Over the past 4 months, the project I have been unable to overcome is my ATTIC HATCH! This story begins back in December 2009 with some poorly thought-out work by my HVAC contractor. The existing attic access in laundry room was not large enough for the new air handler. Without my permission, the contractor cut a section out of my original bed board ceiling and one of the structural trusses. I was so aggrevated! It reminded me – yet again – that subcontractors need more supervision than you’d expect. Because they don’t have the whole project in mind, they don’t think past their trade or immediate tasks.
For the past 6 months, a piece of plywood has covered the hole. With summer in full swing, it was time to solve this problem. The plywood panel is not sealing the hole well and allowing our cool, conditioned air to escape. To remedy the situation, I will build a new frame that does four things: covers the damage, seals the opening, is sized to reuse the original hatch panel, and can be removed if HVAC maintenance is ever needed.
The original panel is 23″ by 26″. I will make a frame with the inside dimensions of 21″ by 24″ to hold the panel.
I used my chop saw to cut the wood to the correct lengths. Then, I used small metal angles to join the pieces together. These angles did not provide the rigidity I needed, so I added 4 additional metal straps in the outside corners. Because I may need to be able to remove the frame in the future, I’ll use metal L brackets to hang the frame from the truss members. With my frame in hand, Liz helped me hold the frame in place to confirm the measurements and locate the existing structure.
With help from Liz and some clamps, I successfully installed the frame! Weatherstripping and caulk helped seal the edges and create a tighter seal. In the future, I’ll finish up the painting when I tackle the walls and ceiling!
After cashing in my metal scrap, I headed straight to “The Depot”, my term of endearment for this home improvement super store. I spent about $140 on the shelving for the newly created linen closet and my bedroom closet. These are the 4th and 5th closets that I have installed the ClosetMaid shelving system. I’ve got it down to a science – 30 minutes max to measure, hang the rails, and set up the shelves.
First, my linen closet. This is a new nitch created by the new opening between the living room and bathroom.
Second, my bedroom closet. Before, the space was tall and skinny with a single hanging bar. The top of the closet was completely unused.
First, I hung the vertical support tracks and removed the hanging bar. I suspect the bar was original to the house – as it took 15 minutes of sawing + me hanging on it – to snap the wood. The new hanging bar is much lower (since I am short) with several shelves above. I still need to edit out some clothes, but its a definate improvement!
On Saturday, Sarah Vahle and I ventured to the metal scrap yard to exchange my junk for dollars. I had been saving miscellaneous wiring, pieces of my old electrical panel, the bathroom sink from 1948, and more. One notable item I planned to cash in was a huge coil of TV camera cabling. Left behind by a previous owner, I learned this 1984 cable connected rolling tv cameras to some sort of mixing board.
Took me about 20 minutes to drag the tv cabling to the door
We loaded everything up in Joe’s truck and headed to Austin Iron and Pipe on East 4th. Its just across the old rail yard from Progress Coffee. This scrap yard has been in business since 1913 – and was very friendly to a metal recycling novice like myself.
First, we were weighed on the truck-size scale with the metal in the truck bed. We unloaded in the yard and then were re-weighed. The difference in weight indicated the number pounds we brought in. They weighed the TV cable separately, as it was more valuable than the rest of the metal.
What to throw first? (Did I say I love my red trash cans?)
Joe’s truck vs. the magnet machine
The bathroom sink off to the recycling heaven in the sky
For all this junk, I made $126.25! Totally worth the effort!
For the month of June, I’m committed to one house project per day. I’ll continue to update this post with my progress.
June 1 – Hung new blinds in the laundry room windows.
June 2 – Asked the City of Austin to downsize our trash can to participate in a new composting rebate program.
June 3 – Picked up the full demo permit for my “Alley Flat” demolition.
June 4 – Hired my friend Alisa to work at my house part-time this summer!
Alisa’s first day of work at the Depew Redo!
June 5 – Take misc metal to the scrap yard! Made $126.25!
Filed under: home improvement, How To, Painting | Tags: home improvement, How To, Painting, renovation
I’m getting a crash course in home renovation! This past week I learned the basic prep work that needs to be done before painting a room. Now, most houses don’t have 80+ years of paint peeling off the woodwork, random holes in the ceiling, walls, and trim, and remnant of cat pee odor lurking somewhere in the walls. But, whatever the need, here are some basics I’ve learned:
-Metal scraper (make sure its sharp! I spent about twice as long on a room with a dull scraper! Thanks, Tim ;)
-Face mask (to block out dust, not to mention all that lead!)
-Wood filler
-Drywall spackle
Depew’s walls are drywall covering the original lap board siding. We just focused on the wood trim… which was no small task!
Basically, I went over the wood with my scraper, and if it didn’t come off fairly easily, I moved on. There was a good bit of elbow grease that went into it, and my arms felt like spaghetti afterwards, but I learned that if I had to press into the wood too hard, it wasn’t worth it. That’s what the sander is for.
After we finished scraping the trim, we used wood filler in all the holes in the wood. Sarah went back over my (and Liz and Tim’s) handywork with an electric sander after the wood filler had dried (usually we left it overnight). I kept asking to use the sander, but she always politely suggested that I fill holes and let her sand… I suppose the idea of me handling a power tool made her a bit nervous. Can’t say that I blame her.
As Sarah sanded, I filled in the holes in the drywall with spackle. Once the sanding and hole-patching was complete, we had ourselves a room ready to paint! And that’s Paint Prep 101!
