Day 41: Hammering upside down is hard

Also, sideways is not ideal. With new hammers in hand (after Garrett underestimated his strength on the weekend and broke the cheap one we had), we began framing the basement walls to prepare for insulating. Apparently hours of de-nailing does not train you well for nailing in. At least there will be much opportunity to practice, practice, practice. We're using 2x4 studs 1 inch off the wall so the spray foam can sit behind the studs and prevent thermal bridging. With this, we'll be able to get R-24 on almost all the exterior walls in the basement. (The back wall in the utility room won't be insulated because we're not moving the hot water tank or heat recovery ventilator.)

Here are the promised Google SketchUp images that will demonstrate why it's so much more fun to work on house stuff than work on school stuff.

This is the basement as it was mid-deconstruction. The photos from the house tour show a few more appliances (including the laundry pair just to the left of the stairs) and more random shelves everywhere, but this is basically what the basement looked like when we got the house.



This is what the basement will (hopefully) look like in a few weeks after we finish with the framing. The water meter and softener have been moved. We would like to take down the brick wall to get full insulation on the south wall and also open up some possibilities for rearranging the space.



We're planning to put a three piece bathroom (toilet, sink, shower) in the basement and have some options. The next post will include a few scenarios of what the basement may look like when all is said and done. Your trusted opinions will be solicited.