the midcentury ranch for a new generation
2 min readNothing shows the importance of insulation like an IR thermometer. It is best used when the temperature differential between inside and outside is greatest – mid summer or winter.Â
Since it was 20 degrees outside all day yesterday, I took some readings of the window frame before finishing the insulation seal in and around the window framing. The difference was pretty dramatic.
(Note: you also FEEL the difference dramatically with your hand but that shows up less well in a blog post.)Â Continue reading “Fun with an Infra Red thermometer”
2 min readWhile the “unfinished” side of the basement isn’t high on my to-do list of spaces to make glorious, I did take a break last week to give it a good scrub and a fresh coat of paint.Â
I’ve been on a painting kick lately. I guess I don’t know what to do with my spare hours now that the outside of the house is finished.
The result surprised me. I’d gotten used to crossing my eyes at the spider webs and dingy paint in the north side of the basement but now that the walls are fresh and white, I actually enjoy going over there to pull wood from my scrap stash. Continue reading “Progress: Painting the Unfinished Basement”
2 min readWith winter coming (the weather just shifted from 70’s to 40’s this week), I was reminded of a punch list of get it done in good weather items. Â One was last weeks painting catch-all. Â Another is the possibly crazy goal of getting the mudroom framed in, scheduled for next week. Â
This week I wanted to install the rest of the basement replacement windows. Continue reading “Progress: Snugged in for winter with new basement Windows”
2 min readOnce we filled in the big hole we’d had dug in the ground, I turned my attention to filling in the big hole we’d had cut in the basement wall.
My plan is to turn the SE corner of the basement from a dim and dingy office/”bedroom” into a functional, bright and safe legal fourth bedroom.  For health and safety reasons a bedroom, especially one in a basement needs a window.  There was a tiny ceiling level window the the space before.  Once expanded, it now serves all those needs. Continue reading “Progress: Bedroom Light and Vent, plus an Egress Window!”
3 min readWe made  big jump forward in basement progress this week with the jump start on the new egress window.  From first thing Monday morning to late Wednesday we made some pretty dramatic changes to the south side of the house!
The basement currently has five small windows just at or below grade.  In the new design, two will be in the unfinished basement – and we’ll just pop in some better insulated replacements, two will be in the den and they will get new deep window sills set in with the vent soffit running around the ceiling edge and then there’s the bedroom window … it needs to be expanded dramatically to allow the required amount of air ventilation, natural light and a safe way to escape the house in an emergency. Continue reading “Progress: Basement Bedroom Window Well”
< 1 min readPutting in the floor plates and wall studs was an exciting first step to building back the rooms I’d spent so much time demolishing. Hooray for new spaces!
We got the walls of the new basement bathroom done and had the plumbers back to do the rough in.  It is really starting to look like a room with the vent and supply lines in and especially with the shower enclosure installed.  Continue reading “Progress: Bathroom Framed and Roughed In”
3 min readPart of the reason I decided to entirely tear out the existing “finished basement” was aesthetic: it was incredibly dated with an unpleasant drop ceiling and an unfortunate layout. Â I could have kept some parts of it however, if it hadn’t been totally un-insulated. Â I can do SO MUCH BETTER than that.
I did part of this insulation work a couple of weeks ago – to make step one before framing the walls for the new bathroom – and the rest is still on my agenda. Â I’ll be insulating the south and east walls next. Â Continue reading “The Secret to (Warm) Success: Insulating behind new Basement Walls”
3 min readThis phase is all about win-win changes. By updating the supply plumbing for the main floor I can improve the time for hot water, get bette pressure, save energy, AND win and extra 1 1/2 inches of ceiling height!
In order to start the next stage of basement progress, framing up the new walls, I needed the plumbers to come back and move some old pipes out of my way.  At the same time they replaced a bunch of aging equipment and re-located the water heater to make a more efficient pipe layout!  Continue reading “Progress: New Pipes, Water Heater and Softener, and Utility Sink”
2 min readI had literally not had the full den and bathroom areas covered in subfloor for ONE DAY when intense overnight rains (and some bad drainage) scared the pants off me. Here’s how I IDed the source of the water seepage and fixed it. Thanks rainstorm, I guess.
I came down in the morning to grab a tool and found water on the floor seemingly seeping out from under the sub floor. HORRORS! I ran around to check the windows for leaks – nothing – and the walls for cracks – again nothing and the ceiling for drips – nothing again. What could it be?  Continue reading “Ack!! Flash Flood: water in the basement”
3 min readThe old basement walls were built from the vinyl tile flooring straight up to the ceiling and attached to 2×2 furring strips that were bolted straight to the painted concrete walls. I want to improve the insulation of the basement and also the air circulation so that no mold will form in dead air cold spaces. First step: install a DriCore sub floor system.
I’m working with a dry basement (generally) but I did notice a little mold on the back of some of the knotty pine and drywall I moved from the original “finished” space.  The walls I took out had been built from the vinyl tile flooring straight up to the ceiling and attached to 2×2 furring strips that were bolted straight to the painted concrete walls.  I want to improve the insulation of the basement and also the air circulation so that no mold will form in dead air cold spaces.  Continue reading “Tap in the SubFloor, One Tile at a Time”
