Insulating the floors was a task that required just grinning and get it done. Crawling on the gravelly floor and nailing foam sheets to the joists from the underside does not sound like my idea of fun!! It's a good thing my husband is a diligent man....of course Dad and I helped, but I think the insulation award goes to Gabe.
We had started a couple of weeks ago with the insulation on the dining room/kitchen side, but couldn't finish due to the roof support that was rigged up. So, we rigged up another support that would rest on top of the floor joist, since it had been on a cinder block on the floor up until then. Gabe finished it up and then crawled out the crawl space entrance:
Dad and I worked to cut the material around the rubble foundation, which took couple tries:
After that was done, it was pretty much smooth sailing until right before the end. I was gopher extraordinaire (and photographer) which was pretty necessary that day, as it's really inconvenient to get anywhere when you are stuck working under and in-between floor joists!! Here's a couple photos of the guys at work:
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| He is willing the tape measure into his hand |
Here is a shot of more cut polystyrene around the foundation:
I had to get a picture of Gabe from the perspective of the crawl space!
Home stretch for the polystyrene....
We also had a neighbor stop by to offer to bush-hog the backyard. We gave him a set amount and he started mowing and weed whacking. He came back the next day with a different attachment. It was a good thing, since the grass had gotten hay worthy and we didn't have a mower on site. How nice!!
The next day, after a delicious pancakes and bacon breakfast, I went on some errands with Mom while Dad and Gabe got started on the house. As soon as I got there around 11, Gabe was eager to tell me he had a task for me. Yesterday, I had been getting a bit disillusioned about my helpfulness (as a gopher) so giving me an "important" task was a good move on his part! :) His back had been paining him lately so it worked out for me to be the one to staple down the fill insulation. They had cut plenty of fill insulation and stapled a few of them in place, so I had my work cut out for me (haha).
On a slightly sour note, a couple days previous, Dad had visited the site to find someone had dumped some spoiled food in our dumpster!! Needless to say, we were not pleased. Boy, did it stink! When we got there on Friday, Dad and Gabe dug and dumped dirt on the problem areas, since getting the dumpster removed would be too expensive, since it wasn't even half full. When we got there on Saturday, more had been dumped! This time, it was less offensive, being weird old things, including some Spiderman bedsheets.....sheesh! Here is a complimentary visual:
Not to mention the signs I picked up that morning reinforcing the message that we do not want anymore such items in our dumpster!
So, Saturday, we had quite the system worked out, Dad would cut the insulation pieces since he was donned in long sleeves and gloves:
I would staple said pieces to floor joists---here is a video to detail the experience:
Boy, were my hamstrings sore after a day with that staple hammer !
And Gabe would employ himself with things like fitting the insulation into the holes so I could be an efficient stapler ;)
Sprayed Boro-care on plywood to go on the floor:
And move plywood and tools from one end of the room to the other, so we could get the insulation under there too.
Mom stopped by and we had a nice picnic lunch right in our living room!
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| How lovely--split pea soup and egg salad sandwiches taste so good to the laborer! |
The funny thing about putting insulation in the floor is that it provides a false sense of floor, because a foot would go straight through if you try to walk anywhere but the floor joists!!
Ta da!!
Dad then left for the day around 4:00. The last task was to somehow seal the leaks in the roof so that the new insulation laid wouldn't get wet. The north addition has a sneaky way of being wet every time we come on the weekend. Sooo, Gabe asked me to get the ladder out from under the porch, and no sooner did I step foot under did a wasp sting my leg!! So, I sat that last chore out while I nursed my bee sting with a mud patty. I remembered a tip from my youth to do so since it would draw the sting out (had it been that long since I had been stung??!?).
Gabe spent a good hour up on the roof finagling around with a sore back and without a helper.
Now the only thing left to do before the plywood subfloor gets glued and nailed down is an inspection. It was scheduled for the next Tuesday. Lo and behold, it passed and we could move forward!
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The next weekend, I wasn't going to make it out on Saturday. Gabe unexpectedly had to work late on Friday, so we didn't make the trip. Gabe went by himself and made a day of it with Dad on Saturday.
Apparently, the plastic Gabe put on the roof worked for the most part.
At least he took pictures of the new floors!!
Here are a few:
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| They started with the southwest corner |
They had to cut the 4' X 8' sheets at the ends in order to stagger them. Notice these boards have been sprayed on the side facing down with the Boro-care, the mildew, mold and termite resistant treatment, previously and will be sprayed on the top face later when the framing gets sprayed.
It was a lot of bending over to glue and nail every board down, so it was a good thing Gabe bought a back brace for the task!
The studs running down the center of the building, right under where the metal I-beam will be placed that will later be removed, needed to be braced while the subfloor got slipped under them:
And then temporarily re-supported:
Remember this?
Now this:
Just notice the exhaust pipe in both and the door hole boarded over in the second. Major transformation, huh?
The last corner was particularly hard to get nailed into place since, once it is down, it is hard line the grooves up into the edges.
Voila! if I do say so myself :)
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| Looking one direction |
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| Looking the other direction |
The rest of the floors (in the existing bathroom and porch areas) will not be insulated, so it will be easier to lay those floors. Also, since the floor joist run perpendicularly, plywood will need to be cut lengthways, requiring our table saw. So, next weekend it is! We also plan on removing the rest of the heart pine floors from the upstairs and meeting framers to discuss the next plan of action: FRAMING!!!!
Soooo excited to see the structure come together.......
'Til next time!
