Wrapping up the Week...

I puttered around the basement the last few days of our holiday, and finished up framing the walls and bulkheads. I am putting two pocket doors that will open between the rec room and the bedroom. We did this in our last house's basement, and really liked the flexibility it created in the space. The kids toys can be pushed through the doors into the bedroom, and the doors closed, creating a child-free entertaining space. Or, more likely, we can open the doors and the kids can colonize both spaces. We are putting in doors with opaque glass to let some of the light transfer from room to room, as well.

Last time I put pocket doors in, I bought the pre-made wooden frame from Home Depot. It was about $100 and came with crooked wood that split at the thought of accepting a screw (hmmmm...that doesn't sound right.). I had to buy upgraded tracks for the doors to hang from because the ones it came with weren't suitable for the weight of doors with glass. This time, I took the advice of a friend, and bought the Johnson Pocket Door Frame from Home Hardware. It is the one that all contractors use. The two kits (joined in the middle to make the 5' opening) were around $300. We will see how they fare over time with the weight of the doors on them.

The box, with the contents, and the world's dullest hacksaw, below.

The kit is nothing more than a header, four metal studs with wood in them, and brackets to secure the studs to the floor. I had to use a hacksaw to cut the metal rail to length. After trying to cut the aluminum with the equivalent of a dull table knife, I went and bought a new blade for my hacksaw. I splurged and spent $3.98 for two. Worth every penny.

The view from the far corner through the rec room, and into the bedroom on the right with closet (notice
the 10' opening to accommodate the pocket doors) and the hallway towards the left (under the bulkhead.)

Building the bulkhead was time consuming and not particularly fun. It must require a spatial intelligence I lack, because I had to build it piece by piece, running up to the garage multiple times to make the cuts for the next small section. I used lots of screws and construction adhesive, but it still doesn't feel particularly strong because it isn't tied into the ceiling directly due to the location of the float on the walls. If it seems too weak once I drywall, I will build out around it with the suspended ceiling materials. In hindsight, this might have been wise to do anyway, given the time/effort the bulkhead took. Though, installing ceiling tiles vertically sounds about as much fun.

After finishing the framing, I started on some plumbing. The basement bathroom was "roughed in" by the builder, which is great, because it meant that I didn't have to get a permit for the plumbing. It is less great, too, because the builder installed the shower drain in an uncommon spot (though they have lots of very expensive showers that will fit the location exactly) and because they didn't bother bringing out a drain line for the sink. I solved the first problem by ignoring the recommendation of a 38" neo-angle shower and instead built an alcove for a enclosed shower. Taking into account the discount that comes from having a Lowe's Commercial Account (which I signed up for somewhat shadily), I got the shower for $850 -- a full $500 less than a shower/door to fit the spot provided by the plumbing company. I used Bluwood for the enclosure, and for the bottom plates of the walls. I didn't use it everywhere because it is $4.00 a stud compared to $2.50, and because the exterior walls were already framed with regular lumber. If I ever do get a lot of water, a gutting will be in order. By doing the bottom plates in the treated wood, if I get any seepage through the slab, it shouldn't cause the wood to rot.

It is hard to see, but the blue framing is for the tub. I am not going to secure it to the
concrete until I have the tub/shower ready to install, to be sure it is in the exact right spot. After
removing our entire bathroom floor in the last house, I have little desire to smash any concrete on this one.

This completed, I took on the other issue. I had located the 2" drain/vent pipe for the vanity in the exterior framing when tying in the interior walls, and so knew where it was. My plan was simple -- slit open the vapour barrier, cut out a chunk of the 2" pipe, add a 1.5" Sanitary T, a foot of pipe, a cap, some Tuck Tape, and done! I hauled out my dad's reciprocating saw for cutting the pipe (this is an amazing tool if you have any demolition to do, any tree branches to cut, any ABS pipe to cut -- you get the picture.) A few saw blades later (I kept hitting the concrete wall behind the pipe and bending/breaking the blade) I had made one cut. I cut out another piece a few inches up, and tried to dry-fit the T (without the glue on it.). Try as I might, it turned out there was very little give in the concrete pad below my cut and the extensive drain system above my cut. Who knew? I wasn't able to get the T in. I cut a bit more away from the original pipe, and weaseled my T in, but then the opening was too big for the T to seat properly on the top and bottom pipes. I have no idea how real plumbers deal with this problem -- oh wait, they just add the T when they do the plumbing the first time! Erg. Anyway, I remembered using a Fernco in my last basement reno when attaching the new ABS to the copper drain stack. Because the fitting is essentially a piece of rubber hose with 2 clamps, It can be slid up/down the existing pipe, making a closer connection possible. I ran to Rona and bought a 2" Fernco and assembled everything. Not sure if this is actually allowed under plumbing code, but it worked and I couldn't think of another way to do it. I put the pipe back together with the T, and voila - I'm ready for the trap and drain down the road! I don't have any supply lines run yet -- that will come some other day.

The finished product!

I spent a  bit of time Friday doing some wiring. I had three changes to make to the existing wiring which I did today. I haven't run any of the new circuits yet. I had to move an existing plug, because with my framing it was located in the closet. I put in a junction box and ran the plug, as well as a light in the storage under the stairs. I also moved the light fixture at the bottom of the stairs 18" further into the basement so that it illuminates the small hallway as well. When at Home Depot buying some 14-3 wire for a 3-way switch to come in the bedroom, I picked up a light fixture that matches our upstairs fixtures, and installed it at the bottom of the stairs. This was a bit finicky because the light was located in the heating return. However, it was nothing a bit of foil tape didn't fix up after! Finally, our storage room was originally lit by two single-bulb fixtures with pull strings. After a bit of brain bending, I followed the plans in my wiring book and wired both lights to a switch. This required a bit of 3-wire and took longer than it should have -- as most things to when renovating!

The view from the landing into the bathroom with
the new light fixture installed. The storage room is on the right.

Re-wiring the pull switch light. Working with your hands above your head for any length of
time is no fun! Especially when cramming your hands between two heat runs.

Now that the weekend is here, the work (and blog posts) will slow down.