Tag: framing

Kitchen Wall Framing

July 19, 2014 / Matt / 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

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

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

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!

Stair Landing

July 11, 2014 / Matt / 0 Comments

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated, and I can’t say that we’ve gotten a lot done in the meantime. Between the new baby, Sarah having hernia surgery and accompanying recovery, and a break in momentum I’ve struggled to regain, we just haven’t gotten much done. The sense of stagnation is worsened by the flurry of work going on next door. In the last two months they’ve torn down the garage, dug down the basement and poured a new floor, re-shingled the roof, installed steel beams in the basement and first floors, new front and back porches, and completely framed the interior! We’re comforting ourselves by noting the things they did poorly, but it’s still tough when we’re not making much progress.

The focus at the moment remains the first floor stairs, specifically the landing. I spent a lot of time over the last few weeks staring into space on the first floor and then checking back to the revised plans. It’s one thing to have dimensions figured out and another to actually put hammer to nail, or impact driver to screw, as the case may be.

First floor landing

I started by building the corner support column, but the studs were depressingly wonky despite clamps and effort, so I took it apart and re-did it better. The parts that I struggled with the most were the points where the cross members met. I want everything to be supported well since it will be bearing the weight of the stairs, but that meant some complex corner joints. I wound up buying some brackets and joist hangers to reinforce everything, and the end product is very sturdy.

The stringers are on back order until the end of the month, so I plan to fill the intervening time by completing some of my unfinished projects and by framing out the coat closet and the rest of the wall at the back of the kitchen.

First Floor Stair Opening

May 26, 2014 / Matt / 0 Comments

My friend Dean came back last Saturday to help me work on the house. We spent some time sorting through my scrap metal pile, getting all the copper, brass, and aluminum separated and pondering what to do with the remaining near-worthless steel and iron. Then we started work on framing the opening for the first floor stairs.

Planned stair opening (not actually green)

The new stairs will be several feet further back in the house to increase the front bedroom size (currently 8′ x 7½’). This means the existing opening between the first and second floor needs to move. In addition, because we’re adding steps to the attic, the opening will change shape, from an L to a rectangle. One advantage of this design is we can put a solar tube in the roof above the stairs and a light well will allow natural light all the way down to the first floor.

Dean putting up the wall

After adding some blocking from below between the first floor joists to bear the wall, we put down a sill plate board and used the laser level to position a sistered double joist directly above it. Getting the joists into position proved the most difficult part of the process. We were able to frame the wall on the floor and tip it into place. The laser level proved accurate: once it was aligned on the sill and joist, the wall was perfectly plumb.

First sistered joist on opposite side

Sunday I positioned the sistered double joist on the other side of the stair opening. This set the boundaries of what need to be removed and what needs to be filled in. Last year when we demoed the old stairs, we also demoed the middle bedroom we were using as an office so that we could make way for the new stairs. Last December we filled the room back up with debris from the attic, so Monday evening I cleared it all out, dropping the boards straight down into the basement and then piling them for later use. Tuesday evening I pulled up the hardwood floor (which was good enough to come up in sections still attached to the furring) and the subfloor.

Dean sistering joists

Sunday morning Dean returned, bringing his old but compact jigsaw which fit between the floor joists. This allowed me to cut out the joists over the new stairwell and give them to Dean, who put them back up over the old stairwell, sistered to the existing partial joists. Then I put in a new joist down the length of the opening directly above and flush with the beam.

Opening finished

Once again, we’re very grateful to Dean for his assistance! This felt like a big step forward toward getting the stairs in and the first floor framed out. It’s pretty amazing how big the space is. On one hand it feels like a bit of a waste, since we’re losing almost a hundred square feet out of the second floor, but in exchange we’ll get two bedrooms in the attic, so I think it’s a worthwhile trade.

Blocking Installation

April 30, 2014 / Matt / 0 Comments

South wall blocking

Dean came over one Saturday and we tackled blocking installation. Blocking (wood blocks installed between the wall studs) is required by fire code and also adds structural strength and drywall nailing edges. Using 2x4s we salvaged during first floor demo, we measured each stud bay along the North wall and cut separate pieces for the bottom, the middle, and the top behind the ribbon. We need the middle piece because we have 10′ ceilings. I wasn’t sure how fast or slow it was going to go, but we made pretty good progress. With Dean taking measurements and nailing, and me working the saw, we managed to get the entire North wall done and about a third of the South wall.

Bottom blocking

We used the nail gun to make fast work of the installation, and employed a couple techniques to avoid toe-nailing. Because the top of the floor joist terminates between the studs (a feature of balloon-frame construction) we were able to nail one end of the bottom blocking down into the joist and then nail into other end from the next stud over and work our way down. For the middle blocks we staggered so we could end nail from both sides. At window edges we nailed a small block to the stud and then nailed the blocking down into it. Finally, for the top we cut down the blocking on the table saw so it would fit behind the ribbon and then face-nailed them. We had to individually measure each piece because of the unevenness of the stud spacing, but it went fairly quickly.

Middle blocking

The East and West walls we had to hold off on for the time being because the floor joists run parallel to the walls, meaning once we install the bottom blocking it will seal off a cavity below the floor. We’ll wait until the spray foam installation to put in the blocking so that everything gets insulated properly. There’s more blocking to do, but it requires me to once again rearrange my tools and all the other stuff we have leaning against the walls. I started on it this week, and hope to get through most of it. As always, a big thanks to Dean for his help!

Top blocking (behind ribbon)

Blocking Preparation

April 6, 2014 / Matt / 0 Comments

Subfloor installed

The subfloor is finally all installed, which means it’s time to look forward to the next project: blocking. Blocking is the process of installing short pieces of framing between the wall studs at the bottom, middle, and top of the wall. This provides structural bracing (since the house tends to sway when there are strong winds), fire code (fire inside the wall takes longer to spread if there is solid wood in its way), and as a nailing edge for drywall. In addition, all along the kitchen wall we’ll install extra blocking to make cabinet installation easier.

Before we can get to work measuring, cutting, and installing blocking, I need to do some wall straightening. Because our house is built from rough sawn lumber, the studs are not exactly the same thickness. The original lath and plaster evened things out in ways that drywall will not, so we need to establish what straight looks like and then plane and shim the studs so that they are even and plumb.

Laser line establishes straight

I started work along the front of the house, where in addition to the above described challenge we have to allow for the support column in the wall and the front door, which is fairly thick. The column is 3½” thick, so it should sit flush, but the column cap at the top extends back, so the column is proud of the wall by about a half inch. I debated framing it as a visible column, but decided instead to bring the wall flush with it. I will still have to deal with the column cap and bolt at the top, so something will wind up being visible regardless, but that’s a finishing detail I’m not currently worried about. Maybe I’ll use a cornice or something.

Laser line on 6′ level

I used my laser level to project a plumb line and marked my shim position. I ripped that down on the table saw and then cut an angle off of it so that it would match the inside edge of the bay. After I glued and screwed down the remaining shims I ran my straight edge down the wall and realized that things weren’t quite where they were supposed to be. I wound up cutting thin wafers to shim my shims out so that everything was actually flush.

Shimming progress

One challenge is that I can’t install the blocking at the bottom of the wall in the front or back of the house until the spray foam is put in, since there is a joist preventing the spray foam from being installed from below, as we’ll do on the sides of the house. I’ll wind up measuring and cutting the pieces, but leaving them loose, since we’ll need to put them in during spray foam installation. I also need to contend with the inside corners of the house, since they aren’t framed with a proper nailing edge. Basically, I have some more work to do before I can start putting the blocking in.

Links

Projects

Archives

Advertisement