To get started on the framing, the first step was to install vapour barrier on the outside walls. As “suggested” by the City of Regina, this barrier should start above ground level, come down the outside of the wall, then fold under and back up. After the wiring and insulation are in place, more barrier is added which extends all the way up to the floor above. Acoustical sealant is used to hold the barrier in place. This can be a pain, because the stuff doesn’t really dry, so you are constantly fighting with it to keep the barrier on the wall before you start framing. We used 2×4 lumber to hold it in place where it was trying to fall.

Here is a picture of the first wall completed. On Saturday morning, Chantale and I finished about 16′ of framing, before I realized that toe-nailing into the top plate was going to make this job frustrating as Hell. That’s about the point when we took a break, and went out to buy the compressor and framing nailer (See the post below). Saturday afternoon, Colin came over, and we finished another 16′ section. Working with the nailer made the job much more enjoyable! We then took a break for supper, and completed the last section of wall immediately after (Followed by a trip to the movies!)

On Sunday afternoon, Colin came over again, and we framed the North wall, which included a window, a beam, and some vents for the furnace. Boxing around the vents and framing the window were definitely a learning experience, but I think we did ok!

On Monday evening, Chantale and I framed half of the South wall, including the window. This puts the outside wall framing at well over half done! We should be able to finish the outside wall framing this week and Saturday, and start on the inside wall framing. I can’t wait!

Categories: Basement Renovations, Photo Comment
4 Comments »

First up is this powder actuated nailer… I could have gone with the style that you strike with a hammer, but this is so much better! The concept is simple… Insert nail into end, open chamber by sliding end forward, insert powder charge (bullet blank), close chamber, hold against wood, pull trigger… BANG! Fast and easy fastening to cement, and it’s not even very noisy!

Next is the Campbell Hausfeld 8 gallon compressor. This package was on sale at Canadian Tire (Still is, if you catch it before Friday this week!) for $200. The kit includes the 8 gallon tank and 1.3hp compressor (Info in second picture on side of tank). It also includes a length of hose (No, not the blue one in the picture, that’s a 50′ swivel hose ($12) from Princess Auto), Impact Gun, Ratchet, Chisel, Tire Inflater, Air Gun, Pressure Gauge, and several fittings including a quick disconnect coupler and couplers for each of the tools. I’ve been watching for a good deal on a compressor, and this just had to be it. All the tools I wanted, and a compressor that’s strong enough to run all my tools… including THIS:

This is a Power Fist Framing Nailer from Princess Auto. I’ve always been a little hesitant to buy Power Fist tools, as they don’t have a great reputation, but I’m actually quite impressed with this one. At $150, it was less than half the price of a similar “name brand” nailer at Home Depot, and Canadian Tire didn’t even have a framing nailer to compare. How could I go wrong? If it worked, great deal, if not, I take it back! The nails come in boxes of 2000 from Home Depot for about $20, and are fastened together with pieces of wire down either side. This nailer can handle anything from 2 inches to 3 1/2 inches, and can take any type of nail strips as long as they are joined at 28 degrees. I’ve already driven over 800 nails with this, and performance has been very acceptable! I’ve had a few misfires due to misfed nails (They are a little tight in the cartridge), and a couple double nails as a result of these misfires. Nothing to get upset about though! It has more safety devices than a standard nailer… Many nailers allow you to hold down the trigger, and bump it against the wood to depress the front trigger, then continuously do this without letting go of the trigger. This nailer will only fire one nail per trigger pull, to prevent a double fire in the case of a bounce. It can make it a little harder to nail quickly along a board, but much safer.

Edit (December 1st, 2006): Since buying this framing nailer, I have returned it and replaced it with the $200 CH set from Costco (Also at Canadian Tire)…  Read below for my reasons…

Categories: Photo Comment, Tools
2 Comments »

In order to get started on the basement, we had to complete a few preparation steps. One of those steps was filling in a low spot in the concrete with floor leveler. I started by mixing and pouring in one 50lb bag of automatic floor leveling compound, and then quickly realized that it was going to take more… a LOT more. I picked up a bag of cement, mixed it up, and poured it… and found it nearly impossible to smooth out due to the high content of rocks in the mix. Next, I picked up four bags of a smoother topping cement, mixed it ALL, and poured it in. MUCH better. It was far easier to smooth it out, and filled the space nicely. Once that was set, I poured three more bags of self-leveling compound on top, to fill it out nicely. In total, that’s four bags of self leveling compound at $43 per bag, and four bags of cement at about $6 per bag. $196 total just to bring the floor more or less to level. Ouch! It looks great though!

Since I had the cement, I completed another prep-step while it was wet. I cut off this pipe sticking out of the ground, and filled it with cement. Our building inspector told us it was part of a pre-existing drainage system, and could be removed.

In addition to the cement, there were (and still are) a few other things that had (have?) to be done… Pulling nails, removing old vacuum tubing, changing the water pipes to fit the new layout, hauling in lumber, buying toys, err, tools to help with construction. (More on that in the next post!)

Categories: Basement Renovations, Photo Comment
No Comments »

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a time waster, so here’s a new one for your gaming enjoyment.

Sling is a simple game. You are a piece of goo, with one hand. You can drag your body, and then let go to fire yourself off in whichever direction is appropriate to reach the next “grab”. The object of most levels is to make your way to each of the white grabs, turning them green in the process. The game starts out easy, but quickly progresses to a more difficult game, as you navigate your way around obstacles, and try not to fall off the bottom of the screen. Some levels contain monsters that you must destroy, but I won’t tell you how! (It’s easy, don’t worry!) Every five levels you must pass a boss level to continue, after which a cut scene will play as a kind of reward. The graphics are amazing, the physics work well, and the sounds are very good. Turn your speakers on to hear the professor rambling on in the cut scenes!

http://sling.ezone.com/game.php

Categories: Time Wasters
No Comments »