0.02 m to small and had to break it down and rebuild it on the spot. Now that it is done it is a pretty cool door, but it ate most of a day just hanging it. The other issue with the pocket door is I had to cut the door's height down to fit. I cut it exclusively from the bottom, and I think it makes the door a little ugly. I have a second pocket door to hang (whose opening also needs to be fixed) I will experiment with trimming its door more evenly from top and bottom and hope it looks better.

So major task left before I finish this phase (this phase being the rough drywalling):

• hang two more doors
• 3-4 odd cut sheets of drywall in the main area
• electrical in the bathroom
• framing the bathroom ceiling
• drain stack for the under kitchen 
• drain stack for the bathroom sink
• drywall the bathroom 

That sound like a lot when I type it all out, but it hardly compares with what is accomplished. I am actually tentatively going to abandon the bathroom work other them the one wall I have to do for fire safety, and leave if to the far future.

After this is all done comes two parts I can't do my self:

• Mudding and taping 
• Trim 

Somewhere in there I will paint, and there is a shelf for the art niche I need to build and stain. After that is all done, it is electrical finalization, and inspection, and carpet. All told I'm a lottery ticket and a couple months away from being done. I suspect end of May or at the latest July, if any one wants any birthday suggestions I can point you to my local lighting store where I've picked out my ceiling fixtures. Anyways that is the update, I hacked this out on a touch screen, so I'm sure autocorrect has enhanced my normal poor spelling and grammar to near unreadable heights. I will see what I can do about pictures later.

Basement Slowgress

Since going back to work, everything has slowed down a bit.  In part for lack of time, and in part because it is getting down to the hard bits that just take time, and thought.  All of the macro framing is complete, so that leaves the duct bulkheads you can see starting to take shape here:

We are actually going to do a drop ceiling, but you still need dry wall on all the vertical surfaces, even the stupid ones.

To go with the odd framing, is the electrical, this stuff is mostly slow because of thought, we keep having to check code books, and double check each others work (Erin is doing most of the box wiring, while I'm framing.)  We are trying to keep our options open with respect to the basement as a future mini-appartment, so we are wiring the "bar" as more of a kitchenette, so everything to code with respect to the number and wiring of junction boxes near the sink, and for the future fridge.  So that means 12 gage conductor for 20 amp boxes, and two full circuits of it.  Everyone you ask when it comes to code has a different answer, and it isn't because any of them are strictly wrong, but because code seems to shift every three  to five years.  Especially where it comes to water and electricity being close to one another.

Some good examples of receptacle and sconce junction boxes.

Our dead line is fast approaching, Monday the 18th is when I've self reported to the ESA that we will be ready for inspection.  The inspection hasn't actually been booked, but I figure I have a window of about a week from that day in which the inspection will be done.  I'm optimistic we can nail this on the first inspection and avoid any delays in getting the insulation done.

Speaking of insulation, I now have two more companies coming to quote, so I think I'll have some leverage and a good price.  This is probably going to be the single largest expense in the basement, so I figure doing my research is time well spent.

Anyways, all things go according to plan I'm thinking we will have unfinished drywall in place by Christmas.

Erin Electrifying the Basement

Drilling holes and taking names

Framing nearing completion

Friday, and Sunday I got a lot done on the basement with the help of a lot of support staff with the kids.  There is a real press on now to get the framing done, and then wiring before the cold comes, given I have no insulation. 

As we frame we are finalizing the design, this weekend saw the removal of all the kneed walls, and the addition of an art niche, and some idea generation for lighting.  So we shall see what comes when we are done.

So here are some of the frames installed and started

Start of the wall to the utility room

45 Degree Frame

Utility room wall coming together.

Bathroom Area

I don't have any great pictures of the art niche, in part because it is only roughed in, we have to set the height and depth still.  More updates as they happen, Erin, as time allows is going to get the electrical started.

Friday's Work

Two more frames in, one of them is secured to the steel beam, what can
I say, I like gunpowder fasteners.

PS, ewewwwwww

I never did post the non-xray image...

More Progress, a little slower

Finished the long wall

Little tricky around the end where the cabinets will go.

Before I nailed my hand...

Finished and secured the long window wall, these frames were cut by Erin
You can see the sump pump box, aka 'future art niche'

 Erin assembled these frames while I levelled and installed them, until I nailed my finger.

Hang Nail

So there I was with the framing nailer just merrily nailing away, when on the hop on the recoil caused a second nail to get fired over the edge of the frame and through my finger.

I will spare the boring emerg story, and go right to the X-Rays

Can't recall if I posted this yet

Basement framing progressing

These frames are all secured to the concrete, and to the walls.
Basically that whole side of the basement, except the sump pump is
done.

First frames

They aren't installed just assembled, but here are the first frames
including the roughed in door.

Framing Started (slowly)

I moved a boat load of lumber today, about 116 2x4's, and so framing started a little slowly.  I also was forced to make some frustrating decisions that sent me back to Home Despot twice.  The first is that all the 80" doors are two tall, and the second is that I need to replace the insulation to preserve space and make it easier to work.

You can see here in the attached image how the existing insulation has the door frame askew, so tomorrow it has to come out, and then get the pink insulation ripped out.  So gloves, masks and long sleeves.  I hate working with insulation, but it is the right thing to do.

Subfloor Day 2 - Now for the hard stuff

Finished the subfloor today, lot of sweat and gunpowder was required and some funny cutting.  Still, two days of actual work seems pretty good.  Anyways the pictures tell the real story, and I will start framing Friday.

Day 2 Prep, move everything from one side, back to the other.

More furniture dancing

First row going down, lots of posts

Bathroom done

A tricky, tricky cut

Last board

Subfloor complete, achievement unlocked.

Subfloor Day One, Last Update

Finished up the area which I had cleared, I do need to go over it one last time with some fasteners, but the big work is done.  In total I sub-floored 336 sq. feet in one day, which I don't think is to bad for an amateur.

Tomorrow I will finish the fasteners, and then I'm going on a tool run to Bardon Depot (TM) to pick up some loaner tools.  I'm trying to convince Trevor to come by and help, because in his own words, "the only time I get to use my Dad's tools is at your house."

Other lessons learned... need knee pads, the plastic barrier starts to dig in after a while.

Subfloor Day 1 - Rapid Progress

Got the first two rows of paneling done in no time flat.  Will finish the third tonight.

Tuck tape holding the panels that are done so they don't shift until the 3rd row comes in.

Funny cut out for the corner

Subfloor Construction Day 1

Got the subfloor rolling today, literally as it comes off the roll pretty fast.  Following that I got the first sheet of plywood down, had a little bit of trouble getting the Ramset tool working properly.  After that I got the second full roll going.  I had Bryan help me get it smooth, and then I set about trimming it to fit around the odd bits of foundation and pipe.  That wasn't so bad, its worst character is actually kneeling on it hurts, but it is tough and durable seeming, but cuts when and where I want it to.  I will lay down a little more plywood before the day is through.

Like I said, just rolls out.

Tools of the trade

First sheet of OSB went down okay, I secured it (so far) with three fasteners.  The first one when shallow, the second went to the right depth and the third when through.

Unionized Labour laying down on the job.

Barrier cuts easy for the hard areas.