Framing Walls and Roof

So, I have fallen way behind in blogging.  We are actually nearing completion of the home, and with working over 60 hours a week for the past few months between this project and my normal job, I have had little time for blogging.  I will try to get caught up this week.

We finally got to the framing phase, which is our favorite trade to do.  Our #1 competitive advantage with framing is our use of 3D computer modeling to create detailed and accurate plans that reduce reliance on field measurements and job-site errors.  With our plans, almost all the framing components can be pre-cut from plans without taking any field measurements first.  This is especially useful with large, difficult to access framing members like floor joists and roof rafters.  We are able to cut all joists and rafters according to plan, then lift them up and fit them into place the first time.  Besides the savings in time and waste, another benefit is that having components pre-cut according to plan provides an invaluable check to ensure the structure is framed correctly.  If components are not fitting together properly, then the framer knows that something is wrong and can make corrections.  If everything fits together correctly, then he knows that it was done right and everything is where it is supposed to be.  If framers are building based on field measurements and just "making it work," then errors like walls in the wrong place or out of square are often not caught until it is too late.  

We framed all the walls lying on the floor, as is usually done.  Here you see that the bay window was framed into the wall on the floor as well.

We framed all the walls lying on the floor, which is common.  Here you can see that the bay window was framed right into the wall while it was on the floor.  This extra feature which usually requires some figuring out on site was made simple by our 3D model

As can be seen in this photo and the previous one, we rolled the house wrap out and stapled it down to the wall before standing  them as well.  This makes installation much easier than trying to install a 9 ft. roll of wrap on an upright wall in the Wyoming wind.  Ends are left long and wrapped around the corners after the wall is stood. Note also the blocking for roof rafters which is installed at this point as well.  Again, thanks to modeling, we knew the exact dimensions and location of this blocking and were able to install it when it was on the ground. The function of the blocking will be explained later.

End of the first partial day of framing.  I think we had a couple walls up at this point.

After a full day Saturday, we had the roof rafters all up and all the full sheets of sheathing installed.  This is a view from the kitchen where the ceiling is vaulted looking back into the bedrooms which have flat-ceilings.

Header over the dining room bay window.  The hangers were nailed in the correct place to the beam while on the floor thanks again to modeling 

View showing how the diagonal blocks shown above were used to lift the 2 x 6 joists up to the level of the 2 x 12s  and provide an "energy heel" that provides for a full 10" of insulation over the top of the exterior wall, where a standard trussed roof would have only 4" where the end of the truss bears on the wall.  This is one of the many energy efficient features that we will be building into all our homes.

Ceiling rafter support beam in the bedroom side of the home.  We will have to come in later and add purlins and bracing to support the 2 x 6 roof rafters.

Patching concrete, Framing floor

This blog post documents the repairs we made to the foundation and the beginning of framing the new floor.  We had two large openings in the foundation we needed to repair: one was where the old doorway was and the other was an existing window that will be obstructed by the heating trunk line.  I missed getting a good picture of the forming process, but what we did is fasten plywood to both sides of the holes to form it.  We then drilled holes in the sides and bottom in which to insert short pieces of rebar and then we tied it all together.  Before pouring, we applied bonding adhesive (moose-milk) to the existing surface.  We used 11 bags of concrete and mixed it in a wheelbarrow.  When we pulled the forms there was a lot of "honey-combing," or voids on the surface.  This is undesirable not only for aesthetic reasons, but because water can get in these holes and freeze, causing the surface to spauld and deteriorate.  To correct this issue, we used a bag of foundation plaster and skimmed the surface of the patch, overlapping the cold-joint to further seal moisture out of the joint  

Exterior of abandoned window

Interior of abandoned window

Interior of abandoned door

Another step that I want to make brief mention of here is the waterproofing we applied to the interior of the foundation.  Concrete is very porous, and wicks ground water into the interior of the basement quite easily.  There were no signs of significant moisture in the existing home, which would have been seen as water stains inside the basement walls, mildew spots, mold, crumbling drywall, etc.  However, just to be on the safe side, we wanted to take every precaution we could to reduce the possibility of future moisture problems.  Water tables can change over time and basements that have never had any water intrusion in the past can develop problems down the road.  This process is fairly simple and cheap to do now (I think we spent about $160 on asphalt waterproofing product and one evening applying the product)  If this step prevents the home from developing problems down the road then it will have been worth it,



Once we finished the foundation repairs and modifications, we were finally able to begin framing.  We reused most of the old floor joists, replacing ones that were broken, excessively warped, or otherwise unusable.

Future dining room includes a cantilevered bay window to add space and  street appeal

Beam and temporary supports placed to allow us to set floor joists

An increasingly annoying reality is that we are running out of light every evening before we are ready to be done.   We are pushing hard to get the exterior finished before the time change when we will have no light at all in the evening.

And now we begin again...

You all may have decided that we have given up on this blog or this home, but I assure you that we have done neither.  We have made tremendous progress but I have not had time during the past few weeks to update the blog with working 60-70 hours per week.  Having completely demolished the existing home, we are ready to begin reconstruction.  In the first picture, you can see what the home looked like following demolition and cleanup and before we began rebuilding.  As you can see, the foundation has been painted different colors in some places, and is overall pretty shabby looking.  However, it is still very solid and will easily hold up for another 70 years.  There is no reason to not build on this foundation.

Before we began framing, we needed to make some modifications to the existing foundation.  One of the major issues with the existing basement is that none of the windows meet modern code requirements for emergency escape and rescue openings, which means that the home could not legally have a bedroom in the basement.  Thus, the home was considered a two-bedroom home for appraisal and sales purposes.      Given that we intend to build a nice master suite in the basement, we needed to cut in a code-conforming window so the home can now be sold as a three bedroom home, which will help appraisal value a lot.   We decided to cut out a new window in the front of the home where there was none before and also to enlarge one on the back corner in the future family room.  In order to meet code requirements, the window must be at least a 4' x 4' slider and the sill must be no more than 44 inches off the ground.  That is a lot of cutting, which is why the second window was not enlarged enough to meet egress requirements, just to open the room up and bring in some more natural light.  Also, the existing window was an odd size that would have to be special ordered, so it was cheaper to cut the concrete out and have a larger standard-sized window.

The window enlarging was accomplished with a gas-powered concrete saw, a lot of water, and a lot of sledgehammering.

Justin manning the concrete saw on the 4 x 4  bedroom window.  The saw cuts just short of 4 inches deep and the wall is 8 inches thick, which means he had to cut from both sides and get the cuts lined up almost perfectly.  That chunk of concrete he cut out is going to pose a problem. He is cutting half-way through it in hopes that we can break it in pieces with the hammer.  Read later posts to find out what happens.  (Spoiler alert: He was wrong)

In addition to enlarging the windows, we had to make major changes in the basement plumbing layout.  We are adding a full bathroom that was not there before, and moving the mechanical room and laundry to different locations in the home which will require the drains under the slab to be moved.  We have seen all kinds of redneck engineering do-it-yourselfers have devised to avoid having to relocate plumbing in concrete (remember the existing shower "trough-drain"?)  This is the way it should be done:  decide where the drains really need to be (the most common thing people do to avoid moving drains is live with a crappy floor plan because they are scared of a little concrete), get the right tools, and make some noise and dust.   We cut along the areas we needed to remove and then broke the concrete out with a sledgehammer 

Master bathroom on the left, laundry toward the rear, mechanical right in the middle of picture

This is a view through the enlarged 3 x 3 family room window.

We filled the back of Nathaniel's truck with broken concrete.  

Fished with cutting, Justin starts digging out for the drain lines.  

Finally, a word of advice for anyone attempting to cut concrete themselves.  Blades for these saws start out at around $200 a piece and rental stores measure the wear and charge for it.  By keeping the garden hose running on the cut, the water cools the blade and minimizes blade wear.  When we returned the saw after a fairly substantial amount of cutting, as you can see, they measured no wear and charged us no extra.  Just a little cost-saver to keep in mind if you ever rent a saw.

Final Demolition

Ok, so the day has finally come.  We have joked about it, but due to the escalating costs of renovation and a few more things we would like to correct on the home that are going to be very hard with the home as-is, we have decided to just tear the home down and start over.  The major cost savings we will realize are as follows:

1)  Lead and asbestos testing and certification: $1500

2)  City mandated Structural Engineering Fees: $500 or more, 

3) 2" Foam Insulation (due to 2 x 4 exterior walls: $700

4) Salvaged lumber from roof and walls: $200-$300

In addition to the specific line items above, there are some considerable labor savings due to the efficiency of framing a new home as compared to retrofitting an existing structure.  For example, we were planning on adding an overhang to the eaves which would have probably taken an entire day for two men to accomplish.  The new roof will be designed with an overhang already and will probably still only require two man-days to frame. The time spent re-framing wall openings to match the new floor plan will be about as long as it will take to frame new walls from scratch.  The main cost we were trying to avoid was the cost of demolition and garbage removal of the old home.  We realized after removing exterior siding that it would fall down much easier than we thought.

Most of the studs cut out in the final moments before the home is dropped

With the stout tug of a couple ropes the home fell into the front yard exactly as planned

You can see here the major weakness in the roof framing where the roof rafters are just toe-nailed together rather than being tied together by a ridge beam, connecting plates, or collar ties as would be done by modern code standards.  

You can see the sag in the ridge line here.  Granted, the home stood fine for 70 years, but it is very likely that had this home experienced a major event such as a tornado (very rare in this area but not unheard of) or earthquake, it would have had major structural failures.  Some would say that it was obviously built just fine;  we assert that it merely dodged the bullet.  We will now build a home that, should a major natural catastrophe occur, will be the only home standing on the street. 

Demolition Continues

 This home was built in a very unique manner with the wall framing resting directly on the floor framing. For those of you not familiar with modern framing practices.  The floor is usually framed as an entire assembly with sheeting (known also as the sub-floor) tying all the framing members together, and then the walls being framed on top of the sub-floor layer.  In modern homes the sub-floor consists of 4' x 8' 3/4" tongue and groove structural panels.  Older homes built around the time of this one generally consisted of 3/4" pine planking sub-flooring usually set at a 45 degree angle to the floor joists to achieve sheer strength, with solid wood (often pine as well) tongue and groove planking similar to the ones seen being torn out in the pictures below.  In the case of this home, the wall framing was nailed directly to the floor framing and then one layer of finished quarter-sawn pine tongue and groove flooring was nailed in between the walls directly to the floor joists.  This meant that we would have had to patch the sub-floor everywhere we removed and old wall.  Another major concern is that the old floor squeaked terribly all throughout the home.  To go through and patch the sub-floor and then nail off the entire floor with ring-shank nails to prevent future squeaks would have been very time-consuming. 

In addition, we were having a bigger problem deciding what type of flooring to install throughout the living area.  We all agreed that we need to use the same type of flooring in the living room, kitchen and dining room to help make the space feel bigger.  Once you start dividing an already small space into smaller boxes with different flooring products, it accentuates the square footage problem.  The issue was finding a flooring finish that would perform acceptably when exposed to moisture in the kitchen and dining area and still be comfortable enough for a living space.  Plus, the stairs tie into the living area, so whatever flooring we use would have to transition with the stair coverings in a way that flows smoothly and attractively.  Finally, whatever product we chose to use must be cost effective.  The first suggestion was laminate flooring.  However, although it is easy to clean and thus attractive for a dining room, it does not hold up well when exposed to moisture.  One leaky dishwasher or a major spill in the kitchen and the future homeowner could have a major failure on his hands.  Linoleum or tile are really ideal for a kitchen, but do not feel acceptably "homey" to anyone concerned with the current project.  We are going for a very cute, comfortable, country type of style and a tiled living room just doesn't work in our minds.  With the previously discussed issues regarding the existing pine flooring in mind, we decided to remove all the existing flooring and re-sheet the floor with OSB sheeting, which both eliminates squeaks and adds additional sheer strength to the assemble.  We will then refurbish and relay the old flooring throughout the space.  We feel like an old wood floor has as much warmth and comfort as you can expect;  because the planks are extremely old and well cured solid planking, and will be well-finished with a durable polyurethane, they will not be harmed by potential moisture exposure; and there is more than enough material available to cover all the square footage in question. We will even have enough we may choose to surface the stairs in this reused pine to avoid an awkward flooring transition at the top of the stairs.  Finally, we think this flooring solution will be very attractive and will be a great conversation piece for the new owners.  Anyone concerned with environmental sustainability in building would love the idea of a 70 year old, locally produced softwood floor that would have been headed for the landfill.

Flooring torn out of the kitchen

 As can be noted below, most of the flooring was laid in continuous pieces the entire length of the room.  Where the flooring ends in the lower left-hand corner of the screen is where the existing wall used to be. If you look carefully at the center left of the following picture, you can see a piece extending clear out of the picture.  There were a few pieces that were almost 20' long, with very few knots, if any!  Also, we realized as we tore out this flooring that this is old quarter-sawn pine, which is virtually impossible to buy today, due to the size of tree that is required to quarter-saw a log.  It would have been a shame to either dispose of this lumber, or worse yet, cover it up with cheap carpet!

 And now a quick note on proper air-sealing of a home.  It was long believed that it was bad to seal a home up too tight or the air would be unhealthy, not having a chance to be recirculated.  Therefore, old-timers never took any special care to seal windows and doors up tightly.  Look at the window we removed--which was probably less than 10 years old, I might add--and see the thick layer of dust and silt on top of the window and on the sill.  There was a similar layer of filth inside every wall cavity and up in the roof on top of every wall.  This is what happens when a home is not air-sealed properly.

And now another word on proper moisture control.  The home had been resided in the past 20 years and was wrapped with house wrap for the most part.  On the back of the home, they apparently ran out of house wrap and so used black plastic instead.  Although I said that a home needs a complete air barrier, that barrier should go on the inside of a home in a dry climate.  The point of house wrap is that it prevents water from entering the wall cavity while allowing moisture vapor to escape.  Sheet plastic does not allow for this and traps the vapor inside, potentially causing mold and rot.  In this case, it severely deteriorated the siding below.  Where actual housewrap had been installed properly, the siding was not nearly as deteriorated.  Luckily for the former occupants, the dry climate prevented any mold from developing.  Had this been in a coastal climate, they would have a sever case of black mold inside this wall.

Lumber and siding we have salvaged

We almost got the roof removed before the rain started

Interior completely demolished

Demolition complete.  Not the best looking home on the street right now

Interior Demolition

I am about two weeks behind in updating the blog, so the work depicted here happened September 9. I will be getting to the most recent work soon, so stay tuned to see if the house is still standing at all... We had done some initial planning before we commenced demolition, which I was going to discuss, but since now know things not known two weeks ago, let me just tell you that what we discovered during demolition changed everything about our plan and we had to go back to the drawing board. Therefore, I won't bother with the pre-construction planning up to this point. We knew that demolition was the first step in actually useful planning, because we had to be able to see what was inside the structure to know what needed to be done; as a result we decided to go big and get it done as quickly as possible. We hired extra help and had a 30 yard dumpster set on site to be able to remove as much demolition debris as possible in one day. We had one guy who was able to start Friday morning and he demolished most of the basement that day. Then three more men joined in bright and early Saturday morning and completed the demolition of all basement and main level finishes. In about 50 man-hours we gutted all the old plaster and drywall, insulation, carpeting, plumbing, electrical, and heating systems, so that the interior was down to the bare framing; filling up a 30 yard dumpster one and a half times before we were done. We didn't get as many pictures of this phase as we would have liked, and the picture quality is poor, probably due to the thick cloud of dust that hung in the air.


View from inside the former front bedroom looking into the bathroom. The furnace flue that was exposed inside a closet is now visible. You can also see how tiny the closet was, even without having an illegal and dangerous flue taking up a quarter of the limited space. At this point we have removed all the wall plastering and have now begun to kick down the ceilings from above. We crawled up in the attic and literally kicked and stomped down through the ceiling so we didn't have to pull the ceiling plastering and all that insulation down on top of us. If you have never had the chance to kick a ceiling down, you should. It is cathartic.

View looking from the front door through the hallway and into the kitchen and bath area. Our brother Justin, seen in the back on the right, is a demolition machine. He was very thorough and flat-out destroyed everything in his path. Thanks in large part to his efforts, we surpassed what we had hoped to accomplish in one day.


As you can see, we wore protective suits and dust masks to try to keep out the harmful effects of the nasty, filthy old fiberglass insulation and dust. I went through probably a dozen masks during the day because they would quickly clog up due to the huge amount of particles in the air. It got so bad we finally borrowed the neighbor's garden hose and sprayed everything down with water to knock the dust out of the air. By the time we got it emptied and cleaned up at around 8 pm, it looked much cleaner, but it still stinks, so we know we will have to do more. One of our critical goals is to remove all undesirable odors and make the home smell like a new home when done.

Introduction to the Property

Introduction to the Property

The current property was a foreclosed home purchased from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Before purchasing the home, our first step was to inspect the home and assess whether there was enough value and potential in the home to justify the investment. We knew that prior to being foreclosed on, the previous owners gutted the kitchen and smoked heavily in the home. Upon walking through the home, we saw that it was in really rough shape and had been very poorly maintained. However, we found that the home has good “bones” and is a good candidate for renovation and resale. The major factors that helped us make this determination were as follows.

1. Structure: The home was built as an 800 sq. ft. single story home on a crawlspace in 1946 but moved to its current location on a full foundation in the early sixties. Thus, while the original framing and floor plan are very old, the current foundation is a modern, well-constructed concrete foundation that is still in excellent shape. Many older homes of this time period have deteriorating stone or brick foundations that would require very extensive repair work that could make a rehabilitation cost prohibitive, but not so with this property.

2. Location: The location of the home is a secluded residential neighborhood of similar homes that have been, for the most part, very well maintained. After walking the streets we found the neighbors to be very friendly and noticed that they have pride in their neighborhood.

3. Economics: We were able to purchase the home at a price where we feel we can do everything that needs to be done to bring the home up to modern standards and still ensure a comfortable profit margin.

Here are some of the initial pictures we took of the home before.

Here are some of the initial pictures we took of the home before.

Exterior View, Front Elevation. Note the missing siding on the top, the damaged trim on the right corner, and the shingles which are at the limits of their serviceable life.

Interior view from the front door. Probably the best part of the home as is. Someone has spent some time painting and the carpet is in pretty good shape. If the rest of the home looked like this, we would not be here. The thing that cannot be seen in a picture is the smell of smoke and filth that assaults your nose when you walk in that proves that this home has not been kept clean.

Where the Kitchen used to be, one of the major problems with the home. Without the kitchen the home is considered unfinished and many popular loan programs declined to finance the home, which made it difficult for the bank to sell before we found it.

This upstairs bedroom is every little boy's dream, but unfortunately appeals very little to anyone else.

This bedroom was obviously in the process of being worked on. Notice the numerous patches on the walls and the worn, very outdated carpet. We love the style of the original solid wood doors. Unfortunately the closet shown is very small and has an exposed furnace flue inside the door to the right which is insanely against code. It is a miracle this home did not burn down at some point.

The stairs are very steep and tight. It would be impossible to get large furniture down into the basement, which has no legal Egress windows.

That oak bath hardware and medicine is soooooo 80's It must go.

The wood beadboard paneling might have worked for the guy that put this in, but not this guy. We do like the large window facing the back yard and will probably try to save it.

Kicked-in doors on the cheap vanity, old cast-iron tub with damaged finish, worn-out, outdated vinyl flooring, and that plastic crap glued to the walls for a shower. Need I say more?

Back Door. Opening onto the stair landing. Not wide enough to meet code requirements. Also just a really awkward, bad idea. Also, the exposed concrete foundation is not the most aesthetic finish possible in this situation.

Moving Downstairs now to the Family Room. Not the worst part of the home, but not anyone's dream family room either.

Downstairs shower. This is, without a doubt, the worst shower I have ever seen. Not only is it just cobbled together in the middle of the floor, it has no floor drain. Check out the next picture to see how they solved that problem...

"No shower drain? Totally not a problem. Let's just get a bag of mortar mix and form a little canal right down the center of the basement floor and hit the existing floor drain. Problem solved!" Also notice how all the existing plumbing has just been tacked up to the joists above.

Here is the poor excuse for a laundry. Tucked behind the main drain stack in a corner. Better than washing your clothes down in the stream by hand, but just barely.

Someone at some point tacked a little shed to the back of the detached garage in the back yard. I wish they hadn't. It has no foundation, the floor slopes about 3" to the left, and is framed with undersized roof rafters.

Interior view of the shed addition. Would have been a great idea if it were structurally sound, but it isn't. If you jump up and down you can feel the whole structure move. See how slim the roof rafters are in the top center of the picture? Not good. The floor is 7/16", which for those who don't know is a wall sheathing, not a subfloor. We're not sure what to do about any of this yet, just that there will be no "fixing up" anything here. If we do anything it will have to be quite drastic.