DIY Renos

Whoa! I went video hunting and one thing led to another...

This guy built one even slicker and simpler, ONE-MAN lift that handles the loading problem even better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkrRblKLvJw

And that led me to this one about taping it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=diuV1ixxzNA&NR=1

Which took me to his site, dedicated on Drywall taping techniques, tools and sources:
http://www.drywallinfo.com/

http://www.drywallinfo.com/tools.html

http://www.drywallinfo.com/moreinfo.html

And that took me here, to more DIY Handyman stuff!
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/

All this Reno stuff has put me back in good shape again, especially hauling out 4" spikes at armslength from a ladder... The sad part is that after all this FREE and incidental workout is done, is what I'll do next to keep in shape.

We lucked out at a Sally Ann Thriftshop and got a nice CCM stationary cycle machine for $20 bucks, and one of those CCM Elliptical machines for $30 bucks. I freaked when I saw how much even the new cheap ones cost!

I'm ok for another couple years though, because I've got all the cabinets to build.

Anyway, Tedy, its really hard to find tradesmen around here, with all the flooding we've had. They're all busy repairing those homes. I need to get this ceiling drywall up - not taped or anything, on the upstairs ceiling within a few weeks, so the Hydro grant insulators can do the attic before the grant runs out at the end of October.

I'm running in between plumbing, drywall, framing, laying out wiring, and re-drafting any changes for City Permit amendments.

BUT! I am too old for this Sh!t...

What keeps me going is the idea of working in my little workshop, sitting in my new media room, reading a real book about ancient inventions or ways of making things, experimenting with Milk Paint. (No f'g way that I'll pay over $30 for a gallon of Latex paint!)...

Lastly, I think YouTube will become the surrogate father of the future. With videos like those above, any dumb post could refine his skills!

 

Oh, this hurts the male in me!

This gal can't be over 25, and maybe 120 lbs. She had a guy help her.

http://diydiva.net/2009/12/drywall-101-hanging-wallboard-by-yourself-other-hard-learned-lessons/

DIY DIVA???? Fannie, you're our very own Diva!

 

I love the way this girl writes. She's funny! Here's the last sentence....

" Note: The side effect of trying to prove a point and drywall a ceiling by yourself, is that you will no longer be able to dress yourself for the next three days. Something I should probably have factored into my thinking. But hell, it was worth it."

 

That's what her Mystery Man was for, I guess...

 

I think thats totally cool! In a way my daughter was that girl, now she wears fancy cloths to work and nail polish....witch isn't a bad thing, ya know what I meen...

 

I know she is so funny to read. I also liked the part when she was talking about her video..."there was only two words spoken...HOLY ****"



DIY Diva huh...




actually more like this one...

 

Well, fannie....if that first pic is you, I suggest that you invest in a jack.

 

I've had to rebuild the floor joists on the upper floor. My best guess is that the house was built around 1905. The City's Property archives building burned down in 1911, so the City had to register all the buildings and lots, and survey all the older neighbourhoods, as of 1911, but we found an old newspaper stuffed in the walls for insulation, dated 1905.

The builders used 24 feet REAL 2 X 4s for the joists! The owner, added bedrooms upstairs and used old and REAL 2 X 6 FIR twinned to the old 2 X 4s, except over the kitchen, the gable roof had too much of a slant (12 X 12 roof - 45 degree pitch), where he installed a hatch to access it for storage. We wanted to open it up, and use the space to get 3 bedrooms upstairs.

Well, once I got into it, I noticed that 2 of the twinned 2 X 6s were the newer, thinner, but still FIR, not Spruce. Brittle, and split at the eaves. Had to yank them and replace them. To add to the issue, he raised them by about an inch, to get the floor level and with a 6.5 inch space from floor to ceiling below. All LATHE and PLASTER, and old hornets' nests, and bird poop, and the finest, filthiest dust you can think of. YUK!!! Dust all over the place. We covered everything, even the stuff in other rooms, and it still floated in!

Anyway, I got it down, ran new wiring and got rid of the Knob and Tube wiring, and ran network and telco wiring. The floor goes on this weekend, and then the new partitions, plumbing, and then the new Stairs!

I have to change the sewage lines in the basement floor for the new plumbing and venting on the West side of the house, from the East side. Sounds ugly, but those Diamond saws and the plumbing cameras of today, sure make it easier.

Insulation guys come in 10 days!

 

Is that when you can come over and help disassemble my car?

 

That's about it, unless I get done earlier and they come between jobs. Its about 10 hours for a crew of 3 guys. They did the basement in 6 hours with 2 guys.

Good folks, and... under a Hydro Grant too!

http://www.warmhome.ca/

 

Anybody notice in the 'drywall girl' video that she was drywalling over a shower area? Shouldn't she be using green board?

 

Now for a real woodworker's/carpenter's treat! This website page lists old books from the 1800s and up. A few deal with Stairs construction. There's only one of the books and the ONLY resource I've found anywhere on building stairs with a short run of winder stairs on the top end of the stairs. Most of the modern carpenters and stair experts build the winders at the bottom, using big boxes for each new step - no-brainer crates.

This book titled "A Manual Of Carpentry And Joinery", does a heck of detailed explanation, except the slight mods required to meet today's building codes. Basically that means 4 winding steps instead of 3 steps, so that people have at least a 10-3/4" inch footprint from the inside corner. I can't do the winder at the bottom of my stairs, and with them at the top, it gives me enough headroom to meet the modern codes (80" or 6'8"). I'll have 83". The roof line gets cleared even after furring the rafters deeper to get R-40 insulation!

http://www.evenfallstudios.com/woodworks_library/woodworks_library.html

We're making them 42" wide and building in the wiring for one of those electric stair climbers.

But this site's list of PDF books goes into all kinds of old tools, even grinding chisels and wood files! Really neat history on the cabinet-making techniques and carpentry, framing, and old manual machines. 175 books, including woodgraining, faux finishes, stain-making, etc.

 

I didn't see anything there regarding facial renovations....

 

For some geek reason (Is Mother Bell throttling the web again in Quebec?), my last post didn't make it, so here it is again.

I made a PDF of the Stair Winder section of that book:

View attachment Top Winder Stairs Assembly.pdf

Here's some of the modern Winder strategies:

This is a software program for pros:
http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/displayfaq.php?faqNumber=884

A bit of a Forum thread on them:
http://www.contractortalk.com/f14/winder-stairs-how-layout-kite-section-67962/

The second page on that thread has a good drawing on 3-step winders and 4-step winders showing how the 4-step easily meets the new codes (NBC 2009)
http://www.contractortalk.com/f14/winder-stairs-how-layout-kite-section-67962/index2/

This is also the way modern builders build the bottom winders:
http://www.renovation-headquarters.com/stairs6b.htm

Here's the site's excellent DIY details for straight stairs:
http://www.renovation-headquarters.com/stairs.htm

I used this online calculator to work out the math and it generates a stringer layout too, in INCH or METRIC:
http://www.blocklayer.com/Stairs/StairsEng.aspx

Then I used the Print Scrn key to take snapsots and clean up the pics without the ads in MS-Paint. (Actually Paint.Net Freebie power Paint equivalent - here: http://www.getpaint.net/)

I bought both of Bosch's routers (Fixed and Plunge routers) a few years ago for this job and the kitchen cabinets - 2 horsepower beasties) and built up my router bit collection ever since. I'm building mine with 'housed stair stringers - routed grooves into the stringers, instead of cut stringers. The PDF explains how to do it in the winder section, (when they chiselled the stringers out - before routers existed), but this Trade forum has some more info:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Using_a_StairStringer.html

The commercial jigs they use in that post are easy enough to make as you can see here:
http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/stair-jig.html

http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/stair-pitch-board.html

All of his Stair building topics start here:
http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/stairs.html

This is also a good resource:
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/tips/mortised-stairs.aspx?nterms=65362

The FHB forum had these posts with pics too:
http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/...iques/building-winder-stairs-routed-stringers

And here's a brief explanation of the 2009 National Building Code (NBC 2009) on stairs:
http://www.woodsthebest.com/Stairs/building-codeUS.htm

I'm a fussy booger when it comes to framing. Some sites tell you to allow for drywall thickness between your studs and stringers. Trouble with drywall is it breaks up under stress when sandwiched between wood framing components. The housed stringer or the cut stringer should be fastened directly to the studs, with the drywall cut at the stair stringer angle and sitting on the top of the stringer. Mine are 2" X 12" stringers at a 30.7 degree angle. My upper floor windows will have rope-type (firecode rated) ladders at the window benches, so if the stairs aren't safe for a quick escape the folks can still get out.

My handrails will also be fastened to the studs directly - making my own from 2" X 6" Fir. The steps are double layers of furniture grade birch ply (1.5" thick), 42" inch wide - 4 stringers - two side ones are routed out, other two are cut for the treads. I beefed up the main house beam with more teleposts, and added another beam where both of the new stairs go, also with teleposts.

While I'm giving secrets away, I want to give a real master carpenter his dues. I was having a nice email conversation with the guy Bob Johnston, author of "50 Years As a Carpenter" who also taught the US Army in carpentry and framing.

He passed away this September, but his church saw fit to maintain his books and PDF file and tips. If you're into wood framing and renos, this guy knew his stuff.

Tips Page:
http://carpenterbooks.com/message.php?topicID=4438&

Stair Building page:
http://carpenterbooks.com/message2.php

Articles Page:
http://carpenterbooks.com/message.php

He sent me the PDF version of his book 50 years as a Carpenter, but it's not on his website. If anybody wants it, PM me. It's 1.5 MBs. or you can buy it according to Bob's own page on the book and publisher:

http://carpenterbooks.com/custompage1.php

Lots of good stuff on tool care, safety, prepping floors when they aren't level enough for stairs, even avoiding splitting studs when nailing. Truely a generous man with his skills and experience.

EDIT
He was only 1 year older than I am.

 

Like the doc said, "I'll have more stories to tell." Running into a frying pan? Hit by a bus? And the bus lost!

Betcha the local punks might think twice...