I was back upstairs this week, removing the interior walls. I left the center wall for the time being. It’s not really a bearing wall, but it probably helps stabilize things and we’re not ready to start on the structure yet. I’ve got some ideas on how I’m going to tackle subfloor leveling as well as the attic floor upgrade, since it’s all 2x6s right now.
South wall, looking East
I’ve also been working on de-nailing all of the exterior walls, which is a tedious bit of business. I’ve made it about 25% around the perimeter. I was able to remove the remainder of the old gas lines for lighting and the last bits of old supply plumbing, plus a portion of the old drain and vent pipe, but there’s still some work to be done to get the rest out, which means the wet wall can’t be removed quite yet.
North wall, looking East
I’ve accumulated a rather sizeable pile of both lumber to be saved and scrap to be pitched. The lumber, much like the outside walls, needs to be de-nailed. I’m also planning out the next steps, which include closing up the windows on the North wall as well as the back door, and putting in the new drain and vent stack. That requires some forethought to get all of the proper junctions and fittings in place for the eventual toilets, sinks, and tubs that will connect to it.
January 10, 2017 at 7:31 am
What type of insulation are you planning on using for exterior walls?
January 11, 2017 at 2:11 pm
Closed cell spray foam between the studs and 2″ of rigid polyisocyanurate on the outside. See this post, which discusses the design: http://twoflatremade.com/2012/05/final-assembly/
January 24, 2017 at 10:03 am
Looking good and you are making nice progress. I am interested to hear what you do with your attic. 2×6’s are definitely undersized if you are going to remove your center wall and make the attic into livable space. I have 2×6 ceiling joists and had to put in a couple of 2×20 LVL’s in my bungalow to keep my dormers from sagging through the ceiling. Because I wasn’t interested in gutting the whole top floor, I also had to jack up the ceiling and reinforce a couple of the other 2×6 joists with 2×6 LVL’s. Even with that, I still had a noticeable dip that I had to even out with creative drywall.