Tag: wet wall

Floor Plan Revision

October 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

We’ve made a couple of changes to our first floor plan. The first change came about because of stair planning, which moved the landing further back to accommodate required headroom. It also meant the space behind it that was supposed to contain both a pantry cabinet and a coat closet was not big enough. Instead we’ve modified the plan to have a larger cabinet that we’re hoping can still hold the same stuff (in separate cupboards).

New cabinet adjacent to landing

New cabinet next to landing

The second change is a bit more significant. The original plan (as shown above) has a den at the top, the half bathroom in the middle, and an office with closet at the bottom. In the drawing they look decent-sized, but when I marked the future walls on the floor and Sarah and I walked around it, the rooms all seemed small. We decided that with an open plan we’d still have the same functional spaces (sitting area and desks for work) but each space would feel bigger by not being closed off.

Revised plan

Revised plan

The disadvantage to doing it this way is we lose the closet and the ability to close off the office. We’d considered using the office as a bedroom while we work on the second floor, but it wasn’t big enough for a queen bed and we didn’t want to leave either of the kids on the first floor by themselves. It also puts the window at the bottom very close to the corner, which is more an aesthetic issue, but we may compensate for that with shelving on the other side. If I get really ambitious, I may add a built-in desk and shelf, which would also help make up for the lost closet.

The powder room changes shape and moves but is roughly the same size and is still on the wet wall, so there’s no significant difference in plumbing. We may also need to figure out a new plan for how our radiant lines will be run, because we’d planned to put a panel at the back of the closet to reach the manifold.

Overall we like this plan better. It’s not a very big space that we need a lot from, and making it more open and pushing the bathroom to the corner makes it more functional. I started putting up the walls so we can get rolling on plumbing and electrical, but I’ll get into that in a separate post.

Wet Wall Expansion

September 20, 2013 / / 0 Comments
Wet wall

Wet wall

I like to think I’m a planner. I spend at least as much time figuring out how I’m going to do something before I attempt to do it, occasionally far more. Sometimes this planning pays off and sometimes I realize that I failed to consider an important factor. The wet wall was one of the latter. It’s comprised of two full 2×4 walls with a narrow space between them, except for the end, where the refrigerator will sit further back than the rest of the kitchen wall, allowing the front to be at counter depth without being an expensive counter depth fridge.

I researched refrigerator dimensions and decided that the kitchen wall should be six inches forward of the wall behind the refrigerator. I spent time researching how to support the wall when it doesn’t sit over a joist, decided to double up the bottom plate so that when we install the radiant floor and hardwood floors we’ll still have a large enough nailing edge for drywall. I measured and installed the wall bracing on the kitchen side exactly where the wall cabinets will hang so we have a continuous nailing surface and don’t have to hunt for studs. I used screws to put the blocking in the ceiling rather than nails because I know that when we redo the second floor we’ll have to replace that floor joist. All of this constituted good planning, but I neglected to consider the other reason the wet wall has a narrow space: it’s a wet wall.

The wet wall contains all of the plumbing that support the second floor. The toilets for the second floor bathrooms will use 4″ PVC drain pipe which will travel through the wet wall at an angle. The gap between the two walls was only 2½”. The only way to install that would be to notch out the studs, top plate, and bottom plate. I decided instead to expand the wet wall I’d just framed.

The good news is this wasn’t terribly difficult. I cut the nails holding the top plate with a reciprocating saw and tipped the whole stud wall until it rested against the chimney. Then I was able to cut all of the nails holding it to the floor, tap it a measly 2½”, and tip it back into place. A lot of time with a measuring tape and a level got the wall aligned properly. I picked up some 6″ screws to go through the double top and bottom plates into the joists and with Sarah’s help, got them all in.

Expanded wall

Expanded wall

Like every project, there are a couple of punchlist items. I have to put some studs into the outside wall for drywall nailing edges, which means I need to put in spray foam since the studs will close up a couple of spots. I’ll also try to remember to think things through a tiny bit more in the future. At least we caught this right away, and not when we’re actually trying to install the drain plumbing.

Wet Wall Re-frame

September 5, 2013 / / 0 Comments
Floor joists

Floor joists

After the wet wall demo and finally resolving the drain cap issues, we were able to get the wet wall re-framed. The first stage was sistering to two of the existing floor joists, which I did with Mike’s help a couple of weeks ago. These joists are in the kitchen, directly below where the cabinets, refrigerator, and oversized range will go, so reinforcing the joists will help support that weight without it flexing overmuch.

The existing joists are not level, due in part to the outside walls not being at the exact same height as the beam and in larger part to the joists themselves bowing, tapering, and generally being wonky. We compensated for some of this by jacking up the old joist before gluing on the new ones, but in the end I wound up using my laser level and a planer to bring down all of the high spots.

After that was done, I installed the new joist that replaced the rotted one, which was thankfully much easier to make level. Lastly, I installed blocking between the new joist and the next joist over in order to support the wet wall itself. Normally walls parallel to joists sit directly above them, but in this case the wall needed to be in line with the PSL column, which is between joists. The blocking is installed every 16″. Because I had planed down the joists to be level, installing the blocking was pretty straightforward.

Level subfloor

Level subfloor

I then installed the subfloor. This was complicated by all of the pipes, and I had to cut notched sections and piece it together. I managed a decent job and I’m pleased to say that the subfloor is as close to level as anything in this house is likely to get. There were some low spots in the joists, so when I glued down the OSB subfloor, I only put screws in the corners. Then I let the bead of glue cure, acting almost as a shim. I’ll follow up with the screws afterward. My fancy collated screwdriver is missing its screw bit, and the screws I bought are square drive anyway, so I’ll wait until the new bit arrives to put those in.

Ceiling blocking

Ceiling blocking

I was all set to install the wall itself when I realized I needed blocking at the top as well. Unlike the nice and level floor, the ceiling was incredibly warped in both directions and partially rotted. I had to custom cut and fit each piece of blocking. This was easily the biggest pain in the whole project. I installed them with screws so I can adjust them from above when we do the second floor. At least one of the ceiling joists will need to be replaced at that point. We’ll be able to do that without disrupting the first floor because the first floor ceiling will be suspended on furring under the joists. When we install the furring, we’ll skip the joists that need to be replaced.

Wet wall

Wet wall

With the blocking in place I was finally able to frame the wet wall. It’s two rows of 2x4s, with the kitchen side not extending the entire length. This will create a nook for the refrigerator, so it sits flush with the counter without being counter depth. I installed bracing between the studs (not pictured) to add rigidity, bring the studs parallel with one another, and create a continuous nailing edge for shelving and cabinets.

The wall will eventually extend another couple of feet past the column, but that can wait until I do the rest of the subfloor. I’ll also frame an access panel for the plumbing, but I’m not in a rush to do that either. The main focus is getting the wall up so that the radiant heating plumbing has something to be attached to. Lester will be coming on Monday to start that work.