How predatory remodeling ruined my house in a matter of days after closing
I need to frame a closet around the water and sewer entrances. This is where the water main comes into the house. It includes a shutoff valve and a meter. The sewer clean out access is in the floor. I won’t need to access these very often, so I want them out of sight. The technique of using wash down paneling on treated plywood worked well in the mechanical room, so I decide to do the same here.
It’s my first time using metal studs, but I’m getting the hang of it. I’m also intentionally leaving an air gap between the outer stud wall and the insulation. This is because basements need to breathe, and you don’t want any possible moisture or condensation right up against the drywall.
The 3″ gap at the bottom of the drywall is intentional. A carpenter taught me a good trick for attaching baseboards to metal studs. Typically drywall is installed floor to ceiling. Instead, use 1/2″ plywood ripped into 2 7/8″ strips. If it’s a basement, use treated plywood. Attach the plywood strips to the bottom of the metal studs. Then, hang drywall the rest of the way up. This makes it easy to attach baseboards with a finishing nailer.
Harry helped me install this new soffit in the laundry room today.
The state inspector signed off on these new service panels today! They’re hooked up to the duplex meters outside.
Later, I added some more framing around the service panels. These will be used for hanging drywall in the future.
I designed and built framing for the basement hallway today. When I bought the house, the hallway was an open passage directly in the laundry room. As part of the new design, I’ve added a door into the laundry room, and a linen closet at the end of the hallway.
Heavy rains are hitting the Twin Cities again today. Glad we had drain tile installed. At first I was nervous that the sump pump wasn’t working. But it’s actually just very quiet! I only heard it turn on when I was standing right next to it. We’ve worked so hard to repair our home, and this system is protecting our investment.
Our new basement window is just below the grade, so I customize and install a window well and fill it with gravel. I also paint the cedar trim around the window.
I uninstall the toilet once again, and continue framing the exterior walls with metal studs. Meanwhile, Amáda lays the bathroom tile. I’m so glad she has the tools and experience for this! I have neither.
Our new deck is great, but in autumn lots of dry leaves collect under it and are hard to remove. To keep leaves out, I add some plastic lattice deck skirting, around the perimeter with an access door at one end.
I complete the framing of another stud wall. This one is for the additional bedroom we’ve incorporated into the new basement floorplan.
