in the white

Kitchen space.. primed, ready for color, floor and cabinets.

My level best.

Self-leveling floor for the kitchen. Covering up the seams and imperfections, making ready for the tile.

Dryer Washer

Catching up for what it is worth. Yep Dryer Washer, I am apt to do things backwards. Check out the real sweetie of this pic - the instant water heater. Works better than advertised.

Roof is done

Roof is complete.

Old Testament Rain

Taken a day after the previous post - torrential rain - luckily I had the Mother of all tarps...

Monsoon Season

New record for rain in Anchorage: 37 days straight or some such... should have done this roof thing in May.

As I am want to do, I have complicated the re-roof with the need to put "cornices" on the north and south ends of this "Monopoly house ( the little green pieces from the 70's game)".

Here there is an 8" bump so I can re-sheath the roof with 7/16" and have an even 40 feet of length. And, of course, a proper overhang.

Sliced Cucumber?

Taped, primed and textured the laundry room this week. As soon as the texture was dry, I tried out the "Sliced Cucumber" color. I like it.

lefty-loosey, righty-tighty

Removed the left-hinged 34" fire-damaged door, and replaced it with a 36" right hinged door. This should allow larger pieces of furniture, and appliances access.

Better off shed

Actually completed something on this project: a 12'x10' shed to relieve me of my $230.00 a month storage unit. Had an extra window from the house project, installed it on the East side of this tallish structure (used full length studs, and the 9' OSB siding). The window is over the area that will eventually be the "wax bench" for my skis.

Will trench and run power to it next summer when the ground thaws. House project updates to follow soon.

Keeper of the Flame

Putting the "Pro" in procrastination. I spent my sunny South Central Alaskan weekend thatching, sweetening and fertilizing the lawn. I also finally broke down and bought the grill I have been shopping for the last 12 months. I had waited for a sale for 12 months - it never went on sale.

I brought home the unbuilt box and was surprised to find a $40.00 cheaper price tag inside ( lower 48 pricing). I returned to the Home Depot the next day and was refunded.

I stopped by Costco on the way home from that transaction and bought two pounds of beef tenderloins: four two-inch thick steaks.

Steak, potato and blue-cheese dressing on greens... and yes that is a picnic table and a Chinet paper plate. Back to the house project shortly.

Take a Header

Here is the new living room window, again almond vinyl and casement argon filled thermopane. I really like the "bulky look" of these windows - probably why they were so cheap (less glass).

These old houses had two four foot wide windows on this wall - with the top plate of the wall supported by a center beam. I have opened this up to a 102" rough opening.

My chief advisor ( and investor) dad insisted on an upgraded header. This old house is 2x4 wall construction - the header is two 2x6's, on edge - the traditional header - but filling the gap between the two boards is a 1/2 " steel plate. This steel sandwich is bolted and construction cement glued. Should be plenty strong to resist the sag of a fully snow loaded roof.

Other notes: yep, that's dads new 1958 M38 Willy's jeep in the driveway. The 6 mil plastic ceiling seen here should be covered with 5/8" fire rated drywall by the end of this weekend.

Concrete Galoshes

A few of my few followers of a certain age will appreciate the title...

It's not witchcraft, but these mixers of Portland cement, rock and sand have become known as "concretins". The gray matter that it takes to make a life of the gray matter is sometimes skewed.

Fortunately, I found some fairly well-grounded (pun intended) concrete sub-contractors. Three hours and a bunch of folding money, and I don't have to step over the trench in the kitchen and laundry room anymore. Money well spent.

The protrusions in the floor of the laundry room are the toilet flange, the floor drain - every laundry/mud room should have one, and the forced air heat duct for the new 1/2 bath. The aforementioned eruptions in the newly screed concrete may appear high, but there is more to come. A self leveling mortar and tiles should get us pretty close to leveling the drain and water closet ring.

There I was, there I was: In the Congoleum

Scraping the two layers of vinyl flooring from the kitchen floor, cooked on in places from the fire, was a challenge. A full day of scraping left me with season-appropriate injuries, stigmata-like holes in my palms.


The suspicious gray, fibrous material under the 70's layer ( vinyl pattern/color forensics ) had me concerned enough to dawn a dust mask, isolate this room from the house with .7 mil plastic and dampen the substrate while I peeled the the old linoleum. I minimally disturbed the layer of mastic in question - and will seal it with a primer as soon as the concrete is poured.

Nipples and Elbows

After putting together the new 1" black gas pipe to feed the 199000 BTU water heater, I pressure tested and it held for two days - then the gauge dropped - I spent an entire day fixing leaks, and inevitably causing new ones.

The gauge on the right should read 10 pounds for 15 minutes... it hasn't yet, but it is such a slow leak that it stops at just below 2 pounds every time. I will have this sorted out this week.

Paint Machine!

Yep another tool purchase.

This airless sprayer made quick work out of bedroom number two. It sprays a 12" - 14" fan of paint. Applied 2 gallons of paint in about 15 minutes - of course, cleaning the machine took another 15.

Behr Premium Plus is great paint. I had used Sherwin Williams Super paint on the first bedroom - just doesn't perform any better. The Behr is 2/3rds the price and the Home Depot employees were much nicer than the snobs at the local S-W store. Home Depot had no problem matching the leftover S-W paint.

in a white room with no curtains

With apologies to Cream... have just begun drywalling the medium bedroom in this three room mansion. A through-wall look from the entrance way - note the new almond colored vinyl casement window.







And another look at the north wall of this room. The cable drops are CAT 5 and phone lines to the "fox box" that will be in the back of a closet accessible from the living room. The intake for the forced-air furnace will also be eliminated from this wall and moved to a hallway ceiling.

Rinnai Rough In

Here is the laundry room and the plumbing for the small bathroom. I've hung the Rinnai 94 Lsi commercial tankless water heater http://www.foreverhotwater.com/model-r94lsi.php to do the plumbing and gas rough-in. Problem discoved shortly after this shot: A top loader washing machine is unworkable with the height of the water heater... will need to solve that, or install it over the dryer.

Behind the Green Door

An outside view of the backside of the house. Here, left to right, are the new almond colored vinyl windows. Small bedroom casement egress, main bath awning, kitchen over-the-sink awning and the dining area windows. Previously there was only one window for the kitchen dining area.
The next change to this aspect is ditching the 32" wide green door for a 36" wide one. The 36" width is necessary to allow the movement of furniture into the house. The cold weather entry on the front of the house inhibits this with its severe angle.
Look closely to see the partial effect of the Pro Vents..still need to open up the soffets to get better air flow.

Hair Shirt

A few aquaintances have noted my monk-like existance. There are monks that wear hairshirts for penance. The insulation work I did today re-enforces those friends that opin about my so-called self-denial. Who needs a goathair shirt, or for those that read "The Davinci Code" a cilice? Fiberglass insulation will do just fine.

Back to topic, here's a photo of the newly routed gas line for the oven, and the moved 220v outlet in the event of an electric range.

Bat Whisperer

Starting with a pic' of the proVent attic ventilation product in place. This allows air flow from the eves that might otherwise be blocked by insulation. The plastic vent is a plastic channel that allows the air to travel and keep a "cold roof" cold.
After installing these in the non-standard 20" center trusses, I have trimmed and installed the insulation from below. Then, balancing act complete, I stapled the 6mil vapor barrier with the whacker-tacker. Need the insulation, was in the teens Fahrenheit the other night.