Spray Yay

Spray Foam Insulation. It’s so pretty. When it’s done. It’s not so bad to install either, most of the time is prep and cleanup, which still isn’t so bad (total project time ~ 3 hrs?, just one hour of actual spraying)

The goods we use are a two component system shipped in a box that leaves very little to chance… Open box, twist knobs, practice-spray to make sure yellow component + blue component = green spray!

It’s good to have a helper available to get new spray tips ready and keep the cords untangled, and be a second set of eyes on the lookout for uneven spraying (me!) Also, they’re there to take awesome pictures of you in a tyvek suit. Then, spray:

Oh right, first get the outfit on, then spray:

Scaffolding saves the day. Seriously. High. Ceilings.

So that’s it, and hopefully that’s the last time we’ll be spray-foaming (or regular insulating) our house. We’ve successfully foamed the entire north elevation on the first two floors (minus intentionally exposed brick in the powder room, but we foamed the bit of exposed west wall in there to balance it out). The whole third floor and attic is spray-in recycled cellulose insulation. And the south elevation on the first two floors… Welllll it gets heated by the sun, right?

Studs To Rock

Today we took the little bedroom exterior wall from studs to drywall with a short interval at spray foam insulation. We’ll post some progress/ detail-y stuff later, but here’s the exciting time-lapse in three easy steps.

Prior to framing after patching masonry:

Framing:

Spray foam insulation:

Drywall:

It feels like such a major transformation… We’re moving in the right direction again!

Framed Up!

Now that the wall is patched and window is in it’s time to cover it up!

We used 2×3′s to take minimal space from the room but it can be hard to find straight studs, especially 10′ 2×3′s (Have you ever had to dig through the lumber pile at any big box store for wood straight enough to build a wall? Its tough!). Even with the 2×3′s we still had to turn one of the studs on its side to accommodate the irregularities of the existing masonry wall (Do you see it?) We braced the center of the wall to stiffen the whole thing.

All the blocking is in around the window so it will be ready for trim as soon as we drywall.

Next Up, spray foam! For most of the wall we have space for 3″ of foam which will give use R21 to keep this room nice & cozy… Stay tuned

It’s Supposed To Rain Tomorrow

So it was high time to get the giant wall hole closed up. Here’s the window at the beginning of the night… It’s giant:

Here’s the nailing straps, ready to go:

Use lots of caulk:

Lift window into opening, and then shim shim shim:

Screw into place then great-stuff the perimeter:

Good to finally get this guy in place; before & afters are on their way!

Wherefore Art Thou, Window?

…Still in the hall. But we’re almost there! More wood, more protection from the elements, more exterior trim. More curious looks from neighbors. Good work night.

Waterproofing wrap:

Metal for flashing:

Nighttime Alley View, pre-trim:

End of night:

Again, thank goodness for borrowed scaffolding…

Window Prep II

By Saturday night we had this. Not too bad:

Sunday AM. We start with breakfast of champions… pancakes, yogurt and mom-made raspberry jam. And butter.

Up the ladder to fix the metal flashing… It’s some sort of plated steel. See our new curved sill (we’re trying to recreate what was there, even though we aren’t installing a new curved window which must have been amazing in the day):

Copper nails, prevent galvanic action. We’ll be reusing these:

We got the felt paper up:

And the new curved head:

Extension ladders are no joke…

Window Prep I

Entering the Work Zone:

The Work Zone:

Pre-sill… With line of silicone. Check the new bracket- I’ll post more about that later.

The carpenter checks the levels:

And the jambs are in:

Closets are Rocked! Pt 2

While Kelly went to her cousin’s baby shower with her Mom, her dad was kind enough to come over and help drywall… And he is fast so we got a lot done!

Brand new framing for the pocket closet door in the small bedroom. Notice the shims over the old lath to level out the wall.

All sheetrocked!