Finishing my attic

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:20 pm

So there's big changes going on round here.... my crazy mother-in-law is moving in because she didn't plan at all for her future and it is either she moves in here or she ends up on the streets.

I was outvoted, so she is moving in.

She is getting the downstairs master suite, the wife and I have moved our bedroom upstairs, and in a few months we are converting the storage room into an upstairs bathroom... which means that phase 1 is to find someplace else for all the stuff in the storage room.

Looking at you, attic.

Right now there is just a fold-out ladder into the attic... that won't do. Once it is all insulated and the floor locked down stairs are going to be built. I didn't think to start taking pics until about 4 hours into construction, so here some are:

Here's some of how it has been

Here's some of the 3-foot kneewall. There will be insulation and drywall, ultimately.

The is the soil pipe or soil stack. For you city folk who are ignorant of such things, it is a vent from your sewage system that allows air into the system, so when you flush your toilet you don't hear gurgling from your bathtub drain. Mine happened to be in the way by a few inches so we cut it and angled it back out of the new wall. It typically goes to your roof so you don't smell fumes from your shit tank.

And here's the new kneewall built. Also today we put baffles up in the roof rafters so air can still circulate once the insulation is up... I should have gotten a pic of those.

Anyway, tomorrow's task is to cut a big hole in the wall for a new window, receive a big delivery of drywall that will be brought into the attic through that window hole, installation of said window, and wiring, and hopefully lots of insulation stapled up.

Not screwing around on this project.

I have already begun referring to the attic as "House Level 3" and the basement as "Sub Level 1."

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Post by **GORDON** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:05 pm

So while I was doing the wiring for electricity and LAN, UnkBill was ripping a hole in the attic wall. The big wooden "T" down by the back door was the tool I built to lift the power/coax lines up that cross over the driveway (you can see them there to the left of the big "T"). I wasn't sure how big the delivery truck would be. It was a good thing I was prepared, I ended up having to lift them about 5 feet. Standing in 2 feet of snow. Did I mention we've gotten a shitload of snow in the few days since I ordered all the stuff? Big drifts. Pain in the ass. Truck driver was cool and dealt with it. Props to him.

I decided to go ahead and pay a little extra to get the boom-truck (different from a boom stick) out there to put the 30 sheets of drywall and 15 things of insulation into the 3rd level. They lifted that shit right up to the hole and we pulled it in.

Shit vent pipe, power, and Cat6.

Here are the baffles I mentioned in the last post. They allow air to circulate from the eaves to the ridge of the roof. Without the baffles air would not be able to vent through the insulation and it would promote mold growth.

Here's some of the drywall, insulation, and the existing ladder to the attic. Plan is to remove the ladder, fill in the hole, and build stairs. I really need to get on the stair design. I can see it in my head but that doesn't help the people building it.

Insulation going up.

The glare is bright but that is the new window.

Tomorrow's goal is to finish insulating, install new lighting, and begin putting up drywall. It's my wife's birthday weekend so work will not resume until Monday. Hoping to cut the hole for the new stairs by Thursday.

Post by **TheCatt** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:12 pm

Questions:

Does your municipality not require:
1) blocking at the top of the kneewall? (going across between the joists)
2) backing on the insulation? (plywood or tyvex)
3) Something higher than R-21 for the cieling?

Awesome though. I would love to do this for my house.

Are you just doing living space, or any plumbing?

Post by **GORDON** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:19 pm

Let me answer 1 and 2 together:

The nearest "municipality" is the township, then the county. Remember when we talked about pulling permits for the basement? Nah, don't bother if nothing is visible from the street.

So,

1 - Don't know, doesn't matter.

2 - Don't know, doesn't matter.... but I don't think so.

3 - Can't because the roof rafters are 2x6's, and R-21 was the highest I could find designed for 2x6 space. Anything higher is thicker, and there is no value in getting the higher rating then smashing it down. Maybe the house was never built to code to begin with, which I don't have a hard time believing, but I am working with the roof I have, not the roof I want.

It's just living space, no plumbing... new plumbing is going on House Level 2, and that project hasn't started yet and that will be a new thread. Finishing the attic is designed to give the wife more climate controlled storage space since we are going to losing the existing storage room for a new bath, and the other half is to give my kid his chill-out room since his existing chill-out room is going to become his grandmother's domain.

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Post by **TheCatt** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:33 pm

Very cool. I'm a little jealous. If you and unk want to come down here and escape winter for a bit, let me know

Post by **GORDON** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:36 pm

I've got to say, these projects are only manageable because I have one of those super-home-improvement-warehouses 5 miles away, which is lucky since I live in the boonies. One day when working on the bathroom last month I hit Menard's 3 times in one day. Goddam.

Just use my pics as a primer and do it yourself... everything you need to know is there if you look at it with a discerning eye.

Also Unk's pneumatic nailer is awesome to use.

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Post by **TheCatt** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:51 pm

Yeah, I would need a bunch of tools to finish it off. And time. And skill. And a discerning eye.

If only I could write software to do it for me.

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Post by **GORDON** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:54 pm

Another thing.... when I was doing the basement, it was the first construction I had done in 20 years.... the first wiring ever, the first ceiling, the first flooring, the first drywalling. I agonized over every decision because for the most part I was learning and figuring it out as I went.

Now, since I've already done it once, this shit is easy. I want to wire it up so I go to Menard's and spend approximately 4 minutes grabbing all the stuff off the shelves and actually wire everything up in about an hour because I know how to do it now and it is no longer a big deal.

So jump in! Learn as you go... and one project will roll into the next.

Post by **GORDON** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:58 pm

TheCatt wrote:Yeah, I would need a bunch of tools to finish it off. And time. And skill. And a discerning eye.

If only I could write software to do it for me.

Ha, write that software.

"Time" is the biggest thing. This is a rush project so it is every day, all day... I am whipped. Most peeps can't drop everything and just do a house project 40 hours a week. I did the basement over years as time and money was available.

Tools.... there's a few standard things.... hammer, utility knife. I bought a staple gun for this project to hang the insulation, even though I already had one for roofing (different style) that wasn't optimal but would have worked.

You buy a few tools each project, and before you know it you have a good set and you feel manly and your wife gives you all kinds of sex. I know your wife gave ME a lot of sex when she saw my basement.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:26 pm

Also Unk's pneumatic nailer is awesome to use.

Wuss. I just pelvic thrust them into the wall.

Post by **GORDON** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:31 pm

Malcolm wrote:
Also Unk's pneumatic nailer is awesome to use.
Wuss. I just pelvic thrust them into the wall.

I've driven 100,000 nails with a hammer, and I have driven 10,000 screws with my drill.... I have earned the right to use a nailer.

See the pic up there with the hole in the side of the house? I actually told Unk this morning, "I woke up early and was so excited about this project that I got this huge erection and it knocked that hole in the wall right there."

Post by **GORDON** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:01 pm

Nothing too drastic today. We wired in some of the electricity, and finished insulating. There is an access panel on each side that need doors.

Some of the insulation strips aren't stapled down yet because of access issues. I will get it before we drywall on Monday.

Left this uninsulated for now because an electric junction box is going in right behind it, and we also replaced that panel of plywood on the floor because it was warped.

Here's the view out the new window. Like my light pole? Blew over in a massive wind storm last month, along with a big tree you can almost see in the background (and along with the tied-down trampoline, goddammit). I will be chopping both things up in the Spring.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:26 pm

I was outvoted, so she is moving in.

Lost the 1-1 tiebreaker?

Post by **GORDON** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 7:35 pm

This is a couple days of work, I didn't get around to making an update for a couple days. Monday was a sick-day for both Unk's and my wife (that's a weird sentence... both of our wives collectively?), and we had some school delays which kept me from getting an early start. We aren't quite as far along as I'd hoped this week, but nothing terrible yet. I also don't have any pics of today's progress, so these pics are current as of last night:

Electric lines have been run, knee-wall drywalled.

Recessed lighting cans installed.

Old fluorescent lights removed, new lighting active with a wall switch by the window... where the stairs will be. Hit the top of the stairs, turn on the attic lights. My old wheelchair ended up being very useful for wheeling around under the slanted roof driving screws, like a car mechanic on his little wheelie backboard. Otherwise I would be all hunched over killing my knees and back. Looking forward to using it during the mudding phase, too. I hate drywalling.

East end of the attic drywalled.

West end not done yet, but we boarded almost all the way to the end, today.

And this is the room in which the stairs are getting built. I need to stop procrastinating and design them.

Unk is taking the long weekend off, there are a handful of things I can do solo over the weekend and that gives my wife time to clean out the kid's play room before we start cutting into the ceiling. Hope to start cutting stairs by Tuesday or Wednesday. If I get done what I want to get done this weekend, I don't see why we wouldn't be ready by Wednesday. Good times.

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Post by **GORDON** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:18 pm

Spent the last couple days doing random things.... insulation here and there, some wiring, prep to build the dividing wall between the lounge and the storage area. Gave Unk the weekend off while I caught up on things I can do solo without having to pay him.

Did some designing today. Coming soon:

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:39 pm

You wish you had a 8.5" rise.

Post by **GORDON** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:47 pm

I would have preferred a more gentle 7.5" rise but that would only have left 28" between the bottom step and a facing wall. With 8.5" I can eliminate an entire step and give myself a more respectable 3 feet between the bottom step and facing wall. It's slightly steep, but these are attic stairs and those are frequently steep.

Post by **TheCatt** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 8:37 am

8.5" rise is illegal where I live. Have to do 7 7/8" I think.

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 10:30 am

Must suck there. There are tons of designs online with attic steps that are steep as hell.

Post by **TheCatt** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 1:27 pm

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I'd love to live somewhere more rural with land... if I could find a place like that which was still convenient to work, shopping, amenities, fast internet, etc.

Too many trade-offs.