Tag: level

Basement Dig Out – Part 3

June 3, 2015 / / 0 Comments
Sarah using the digger

Sarah using the digger

I’ll be honest; I’m not sure how many “parts” to the dig out there are, but this is Part 3. It kind of feels like it’ll go on forever. We filled our fifth heavy debris dumpster in a row and took back the mini-excavator. I’d like to say that means we’re done, but instead I’m saying that “principle excavation” is complete, which is just another way of saying that we’re not done. What remains to do is finish clearing the dirt from the footings, remove a few piles of loose dirt including the dirt ramp we used to get the digger out the back door, and level everything, probably by renting one of those heavy rollers you fill with water. The bottom line is there’s more than a few wheelbarrows of dirt yet to haul out, and a lot more work to do.

Digging for new back steps

Digging for new back steps

The last thing we used the digger for was to excavate a pit behind the house. This is where the new outside basement steps will go. Having the steps go up to the left makes more sense since it’s toward the sidewalk that runs along the side of the house and to the currently nonexistent garage, but it requires some reconfiguration, by which I mean busting out the existing concrete retaining walls and stairs and then putting in a new one. With the steps going to the left, we can eventually put a deck on the right side of the house.

In addition to the final clearing and leveling, we also need to clean up the inside edge of the footings so that it’s even enough to finish the walls down the road. Exactly how we do that “clean up” remains to be seen, but it’s stone, so probably hammer and chisel, concrete saw, and angle grinder. Of course after everything is nice  and clean and level we have to dig trenches for the plumbing and weeping system, so we’ll be busy for a while yet.

Because we have to take out the concrete walls and there’s undoubtedly more dirt to clear for the stairs, there’s a strong likelihood we’ll need yet another dumpster in the not-too-distant future. Also, just a heads up to anyone planning an extended rental from Home Depot: a “month” is four weeks, so if you bring it back in thirty days it costs extra.

Kitchen Wall Framing

July 19, 2014 / / 0 Comments

I had a couple of projects to work on while we waited for the stringers to be delivered. Among them was the back kitchen wall. The back left of the kitchen has a doorway to the den, flanked on one side by the refrigerator and on the other by the coat closet and pantry. We had planned for a full framed coat closet with pantry cabinet next to it, however the redesign of the stairs made that space a bit smaller, so instead we’ll do a row of full height cabinets that we can use for both pantry and coats.

Level blocking, un-level ceiling joists

Level blocking, un-level ceiling joists

This wall is in-line with the support column, and as a result it’s between two floor joists, so the first step was to install blocking in the floor and ceiling joists. In the basement this went fairly smoothly, though I had to move two of them because they were under the doorway, which was rather useless. Fortunately I used screws, so it wasn’t too difficult to correct. The ceiling was a bit more complex because the ceiling isn’t straight, so I installed the blocking level, each one protruding below the floor joists a bit more toward the outside wall. When we drywall the ceiling we will be furring it level, so this shouldn’t be a problem. I screwed down the sill plate and top plate (both of which we double up).

Framed and ready to fit

Framed and ready to fit

I noticed that the outside wall wasn’t plumb to the tune of about ¾”, so I allowed for this by adding some extra depth so the cabinets would still fit flush. Unfortunately I also added this extra depth at the top, so when I framed the wall and put it into place, the studs weren’t plumb. Since we’ll have a refrigerator on one side and cabinet on the other, both sides need to be plumb. Since I’d put the header above the doorway in with all the nails, the easiest way to correct this was to shim the studs on either side.

Gap at header with stud plumb
Shimmed header
Shimmed stud

The shims look pretty silly and of course they all split, but they do keep it secure and the bubble on the level is between the lines everywhere that counts. This wall isn’t load bearing or anything, so not having the jack stud fully sistered on one side won’t cause any issues. I think (hope?) by the time I finish this project I’ll actually know how to do it right the first time. Did I mention I messed up my stud measurements and built the wall 3″ too tall? I had to cut them all back and put the sill plate back on. Sigh.

Finished wall

Finished wall

I remembered to put the 2×6 nailing edge on the back of the wall stud. Having neglected that in some other cases and needing to fit pieces in after the fact, I’m getting better at that at least. There’s only one other small wall in the kitchen to frame. The other framing of the office and bathroom needs to wait until we put in the back sliding door. The stringers arrived yesterday, so the next project is to cut and fit them!

Beam Project: Measurements

December 5, 2012 / / 1 Comment

The first step is to get all of the precise measurements and check how far off of level we are. I bought a laser distance measure and a self-leveling cross line laser level. These were each about $100 each and in addition to being incredibly helpful for this project will be useful for many of the projects going forward.

Checking beam level

I started by checking the beam for level. I drew a mark under each floor joist along the laser line and then measured from the joist down. I then marked which joists were lower or higher than average. The variance was about a half inch in either direction. Then I turned the level the other direction to check the floor joists. I found that the floor joists sagged by about an inch from the outside wall to the beam. Determining level without the laser would have been painstaking and not as accurate. I have a six foot level, but using it to find the level of the whole basement would have sucked. Since you can’t trust the beam, the joists, or the floor to be level, all you can do is find variance. This will be especially important when I dig the footings so I know how deep to make them.

Checking joist level

I also measured the length of the beam. It is pocketed into the brick wall at either end, so I slid a piece of metal in to determine how deep the pocket is and added that to the total, which is roughly 44′. There will be two columns, so we’ll split the beam into three sections. The challenge in positioning the columns is that the floor above will also have open spans, so those columns need to be directly above the columns in the basement. The spans should be as short as possible, because their load bearing capacity drops exponentially with length. I referred to the floor plans, but a couple of the dimensions were off, so I had to adjust to get the exact locations of the columns. I determined the longest span will be 16′. Conveniently you can multiply 16′ x 24 lbs and get the weight: 384 lbs. This job will require some help.

Marking the footings

Finally I marked out the location of the footings on the floor. Unfortunately, there are studs and a 4×4 in the way, so I need to build the temporary wall so I can remove it. That means it’s time to get some jack posts and crank up the house.