Builders Share

Stuck in Spring

Mud we keep meeting like this?

Every spring, while Cherry blossoms flank the Potomac and Magnolias offer their subtle charms to the gardens of Brooklyn, the rural communities of northern New England struggle to keep their cars from sinking into the mud of those quaint back roads that look so lovely in the fall.  The dreaded mud season is upon us.  We put on and take off our shoes a thousand times in the vain attempt to keep the clinging dirt from entering every inch of our existence.  As Pine Grosbeaks and Hairy Woodpeckers flit from branch to feeder, we humans make telltale squishy sounds on the way from car to house. Here, the mudroom is not an accessory to be appointed with cute little antique boot scrapers, Tuscan tile, and vases of Forsythia sprigs.  It's a place to throw your muddy boots and shoes and hose down your kids.

Last year I found myself using the four-wheel-drive and a tow line to pull my wife's car out of her parking space.  Talk about a giant sucking sound!  I responded to the dilemna by orderding 16 tons of hard pack --a mix of stones and stone dust-- to spread around the parking area.  The funniest part was using my snowblower as a grader. (No I didn't send rocks flying out of the discharge chute, I just used its self-propelled power to push the rocks around and it worked like a charm.)

The hard pack works well because you can move it around easily enough but once it gets packed down it's a solid, though semi-permeable, surface.

Sixteen tons wasn't quite enough stone to cover the entire driveway last year, so we spread a lot of hay to minimize the ruts and got through the season okay.  This year, however, the section that didn't get the crushed stone got real bad fast. So today, I picked up some more stone at the gravel pit, (actually shoveled 1600lbs into the back of the truck) and made another small inroad to mud-free living.

handyman

Nomentum

One thing that's plagued me through much of this project is a lack of momentum.  At the beginning, I had as much as 4 hours a day to devote to renovating the house.  Back then I was employed "only" with caring for my son who was four years old at the time, and doing other homemaker type stuff.  When my wife came home from her job, I could set off to the new house and go to work late into the evening.  But having a new house and its renovation to pay for required more than just sweat and elbow grease.  There were checks to write, and it wasn't long before I had to go back to contributing to the family finances.

I've been lucky in that we can get by with my working only part-time, but add the childcare and it's like having at least a full-time occupation.  Work on the renovation project is crammed-in wherever possible, mostly evenings and weekends.  Having to grab hours here and there to complete tasks that might take 20 hours to complete is a struggle.  Sometimes it seems that I'm just getting on a roll when I have to put down the tools and either head off to work or let the family go to sleep.

Planning ahead in this case is important.  As best I can, I try to get tools and materials lined up as far in advance as possible.  I can usually combine childcare or commuting with trips to the building supply store, and I can use late nights to do a little research on a project that's pending. But there's often that one forgotten thing that can bring work to a halt.

Today I had planned to get started with the big job of applying a skim coat of plaster to the walls upstairs.  I made tentative arrangements a little more than a week ago to get a friend's help with this because it's really a two-person job.  I wasn't sure whether he was still available or not, but even if he wasn't, I needed to borrow one of his tools to get started on my own. 

I called too late. He was gone for the day, and so then were my plans.  The plastering will have to wait. I was able, however, to switch gears and take on a different task that needed doing: installing a built-in shelf in the master bedroom.

This little shelf grew out of a change in the configuration of the master bedroom.  In the original layout, the room's ceiling was 7 feet high.  There was attic space above that wasn't needed so I raised the ceiling 2 feet.  This made the room feel a lot bigger and provided space to install a large skylight that adds considerably to the room's character.  This change, however, presented a problem with framing-out the rest of the upstairs ceiling and the placement of the partition wall that defined the south side of the master bedroom.  The simplest solution was to create this little shelf.

Although the task appeared pretty straight forward--cut a plank and nail it in--it turned out to be a little tricky.  I was working with new framing, but it was new framing in an old house and this meant that the idea of plumb and square was left at the doorstep.  With cutting the shelf, in order to keep it flush with the back wall, I had to cut a slight arc, and with the outside edge, I had to decide whether to make a curved cut to follow the outside wall, making the shelf overhang a consistent 3/4", or leave it straight with a perceptible difference in the depth of the overhang.  I went with the straight cut because I was afraid of butchering the visible edge with attempting an uneven curve.

So from false start to finished shelf wasn't a bad day momentum or nomentum.

Handyman

 

Window Treatments

While visiting some friends in D.C. this week I was reminded of one of the big tasks in front of me: restoring the 16 original windows in Chez Melendy.  My friends have a house built around 1918 and their original windows are doing little to keep out the cold air in winter time.  For many people, simply updating their windows with energy efficient replacements would be the answer.  But restoring old windows so that they're tighter and eliminate all the air infiltration that's plaguing them is an option that has more soul.

Aside from a house's basic shape, there is probably no other single aspect that defines its character as much as its windows.  The windows are like the eyes of the house, looking out to all looking in.  I've seen enough charming old houses with the vacant stares of modern window replacements, complete with faux muntins sandwiched between double panes, to tell me there must be a better way.  I'll admit  that where I replaced a single double-hung window with a large "picture" window, I used a typical new energy efficient model.  I justify it by saying (1) it's installed in the ell so it's technically not part of the original house, and (2) I wouldn't have been able to afford the design change if I installed a completely historically accurate window.  Where I can maintain originality, however, I will.

Of course that's easier said than done.  Although there are basic steps towards improving the energy efficiency of old windows, each situation presents a particular set of problems.

For windows that are no longer structurally sound, that is the wood or metal is rotted in the sashes or sills, the task is large.  If historic preservation doesn't rate high on your list, then replacing decrepit windows makes sense.  However, if maintaining the historic character of your old house is important, than you should know that even the most dilapidated windows can be rebuilt, and with probably less effort than you might guess.  A good resource for working on old windows is Repairing Old and Historic Windows: A Manual for Architects and Homeowners by the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

But if the windows and their casings are sound, and the issue is mainly their leakiness or rattling, then there are several things you can do to improve them without breaking your back or the bank.  The first to consider is weatherstripping, of which there are several kinds.  The most popular and easiest to install are self-adhesive foam strips and V-shaped strips.  Self-adhesive foam strips can be added to the bottom of your double-hung sash to help seal where it meets the sill.  If you have casement windows, foam strips can be installed in the frame stops.  V-shaped strips added to the channels where your double-hung windows ride up and down tighten the vertical spaces where air can leak in.  Weatherstripping also comes in the form of thin spring metal or plastic strips, rolled vinyl or rubber gaskets, and extruded rubber and plastic profiles.

Another way to increase the efficiency of old windows is by adding exterior or interior storm windows.  Storm window add a lot of R-value to old windows.  In the case of exterior storms, they can also provide protection for original glazing.  Interior storm windows are an unobtrusive solution for tightening-up an old house.  If your house already has exterior storm windows, they may need re-caulking to bring back their efficiency.

Chez Melendy has old exterior storms that need re-caulking and other work.  I haven't decided yet whether I'll keep them or remove them and go with interior storms.  I'll no doubt have a lot to say about that decision and restoring the old wood windows when I get going on that task down the road.  Until then, there's plenty of interior work waiting for me when I get back from my trip.

Handyman

p.s. Check out the following Builders Square animated How-to Tutorials associated with this post:

Applying Permanent Weatherstripping
Applying Temporary Weatherstripping
Exterior Caulking

Starting to Finish

We moved into Chez Melendy in June of 2005.  The downstairs was re-wired and plumbed, the walls were insulated, drywall was hung and primed, a new floor was installed in the kitchen, all the old floors were refinished, and kitchen cabinets were partially installed to make them serviceable.  A lot of work was done in the six months between the time of purchase and move-in day.  A lot of time has passed since then.  In what's almost 2 years since moving in, I've chipped away at the myriad remaining tasks required to finish the project.  I'm still a long way off.

A friend told me that there's a three-year rule of thumb in the DIY renovation world.  If you don't get it done, in 3 years, chances are, it's not going to get done.  I'm starting to appreciate that rule more and more.  As you get accustomed to living in an unfinished house, you start seeing it less as a project and more as the house you're living in.  Life often has a way of getting in the way of plans, and with the three-year rule in mind, I'm determined to finish this project before the three years is up.

Over the past year, besides taking care of all the normal maintenance of a house, I've framed-out the upstairs, wired it, plumbed it, insulated it, covered it in sheet rock, and am near ready to start covering the walls with a skim-coat of plaster.  In prior posts I've written about installing door jambs and window jamb extensions.  These tasks are the final preparations for plastering. Some people prefer to install all the door and window casings before plastering but then there's the possibility of getting plaster on the finished work.

In my son's room, there's an exposed joist where I left a wide opening for access to a loft, and I wanted to box this in and install trimwork before plastering, in hopes to limit having to cut away at plaster to fit in moldings etc. It would be my first foray into finish carpentry on the project.

I picked up some wide pine boards for finish stock.  They're inexpensive and are not out of place in a 19th century New England farmhouse.  I like the look of pine when it's clear coated, and if I made a few mistakes working with this material, they wouldn't be real expensive mistakes.

It was a good project to get started with finish work.  I made some miterd corners and even solved a problem of tieing together two uneven surfaces by making an overlap joint.  Mind you, this was all done using a skilsaw and a tablesaw as I don't have miter saw as yet.

There will be lots of finish work to come...

handyman

Cold Roof, Warm House (Part 2)

After the foam insulation contractors had come and gone, the house had an entirely new feel.  Of course the house was still in its "gutted to the studs" state, and it was March and I wasn't heating the place so it was still cold, but I was surprised at how much quieter the house felt both in terms of sound and air flow.  The hammers banging didn't echo quite as much and whatever heat that was generated by bodies working actually raised the ambient temperature.

Unfortunately, the contractors had left quite a mess.  Despite their promise to use drop cloths, they didn't.  The foam overspray was everywhere.  And even though the house was clearly a construction site which might give some excuse to their negligence, there were bathroom fixtures and original flooring that got covered with foam insulation droplets.  Two years later, I'm still cleaning it off of the upstairs floor. 

Not having worked with many subcontractors to that point, I made the mistake of not supervising them closely.  I tend to want to stay out of the way and let professionals do their work, but the bottom line is that I was paying them.  They came back and cleaned up a reasonable amount of their mess before I mailed the check.

The next task for insulating was sealing up obvious points of infiltration with spray can foam.  As I mentioned in my last post, this is a messy job.  It just  seems impossible to apply this stuff without getting on places you don't want it.

Installing fiberglass batts in the exterior walls was next.  The original walls are timber framing, sheathed in 1" pine.  With this kind of construction, studs are placed only as needed to provide nailers for the sheathing and windows, and to provide support during construction. Knowing that I was going to cover the interior walls with sheetrock, I added more studs for mounting the panels.  In most cases I was able to place the studs 16 inches on center and this allowed me to use the standard size fiberglass batts but there were a lot of places where I had to cut the batts and place them at odd angles to fill all the spaces.

After installing the batts, I then installed 1/2 inch foil-faced foam board over the top of the fiberglass. This not only increases the R-value of the walls but also provides a vapor barrier.  The seams between the foamboard were sealed with foil tape to increase the effectiveness of the vapor barrier.

My efforts were not in vain.  Whereas the prior owners had burned 1300 gallons of fuel oil the last year they were in the house, we burned 475 gallons of fuel oil, and 2 and half cord of wood the first year.  Using today's prices ($2.60/gal oil and $150/cord green wood) we saved $1770 in just the first winter, and that was before insulating the upstairs walls.  (The priority was to get the downstairs in move-in condition before working on the upstairs.)  So far this year, after getting the upstairs insulated, we've only had 200 gallons of oil delivered and I don't expect to burn more than 2 cord of wood.  We might just get out of this winter spending less than $1000 on heating.

Super-insulating the house and relying as much as possible on wood heat is more than just an economical and comfort-based decision.  The battles we're fighting for energy resources are real and far-reaching.  Shrinking our "carbon footprint" is a moral issue as much as it is economical. (At least that's what I keep reminding myself when I'm splitting wood and lugging it into the house.)

handyman

p.s. Check out the following Builders Square animated How-to Tutorials associated with this post:

Climate Control: Insulating an Unfinished Attic
Hanging Drywall

Cold Roof Warm House (Part 1)

This morning the thermometer outside my kitchen window read -20 degrees Fahrenheit.  That's TWENTY BELOW!  Okay, you Canadians shrug, but even for us hearty New Englanders, that's pretty cold, and by March, we're starting to think Spring (or at least Mud Season) so it's not all that welcome.  But thanks to my efforts at bundling-up Chez Melendy early on in the renovation, we're cozy inside.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the principal reasons for gutting my house in the first place was to insulate the walls and ceiling.  There was no insulation in either place for the prior residents.  No cornhusks, newspapers, or rags were found inside the walls, just airspace.  The original walls were covered with plaster, though, and this provided some brake against the cold.  Most of the cold air that enters a house is through infiltration.  Cold air comes through the tiny cracks in the outside walls and then finds its way through the interior walls via electrical outlets, holes for plumbing, window casings, etc.  Plaster does a good job at sealing up the places were infiltration can occur.  But the fact is that the prior residents burned 1,300 gallons of oil the last year they lived in the house.  That's a lot for a smallish (1400 sq. ft.) house. Even if the Melendys had put some pink fiberglass insulation in the upstairs attic they could have cut down a little on the heating costs.

Since I was going all-out to increase the R-Value of my house I decided to hire a contractor to apply polyurethane foam to the rooflines and the sill perimeter.  This would help cut down on the chimney effect of losing heat through the roof while having it replaced with cold air that is drawn in where the foundation comes into contact with the frost line.

The biggest hurdle with polyurethane foam insulation is the cost.  After all, it's a petroleum product and it requires special equipment for application.  There are DIY kits available but I had a large job to do and plenty of tasks to keep me busy, and if you've ever used the spray foam cans, which spray a similar material, you know that applying foam insulation is a messy and unforgiving business.  The pros came in and had the job done in one and a half days.    As much as I prefer to tackle every task on my own, this was one I decided to let go of.

Applying foam to an old house is especially beneficial because of its ability to seal off areas of infiltration while adding R-Value at the same time.  Chez Melendy was sheathed with rough sawn pine boards and then covered in clapboards.  Tyvek building wrap wasn't even part of anyone's imagination at the time, and tarpaper must have been considered a luxury because it wasn't used either.  The foam sealed all those cracks right up.

Another benefit of the kind of foam I used (known as closed cell) is that it saved me from having to vent the roof, which would include cutting vent holes in the soffit and installing a ridge vent. 

The need for venting comes from the fact that in a well-insulated house, moisture can get trapped between the interior and exterior walls and eventually start rotting the wood there.  Think of a cold glass of water on a hot day.  Moisture condenses on the cold glass.  In the winter, moisture from inside the house can condense on the cold roof if no vapor barrier prevents it from getting there.  In the same way, during summer, outside moisture can condense on the out-facing side of the interior walls if the house is kept cool.  Venting the space between the walls provides airflow to help carry this moisture away. 

Closed-cell polyurethane foam provides an automatic vapor barrier, though, so that moisture created by people breathing, taking showers, etc. inside the house can’t pass through to where it might eventually rot the wood sheathing.

In the next installment I’ll write about insulating the walls and how the results of my efforts paid off in the first winter.

handyman

p.s. Check out the following Builders Square animated How-to Tutorials associated with this post:

Climate Control: Installing a Soffit Vent
Climate Control: Installing a Ridge Vent
Climate Control: Insulating an Unfinished Attic

Window Jamb Extensions

One of the principal reasons for gutting Chez Melendy was to improve its capacity to hold heat, ie. R-factor.  There was absolutely no insulation in the entire house.  It's amazing that the prior residents were able to keep warm in these northern winters.  It's safe to say, they spent a lot of money on fuel.  I'll post later on how I went about insulating the house but today I'll write about creating window jamb extensions that became necessary as a result of adding R-factor.

Adding insulation meant increasing the thickness of the walls 2 1/4".  This presented the problem where the original window jambs and sill were shy of the new interior wall surface by that amount.  In order to mount new casings and sill, I had to make up the difference with extensions.

I decided to attack the problem with extending the sill first.  The sill is the thick piece of wood that the window sash rests on. It's mounted at a slight angle so that it will shed water towards the outside.  Besides supporting the sash, the sill supports the "stool" which is the finish piece most people call the window sill.

The main problem was finding a way to fasten the extension to the existing sill.  Because of the 2-1/4"  thickness I needed to find a fastener that was long enough to anchor it securely while at the same time not splitting the wood.  At first I tried mounting several thinner pieces of wood to pad out the sill but found this to be time-consuming, and the final result weak and wobbly.  However, once I hit on the idea of drilling counter-sink holes half-way through the extension piece and then using woodscrews to secure it I was in business.

This method also worked for securing the jamb extensions.  Again I needed a way to anchor one thin piece of wood to another using a fastener that was at least 2" long and not splitting the wood in the process.

I made jamb extensions out of the same pre-primed finish stock that I used for the door jambs. I used a 3/8" bit to drill a counter-sink hole about an inch into the extension piece and then used a 2-1/4" wood screw to anchor it to the jamb.

When it comes time to trim out the casing, I may need to plug the holes I made. Some wood dowels should work for that if needed.  It will depend on how I decide to finish the casing.

Once I complete installing the  sill and jamb extensions on the windows, I'll be just about ready to  apply  skim-coat plaster to the walls.

handyman