Author Topic: Further basement work... (Read 18023 times)

polaris · « **Reply #40 on:** December 01, 2007, 03:35:53 pm »

yep, just my little joke

ChadTower · « **Reply #41 on:** December 01, 2007, 04:10:10 pm »

Quote from: billf on December 01, 2007, 03:04:19 pm

Think "lady of the evening".

Ah. Not terribly obvious a term here.

polaris · « **Reply #42 on:** December 01, 2007, 04:13:00 pm »

i did wonder that after i posted it, 70's british cop shows i think

shardian · « **Reply #43 on:** December 01, 2007, 06:50:58 pm »

Wiring is easy. The only part I will not touch is where the juice comes into the house. When I do the gameroom, I'll have a pro set up the box, but the rest I'll do myself.

Today I ripped up the carpet in the excercise part of the basement. That carpet and pad had 30 years worth of cat piss in it. The smell has always been horrendous, but the tore up pad was even worse. I still have a strange taste in my mouth after several bottles of water.

On a bright side though, the room smells much better now.

ChadTower · « **Reply #44 on:** December 01, 2007, 08:24:12 pm »

Check your homeowner's policy on that wiring... many policies say any wiring modifications must be done by a licensed electrician. Others say any electrical mods at all must be done by a pro. Some don't address it at all... but god forbid a fire break out in the newly finished area and your adjustor asks for documentation of the electrician's license.

billf · « **Reply #45 on:** December 01, 2007, 08:43:15 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on December 01, 2007, 08:24:12 pm

Check your homeowner's policy on that wiring... many policies say any wiring modifications must be done by a licensed electrician. Others say any electrical mods at all must be done by a pro. Some don't address it at all... but god forbid a fire break out in the newly finished area and your adjustor asks for documentation of the electrician's license.

Should also check with the local government to see if permits are needed and if they allow homeowners to do the work themselves.

bfauska · « **Reply #46 on:** December 01, 2007, 09:30:39 pm »

If they don't allow you to do your own wiring either for insurance purposes or code, you can find an electrician who will check your work when he hooks up to the circuit box and sign off on it as if he did the work. Many contractors are willing to let homeowners do supervised work for a small additional fee for them to sign off on it.

boykster · « **Reply #47 on:** December 01, 2007, 10:19:46 pm »

I do all my own electrical, even the box work, as long as it's not as big as replacing the main box. I've added new circuits to open slots in my breaker box, re-worked a few circuits, done lighting, etc. I have a neighbor who is an electrical contractor who I'll occasionally have look at my work, but in my municipality (and HO insurance) the home owner is allowed to do electrical work.

I do plumbing too, but I'm not a big fan of plumbing stuff

ChadTower · « **Reply #48 on:** December 01, 2007, 10:36:42 pm »

Quote from: bfauska on December 01, 2007, 09:30:39 pm

If they don't allow you to do your own wiring either for insurance purposes or code, you can find an electrician who will check your work when he hooks up to the circuit box and sign off on it as if he did the work. Many contractors are willing to let homeowners do supervised work for a small additional fee for them to sign off on it.

I've called a couple of electricians and asked that... they both said here they're not allowed to do that and will lose their license if caught. It's not worth them losing their livelihood for a few extra bucks here.

bfauska · « **Reply #49 on:** December 01, 2007, 10:46:05 pm »

If they treat you as an employee they can't be fired for it. There are ways to work the system, they just don't want to, which is obviously their right and I wouldn't hold it against them, I just know that it is and can be done in many places.

It may be irrelevant anyway if your municipality and insurance don't care. Many states and cities allow homeowners to act as their own contractor on various levels of their construction sometimes including electrical.

shardian · « **Reply #50 on:** December 02, 2007, 09:00:28 am »

Hehe, there is no way I'm paying an electrician to replace an outlet. I'm quite competent when it comes to twisting wire nuts thank you very much.

I've had to fix more than a few wiring mistakes in the house too, since it was apparently not originally wired by a professional. Several outlets upstairs are somehow wired into the basement breaker for instance. I'll be fixing that when I renovate the living room.

If for some reason the house does burn down and the insurance asks for info, I'll tell em I haven't done ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- to anything since I moved in.

Never the less, you've got me curious so I'll read my homeowners again. I am pretty sure there wasn't anything in there about the homeowner doing their own work.

ChadTower · « **Reply #51 on:** December 02, 2007, 09:29:32 am »

Knowing your state is one that tends to allow more freedom than others I'll bet you can do it. Better to double check, though. MA tends to require permits and inspections to mow the lawn so I'm paranoid about it. When I had my shed built I tried to do the right thing and get permits and such but the building inspector had so many requirements and fees that I eventually just said ---fudgesicle--- it and had it built anyway... a couple years later no one has said anything about the new building on my property.

billf · « **Reply #52 on:** December 02, 2007, 11:03:26 am »

Quote from: ChadTower on December 02, 2007, 09:29:32 am

Knowing your state is one that tends to allow more freedom than others I'll bet you can do it. Better to double check, though. MA tends to require permits and inspections to mow the lawn so I'm paranoid about it. When I had my shed built I tried to do the right thing and get permits and such but the building inspector had so many requirements and fees that I eventually just said ---fudgesicle--- it and had it built anyway... a couple years later no one has said anything about the new building on my property.

Around here they catch up with these kinds of things when you go to sell the house. In a case like yours, if they realize you added the shed to the property without the permits, they would charge double what the permits cost (as the penalty) and if the shed is in violation of anything, you'd be required to fix it before selling the house.

myntik1 · « **Reply #53 on:** December 03, 2007, 02:40:11 am »

I wouldn't just call an electrician from the phone book, I would speak to one in person. Preferably someone you know on some level about the work. Once I frame the walls I will install some outlets and have someone come in and check everything for code and tie it into the box. If you were in Western Mass I would send two guys I know over to you. They do a lot of electrical work for my boss in his bars and nightclubs. They upgraded my electrical service from 50 AMP fuses to a breaker box. Which was 500 less than my next cheapest quote.

ChadTower · « **Reply #54 on:** December 03, 2007, 07:10:22 pm »

I seriously wish I could get to a decent lumber yard while it's actually open... these Lowe's 2x4s are great when I first get them and then a week later they look like ---smurfing--- Twizzlers.

polaris · « **Reply #55 on:** December 03, 2007, 08:01:34 pm »

Quote from: ChadTower on December 03, 2007, 07:10:22 pm

I seriously wish I could get to a decent lumber yard while it's actually open... these Lowe's 2x4s are great when I first get them and then a week later they look like ---smurfing--- Twizzlers.

that really pisses me off when i buy packs of wood, ---smurfing--- b+q

crashwg · « **Reply #56 on:** December 03, 2007, 11:00:52 pm »

Quote from: myntik1 on November 28, 2007, 01:33:42 pm

(2) The most daunting part of the task will be mudding and sanding the walls. I was thinking about hiring this out. Is it really that time consuming to get it right?

I think drywall mudding sucks friggin hard core myself. It's really something that takes practice, almost an art form. Maybe if you planed on doing a whole house or something you might get enough practice to get it right but if it were me, and I cared what the wall was going to look like, I'd hire a pro for that. Hanging the sheetrock on the other hand, if you've got a good back, one can do that all day and 99% of the mistakes you make (which usually aren't many) can be fixed by the guy muddin.

shardian · « **Reply #57 on:** December 03, 2007, 11:39:34 pm »

I think I might be the only person in the world that actually enjoys mudding drywall.

After many long and painful sessions of patching several rooms in the house from previous shoddy patching (note, many places in the house where someone patched hole, then didn't even sand before painting!!!), I finally figured out a quick shortcut for fixing sticking out spots. Previously on those bad patches, I would try to sand them down and even them out with a few coats of mud. Yesterday, I got the bright idea to take a hammer to them. Why didn't I think of that before! It took less than an hour to go over all the walls, push in the bad spots, and mud everything over. I also had to use a large trowel to go over the seams, as they show pretty bad from original shoddy work. Is it really that hard to feather a seam people? Jeez...

I also got my corner fireplace in today and just finished assembling it. It fits perfectly where I wanted it to go, unlike anything I could find at the box stores. Here is the model for anyone in the market:
http://www.target.com/dp/B000RKXTYC/601-6338894-8624163

Having looked at the corner fireplaces at Lowes and Home Depot, I wasn't expecting much. I was quite surprised and pleased to find that EVERYTHING on the mantle is actual stained hardwood, and all connections are made with wood blocking and bolts! Extremely well put together. Even the pricey ones at lowes are pressed hardboard and paper covering. After 10% coupon and free shipping I only paid $286 shipped.

ChadTower · « **Reply #58 on:** December 04, 2007, 07:56:27 am »

Electric fireplace? Does it have actual fire?

shardian · « **Reply #59 on:** December 04, 2007, 08:04:30 am »

Quote from: ChadTower on December 04, 2007, 07:56:27 am

Electric fireplace? Does it have actual fire?

No, it has a an electric heater and fan plus a clever fake log and flame mechanism. It even makes crackling sounds for that complete simulated fire feeling.

You've never seen one of the fake fireplaces??

ChadTower · « **Reply #60 on:** December 04, 2007, 08:49:25 am »

I have, but couldn't quite tell on that one. I have seen electric ignition fireplaces before. They suck and I was hoping you hadn't bought one. You didn't.

billf · « **Reply #61 on:** December 04, 2007, 09:11:14 am »

Quote from: ChadTower on December 04, 2007, 08:49:25 am

I have, but couldn't quite tell on that one. I have seen electric ignition fireplaces before. They suck and I was hoping you hadn't bought one. You didn't.

My old house had a gas fireplace with an electric start - flick a switch on the wall and voila - fire. I didn't particularly like it because the whole thing was enclosed. There were no doors on the front to open and there was a blower built-in to push heat into the room. Worked fine but the blower was too loud for my taste. And since it was enclosed, you didn't get the fireplace ambience. But I'm curious, why do you say they suck?

ChadTower · « **Reply #62 on:** December 04, 2007, 09:24:05 am »

The ones I was thinking of are still wood burning but have an electric ignitor... basically for the truly lazy who don't want to use matches or a lighter. They're not gas burning.

ChadTower · « **Reply #63 on:** December 05, 2007, 08:47:27 pm »

I seem to have developed some bad habit that is leading to not cutting off the 2x4s perfectly square.

boykster · « **Reply #64 on:** December 05, 2007, 09:22:50 pm »

got a chopsaw? That's what I use to cut my 2x4's. Heck, as long as you're close, for most framing its good enough since it's gonna have sheetrock over it anyway.

ChadTower · « **Reply #65 on:** December 06, 2007, 12:49:22 am »

Quote from: boykster on December 05, 2007, 09:22:50 pm

got a chopsaw? That's what I use to cut my 2x4's. Heck, as long as you're close, for most framing its good enough since it's gonna have sheetrock over it anyway.

Oh, they're close, but I'm staring at it and it annoys me. It's all measure one-cut one-attach one anyway since I can't assemble the wall and raise it into place. It's bound to be this way because of slight variation in foundation, slight bump in the floor, etc etc.

I don't have a chop saw and am working in fairly tight quarters.

bfauska · « **Reply #66 on:** December 06, 2007, 01:56:18 am »

You can use a [urlhttp://www.swansontoolco.com/products/speed_squares.html]speed square[/url] as a guide for a skill saw. Either hold or clamp the square to the 2x4 and run the base of the saw along the edge of the square. It sounds more complicated that it really is, when I do it it only adds about 5 seconds to a cut.

ChadTower · « **Reply #67 on:** December 06, 2007, 01:58:58 am »

Not a bad idea. I briefly entertained the idea of making a small sawboard type thing for it but this works too.

myntik1 · « **Reply #68 on:** December 06, 2007, 01:48:32 pm »

Chad this is the last time I hijack your thread

after 2 months of measuring and bs'n I'm finally starting my basement. my goal is to have it done before the Super Bowl. I've procrastinated because I hate long drawn out projects. But for some reason the work isn't getting done with me just thinking about it. So last night I started with the imitation drylok. I'm putting it on kind of heavy. I only have about an hour a day to devote to this since I have:
(1) full-time gig
(1) part-time gig
(1) on-call gig (1 - 2 shifts a month)
(1) 2 yr old son
(1) demanding better half

When the basement is sealed tighter than a blank's poonanie I will begin construction and start a thread to document my progress. Maybe someone else can find my advice and mistakes helpful.

ChadTower · « **Reply #69 on:** December 06, 2007, 01:56:07 pm »

This isn't a thread for just my project, bro, so it's not a hijack. It is for all of us who are working on this stuff, especially given that for some of us it is the first such project we've ever worked on.

I'm right there with you on the time thing. I've been spending about an hour a night lately working on mine... almost done with the framing of that one wall now that I'm getting much faster at it. Come home from work, measure for one vertical member, cut, align, toenail, repeat for one more, go back upstairs to give the kids baths.

ChadTower · « **Reply #70 on:** December 07, 2007, 07:34:59 pm »

Quote from: myntik1 link=topic=73854.msg764493#msg764493

Chad show us some pics of your progress. I really need motivation

Not a ton to see but I did just finish all of the framing of this side of the basement for now. I'm not going to frame around the windows until spring - I'm going to replace those windows then and figure more room around them = easier getting them out.

Next up is to find a day for an electrician to come over, install a circuit on that wall, put some insulation in there, and then get my workbench and a couple vector cabs and a pin set up along it.

shardian · « **Reply #71 on:** December 20, 2007, 09:52:38 pm »

Roll Call!

Where does everyone stand on their respective basement projects?
I am currently working on patching the ceiling where I had to cut for wiring and lights. I'm having to experiment with the best way to do it with doing the elast amount of work. Putting back a patch and making it blend in is no simple task on a lightly textured ceiling. I'm also prepping to level a spot in the floor on which a wall is built over the slope of the mech. room drain. I had to caulk up to the wall, and tommorrow I'm putting down the leveling goop. I've been doing one wall at a time in the bigger part of the basement with fixing and priming. Slow going, but hopefully things pick up over the next month or so.

ChadTower · « **Reply #72 on:** December 21, 2007, 10:06:48 am »

At a standstill right now while I try to find time to be there when I have an electrician come in to run the new circuit. Busy time at work + holiday + scrambling for school vacation child care = hard to get this done.

myntik1 · « **Reply #73 on:** December 21, 2007, 04:01:01 pm »

mine is at a standstill as well. i had to traverse the new england states during my mini vacation to find a pair of ugg boots. St. Nick should be bringing me a miter saw on Tuesday so next week I should have some progress made.

shardian · « **Reply #74 on:** December 21, 2007, 04:07:32 pm »

Quote from: myntik1 on December 21, 2007, 04:01:01 pm

mine is at a standstill as well. i had to traverse the new england states during my mini vacation to find a pair of ugg boots. St. Nick should be bringing me a miter saw on Tuesday so next week I should have some progress made.

So this is gonna be you huh?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j70aX-5pQKo[/youtube]

myntik1 · « **Reply #75 on:** December 21, 2007, 07:51:31 pm »

if I'm lucky. knowing my luck I'll get a dozen cordless screwdrivers

Jdurg · « **Reply #76 on:** December 24, 2007, 10:59:51 pm »

Quote from: myntik1 on December 21, 2007, 07:51:31 pm

if I'm lucky. knowing my luck I'll get a dozen cordless screwdrivers

Heh, that's what Santa got me. I was hoping for a nice power screwdriver or a router, but I got a pretty good cordless screwdriver. It's not the most powerful thing on earth and when I went and did a test hole on a piece of plywood I had, the thing nearly died about halfway through. I guess it's just not poweful enough. I eventually got the hole drilled by flipping the wood over and drilling through the other side. I just know that when i'm done i'll need some good artwork to cover my ineptitude.

myntik1 · « **Reply #77 on:** December 26, 2007, 09:48:04 am »

well as luck would have it I came up short like a midget on his knees (no offense to any midgets currently on their knees reading this post). The old lady told everyone I wanted tools. I said if they have to get me something tell them a home d gc. I guess my manspeak didn't translate well. I got yet another mechanics socket set, a set of line wrenches and a set of screwdrivers. So tonight I'm making the pilgrimage to the d to exchange these for a miter saw.

Jdurg · « **Reply #78 on:** December 26, 2007, 02:23:16 pm »

Lol. Yeah, I've learned to just ask for gift cards now.

Today I went to the Depot and got myself a nice router set and a jigsaw. (The jigsaw was free for buying the router). After reading through this thread, I'm tempted to finish my basement! The final room would only be about 4' wide by 6' long, but I want to do it now!

ChadTower · « **Reply #79 on:** December 31, 2007, 08:47:28 am »

Saturday decided WTF and did the framing around the windows on that wall, so the wall is completely framed now. Electricians came at 7am this morning and put a new 20A circuit on it with 5 quad receptacle boxes (GFCI on the first to protect the whole string). Took them about an hour because it's so close to the box and the wall is still fully open.


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