I know said I wasn’t going to blather on about my renovations but I couldn’t resist. Mainly because the previous owner pulled so many stupids that it’s mind boggling that the house is still standing.
First up…. the frame. Now most people would frame using 2×4’s. What did sunshine use? A 2×4 base but all the studs are 2×3?! Not only that but against the long wall he didn’t even set the frame against the basement wall. Inexplicably he spaced it out another 2 inches. I have no idea why, but on the plus side we were able to slide a sheet of foam board insulation against the wall and then add the regular pink on top. Should be warm enough.
Next up, electrical. This guy was not electrically inclined. So far I’ve found excess power cable wrapped around cross-beams in the rafters and woven under the same rafters (rather than just drilling through to feed directly to the light and using 4 feet less wire). He’s also buried junction boxes in inaccessible spots in the ceiling and has pulled power from wherever he could find it to create weird circuits. For example, the circuit labelled “basement” on the panel controls the bathroom light in the basement, the living room plugs and half the lights in one of the spare rooms. The “kitchen” circuit controls all the basement lights and plugs as well as the kitchen light.
The pièce de résistance though is the random, loose, live wire with an as yet undetermined source buried in one wall. WTF?!?!?!?
Despite these quirks, building continues apace. Random cracks in the foundation have been sealed. Electrical is roughed in. Lights have been moved, removed and rewired where needed. Wiring run for Cat6, HDMI and Coax. Insulation is up. 98% of the old drywall that needs to come down is down (there’s still a 2’×1′ wall that still needs the drywall removed so I can tie into the frame).
Next up:
Vapour barrier the insulation. Build one wall by the furnace. Put in the subfloor tiles. Drywall. Mud/sand. Paint walls. Finish electrical. Lay flooring. Baseboards and trim. Build secret door/ bookshelf. Furnish (yay for trips to IKEA). Finally… move all my crap back in.
I’m hoping to have everything good to go by the end of February. Or at least it’ll be good enough to host a games night.
I also realised as I stood facing the entryway into the room, just how bigger than normal it was and how much wall space was directly opposite the door. It’s a perfect spot to hang something cool as a focal point.
Being the nerd that I am… my very first thought was of course to mount a Dragon head on the wall. Something vaguely like this.
I haven’t found the exact one I want yet and as prices range from the $30 DIY papercraft version to the $1500+ ironwrought, fire breathing version, there’s a lot to choose from.
I’ll let you know how it goes…