Wednesday, November 16, 2011

hellhole - the final chapter!!

okay - this is the LAST chapter in the hellhole saga - sorry to disappoint (really, you are probably sick of this by now - i sure am! - for what it's worth, this was completed a month ago, just posting it now).

we left off at "hellhole - part 3: there has to be a better way!!!" in which i installed an attic ladder. now we need a floor, what better way to begin that a 14 amp circular saw:


and some 1/2 " osb:


which needs to be cut into bite-sized chunks (2x4 each piece, i used 5 4x8 boards in total):

whoops, we are not worthy, i mean ready:



well, i got the first load up the ladder and then covered the ladder to minimize the blown insulation that would leak into the kitchen, yes, that is my foot:



i put the first load of boards down willy-nilly, but at least i have a place to put the tools now:



some gonzo electrical work. there were no plates on the junction boxes and i wasn't about to dick around with the power - thank god for duct tape!! before:



after:


i NEED to stand here!!!


up off the floor......




anchor as best i can


now the first part of the floor goes down where the ladder opens up to...some success here:



at the wall where the old and new cottages meet, i have to lay some 2x4 supports:



now i can floor this area properly:


down to the end of the ladder:


and around - awesome!!!


now i cut more sections of osb and bring them up:



and start the first long corridor along the load-bearing wall in the middle of the first cottage:



then over to the other side of the load-bearing wall:



the wiring was a pain, buddy just tossed the wires across the trusses, no stapling, nothing. you will see a few boards that he laid in, i didn't bother removing them. i had to cut notches here and there to go over/around the original wiring, cost a LOT of time!



but it's worth it!

when i was done with the flooring, i stapled plastic barriers to keep the blown insulation from creeping into the floored area, it worked better than i thought it would!


i extended the flooring on the second row to go out a second truss support, we'll put bags of clothes and lighter things there:


here is the additional storage in all it's glory. keep in mind, max head clearance is 5 feet, but with some effort, ingenuity and a sore back, i was able to kluge together a suitable storage space. i t is now about 1/2 full and will accommodate the rest of the things that need to go there. we were able to empty our storage locker in town - a milestone!!


so after all that, i deserve this!! :



yeah, it's a camo beer, close as i will get to hunting this year ;-) don't fret over the end of hellhole, wait till you see the basement!!!

cheers!

21 comments:

  1. Can't believe how funny you can make something that clearly was a terribly frustrating tedious time!

    oh and never bored from hearing about your exciting life~keep on posting!


    xoxox

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  2. Awesome job! Can't wait for the basement...though I'm sure you're not exactly looking forward to it.

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  3. Was there any thought to possibly replacing the blown in insulation with something a little more...efficient...like rolled fiberglass or similar, more modern, materials?

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  4. What a massive butt kicking. Good job keeping your sanity. Good idea on the plastic along the sides.

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  5. Jambe,

    Gotta admit I'm gonna miss hearing about this. No doubt in my mind you are glad it is over. For now, anyway.

    Your basement is a Rolls Canardly for me. When it finally Rolls around, I Canardly wait to hear about it. No doubt it will be some fun to hear about. Keep me giggling!

    Winston

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  6. Well done! Man oh man what a job! And you and Kymber laughed at our old barn???? Bwaahhahaaa!!!! I'm almost scared to see whats in the basement.
    Oh and just one question... Do you even OWN a pair of shoes???? lolllllllll

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  7. Jennifer:

    Thanks for the kudo – i like to keep it as humorous as possible. after a year here i have found it the best medicine ;-) if you find this exciting (??) , don’t worry, there is plenty more!!

    Warlock :

    thanks, i was pretty happy with the end result and felt i had EARNED that beer!

    Tango:

    Thanks – you have NO idea how much i am looking forward to the basement – i am chomping at the bit, there are other things to do first tho’ – cheers!

    CZ:

    oh, there is NO WAY I am going to try and crawl around the mess and get rid of all that crap right now – i ended up bagging a bunch of it and rolling it towards the eaves, the roof is shallow and i had hard enough time in the high areas. another nice feature is the fact that the home-made truss spans are all different (21””, 22”, 24 “’) so i wouldn’t have an easy time with standard width insulation anyway, there are also random boards here and there across the trusses to boot, some of them have wires wrapped around them.

    now if you wanna come up and help, that’s another story ;-)

    MDR:

    thanks buddy - the plastic worked well. kymber felt the same thing about my sanity. i have a good personality feature – the more screwed up something is, the more determined i am to fix it. it’s keeping me busy here ;-)

    Winston:

    never heard that one before!! sorry you are gonna miss this story, plenty more where it came from though, so you have lots to keep you chuckling down the road. you will have to wait a bit for the basement, but there are some other nightmares on the near horizon, i promise not to disappoint!!

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  8. SciFi:

    missed you while i was responding - thanks a billion! your barn still wins out. maybe the basement can compete it is a real horror show, complete with work done while buddy was consulting "A Drunk's Guide To Plumping" ;-)

    as for the shoes, i was initially wearing clothes, but the blown insulation sticks to EVERYTHING but skin, we had some warm days so i wore underwear only to do the job. bare feet provide the best grip on thin boards etc. and there was no way i was going to put my foot into the kitchen!

    cheers!

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  9. I don't understand the no shoes no clothing policy with insulation, but I thought people wore clothing just to protect themselves from insulation, which can not only irritate but be dangerous. Was it fiberglass or cellulose insulation?

    I would be afraid of splinters or nails in my foot. I know guys are not averse to splinters and nails stuck into their bodies!

    At least you can stand in a basement and won't fall through to a kitchen.

    I don't know how I missed this post yesterday!

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  10. Practical P:

    this insulation is just cellulose fibers. when i am using fiberglass, i wear full clothing and a mask.

    i had to look carefully for splinters and nails, but before i had a floor to work on, i was straddling the edges of 2x4s - trust me, barefoot is best!

    cheers!

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  11. You only had one beer? Hell how about a keg!!

    This is going to be a great winter watching you work.

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  12. I wondered how you could stand fiberglass all over yourself! Feet hold to 2x4s better than shoes?

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  13. Okay, Linda is me, Practical P! I did not mean to post so soon. Are you going to insulate under the roof, whatever than part is called? If so, I know you will nail/staple up insulation. I would hate for item up there to be damaged. I have an appliance place where I am going to get some sheets of rigid foam to use in a crawl space for insulation. Could you use something like that in your attic? Or, is it a wrong thing to use?

    That flooring is exactly what i have wanted for the attic over my kitchen. Fortunately, there is a little door in a room upstairs that munchkins can walk through, so no one has to hoist himself up to it.

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  14. Rob:

    a keg had crossed my mind ;-)

    i suppose you will be drinking beer while you watch, i promise a good show!!

    Linda/Practical P:

    the 2x4s were "skinny side up" - so bare feet car wrap over them for extra stability. i won't be insulating the roof, too awkward to get to and the soffits would let the cold air in anyway.

    foam in a crawl space is different, that would be wise. i am going to insulate the basement crawl space some more with a mix of fiberglass, styrofoam and plastic.

    i wish i had a little door like you had - the attic ladder was a brute!

    cheers!

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  15. Hurray for the end of the hell hole!!! Nice job!

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  16. Thanks Donna!

    stay tuned for the basement aka "hell pit" ;-)

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  17. I have a feeling that I'm gonna get blamed for this too. :)

    Glad it's the end of it.

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  18. Phelan:

    why would you be blamed for it ??

    me too!! ;-)

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  19. Jambe,

    All this talk about beer! Only time in my life I actually enjoyed the stuff was way back then.

    We can get Moosehead here, but how I miss Dow Cream Porter, too many ways to count. Maybe...

    Naaa, that ain't gonna happen. Just gonna have to dream about it some more.

    Winston

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  20. Jambaloney, because Kymber's been blaming me for all kinds of things these past couple of days. :D

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