Remodel Update - Exterior Wall, Window And Door

With the ceiling and roof joists sorted out and repaired it was time to put in two new walls. The small section of the South wall I had to remove because of rot and the new East wall. The East wall will have a new window and exterior door.

We were rushed so I failed to get any in process pictures. The framing is pretty straightforward though I used two different construction methods. First the new, small section of the South wall. It's the wall right next to the old wall that still has the insulation. On that section we built the wall on the floor because we had to add OSB and insulating board on the outside of the wall before we put it in because there's no way to get to the exterior through the existing siding. I made it a loose fit due to the unevenness of the ceiling and floor. We put it up and nailed it to the existing structure. Then I used screws to fasten the new OSB to the existing exterior plywood attached to the siding.

Then it was time for the main event, the new South wall. On this section I first put in the sill plate with my Ramset then used a plumb bob to mark the location for the top plate. Once the top was in I measured for 16 inch on center studs and we cut each stud to fit. We did this due to the really uneven surfaces. It was just easier that trying to build the whole wall on the floor and trying to get it to fit properly. As the studs went in we framed in the new window and door. It was interesting trying to keep things plumb and some of it shows how far out the existing structure is but in the end it looks nice, is absolutely solid and the door and window are dead level and straight. It's nailed to the walls at each end, to the ceiling joists and to the floor with the Ramset.

Here's an exterior view with the OSB attached. The OSB is screwed to each common stud as well as the king, jack and cripple studs. In the next few days I'll add in the exterior insulating board. You can also see a new 4x4 brace for the header there in the middle. When we were measuring everything out it became clear that we had unacceptable sag in that header so a new brace was necessary.

As a reminder. This is what it looked like yesterday.

Here's a closer view of the door installation. Doors are tricky and it took some fitting, shimming and fussing to get it in correctly. If you look closely you'll see all the reveals are straight and even even though the header looks out of plumb. It's not but the ceiling is. You can see the differing lengths of the cripple studs above the door header. You can also see how the jack studs (which support the header) attach to the king studs (which outline the door frame). The common studs are 16 inches on center and go in independent of the king studs for OSB and drywall installation. Take your time here and get it right the first time or you'll either have to shim the heck out of it or not be able to get the door hung properly at all. The door swings freely and latches perfectly. I am a happy man. Isn't that a nice door? Lu loves it.

Here's a view of the room from the kitchen. You can get a better feel for the size of the space. It's about 20 feet long by 13 1/2 feet wide. You can also see the tape marks on the floor where the interior walls will go. That shiny stuff leaning against the wall is the exterior insulating board. It goes up on the outside of the OSB.

It's also nice getting this room finally enclosed so we can take down the child barrier and that blanket I had covering the kitchen doorway. Angus can finally hang out and 'help'. He's a happy boy.

I promise a more in depth view of wall construction as we get the interior walls built. We should get one done tomorrow though it is Lu's birthday so it'll be a short day. But we are happy where we are right now. The space is finally taking shape and the whole thing is looking like a room instead of a disaster area. More later.

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