Closet Remodel: Walls and Floors (Part 3)

I thought How hard can this be? Tongue and groove boards that fit together should be easy to install. I failed to realize the intricacies of a wall in the shape of a triangle. And walking up and down stairs with my bad foot has been a nightmare. Unfortunately, the first construction day I continued to baby the foot which placed much stress on my opposite leg...and my hip went out causing me to collapse on my garage floor. Lots of pain! Again, I was forced me to convalesce and take some time off. Consequently, this remodel is taking forever as I've slowed down in order to not overwork the appendages.

 

Anyway, back to the triangles. Lots of planning, measuring, measuring again, walking up and down the stairs to check the measurements, sawing, doing it all again if the board still doesn't fit. My first wall was OK, but the gaps started getting too big. I just couldn't get the angle correct. I'll cover them up with a nice piece of molding.

For the second wall I used a cardboard template and this worked wonderfully. This is the "Mango" closet (north closet), although I might rename it "Habanero". Below you can see the comparison between the right (first and bad) wall with the gap at the top, and the very nicely done left wall.

Once all the walls are in, it smells really nice, like healthy, untreated, natural wood. No more insulation smell! And what is really great is the closets don't get hot like they used to which means the insulation is working and this winter they also won't be cold. Love it!

See the little square box I built at the back left corner? It's covering the electrical box that I needed to keep open for access. Not a great solution, but it works. There were many challenges that a professional carpenter would know how to remedy. Most of the time I was just flying by the seat of my pants. I'm sure there are better ways to do just about everything!

In the above photo the floor issue is obvious. Someone recently told me drilling holes in a beautiful wood floor is or was the procedure for adding blown-in insulation to the floors of older homes. Then they filled them with some kind of putty but not all the way so there are still deep indentions in the holes. What an ugly mess! I have discovered in the last few weeks my house is packed with insulation. Even crawlspaces that should breathe are packed full. The roof should have been left with airspace at the top for ventilation and heat control, but it's packed. The previous owners did a lot of remodeling and I'm sure it's more energy efficient now, but the insulation is gross and I wouldn't have damaged these floors to do it.

 

I used wood filler and puttied the holes flush with the rest of the floor as I plan to paint the floors. Nasty stuff when you sand it. That dust got all over everything and filled the closet with haze. Then I used fans to suck it out the window, but had to clean the floors (for the fifth time!) and dust everything so it was too much work.

Cantaloupe (south closet) is coming along. (Soon to be renamed...what is a good name for a pink-orange color? I think "cantaloupe" is too yellow-orange to be a good color synonym. Maybe just melon, but I think that's too red.) The ceiling went twice as fast as the first closet as there are benefits to experience, but just when I thought I figured out the triangle wall plan and templates, I started getting gaps again! Damn.

I think the angle was off. You can see in the above photo I finally figured it out and got the angle back on track, but again, an ugly, gapping hole. I'll camouflage it with molding. One very important discovery I've made is I'm lazy. This is really nothing new. Some things I just don't like doing, and only do them because I like the finished product. I was constantly saying to myself, "Good enough. It's just a closet." A professional construction worker wouldn't say that...well...unless they are from Rathole where there is a lack of professional anything which is why I'm doing this myself in the first place! And it's saving me hundreds of dollars in labor.

Another challenge are the teeny weeny boards I have to cut to create a wall on the sides of the door. These are about 8 1/2 inches long but because my house is so odd, they start at 8 1/2 inches and get progressively smaller the higher they go! UGH! Still, they are square. Much easier.

Then there is the other side. These boards are about five inches long. The challenge is trying to use the left over smaller pieces of wood and use the circular saw to cut them! The proper tool would be a table saw or chop saw but those are hundreds of dollars. I'm doing what I can with what I have. Looks nice though, uh? I'm getting better at this!

At this point I realize I don't have the stamina to build a house myself, even a tiny house. Hammering makes my wrists and hands hurt, and bending, lifting, holding the circular saw makes my whole body hurt. The dust makes my lungs hurt and I'm not really fond of breathing insulation even if this is the less toxic version. It's a slow process. Even though I get really compulsive with my projects so they tend to go very fast, I'm not as fast as I used to be nor as physically resilient. It would probably take me years to get a house built and I really don't know if I want the stress. This has been a good learning experience though and I'll enjoy the finished product.

Next step: PAINT! I can't wait. I'm pretty sure my whole reasoning for remodeling these closet is so I could paint two more rooms!  I found this low-VOC designer paint called "DEVINE". Incredibly expensive, about twice as much as other brands, but it seems to be very non-toxic which is what I wanted.

Corsets R Us

 

 

Today for a break from construction exhaustion I stopped at a garage sale. I didn't really plan to buy anything, but you never know when someone might be selling reclaimed wood, windows, doors or other possible construction supplies. It was more of a free sale than a garage sale as this woman was cleaning out a friend's storage unit and giving most of it away! I snagged about ten brand new gift bags which I'll add to my already huge collection. Since I so rarely give gifts to anyone, I'm not sure why I thought I needed them, but they were pretty. I also found a lovely woven, straw hat that would make a good sun protector or garden hat, a small rug that I might use in one of my newly remodeled closets, wooden beads, a book on the history of television, a large plastic bowl, and a beaded hippy necklace with a cross made out of blacksmith nails. I love free stuff. I figure if I decide I don't want it, I can try to sell it in my next garage sale or put it in my free box and give it away.

As I'm digging through the boxes hoping to find more treasures, I pulled out...a corset! A real corset. The sale organizer was nearby and I exclaimed, "WHAT the hell is this??" as I held it up for all to see. She laughed and said, "Oh, take that, it's free." I have no idea what possessed me to want used women's undergarments, but it's absolutely fascinating. It is a little discolored so it's not in perfect shape, but more importantly, it doesn't smell musty or laundered so it was a safe curiosity to explore.

Front view with laces and eyelet side.

As you can see it laces up the front and along the sides there are about fifty eyelet hooks. Parts are elastic or rubber, there are stiff "ribs" or boning in the back to hold you posture perfect, garter belts (!) for stockings, the fiber content is cotton, rayon and rubber, and the design of the material is a very pretty pale pink floral pattern. It's a size 44 so it wasn't for a petite woman. I wonder how old it is?  Ah! I love historical research!

Back view with ribbing.

Rubber has been around since the early 1800s and rayon since the late 1890s. Zippers were first manufactured in 1913, but I don't know if zippers were ever really used for undergarments. According to the tag it was manufactured by Carol Brent who was a designer for Montgomery Ward in the 1950s and 1960s. There are vintage garments for sale online by this designer, but this contraption seems a little archaic for the 1960s. I'm not that familiar with underwear history so what do I know? The lacing in the front, eyelets on the side and the position of the elastic which is along the sides and under the lacing makes me wonder if this isn't a maternity corset? Although I'm not sure why anyone would want to wear a corset while they are pregnant. Maybe it was fashionable? Maybe it was supportive and comfortable? Hmmmm.... There is a hook underneath the breast area, but I can't tell where it hooks and what it's for unless there is a missing piece.

Fascinating. OK, I've had my fun. Now what do I do with it???????

Let There Be Light! (Closet Remodel, Part 2)

For nine years I've been hand-sawing wood with my $1 yard sale hand saw while dreaming of something a little more speedy.

 

I've always wanted a circular saw, but avoided buying one because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be weighed down with a garage full of tools. Where does a tiny home dweller store the massive numbers of tools they accumulate in the building of their tiny home if the whole point is to downsize? Man tools are heavy and take up space. Still, I'll need them if I want to build or repair anything. So I bought myself a new circular saw!

 

So awesome. A new toy that will save me all kinds of time and energy. And I picked out a lightweight model so I don't have to fight trying to control it. I've watched incredibly strong construction workers wield them with one hand, but there is no way I can hold a heavy board with one hand and handle an instrument with a sharp blade with the other hand. This one's a girl saw...lightweight and pretty! I've borrowed many circular saws over the years and they've all been used and well-worn. This one is clean and sparkly. It also has a laser light on it. Cool. It took me about an hour to read the instructions and figure out how to attach the blade and the whole time I was thinking it would take a construction guy about two seconds to do this! I got it working which made me giggle like an idiot and I practiced by making two cuts on a piece of 2 x 4 board, then...it stopped. Nothing! I was so disappointed. The laser light still worked so I knew it wasn't my newly remodeled outlets nor my newly remodeled extension cord. (I've been doing a lot of electricity lately. 'Tis the summer of electricity.) I ended up having to exchange the saw for another.

This is nothing new. Nearly every piece of equipment or supply I've had to return at least once. I returned one outlet three times because I kept buying the wrong type. The hardware stores are an hour's drive so any errors in judgment are not quickly remedied. It's very time consuming. I doubt if experienced construction workers do such stupid things. Still, this is how one learns and I'm learning a lot!

I added 2 x 4 boards to the top of the studs to support the ceiling and I ELECTRIFIED the closet!


Two by four boards added to support ceilings.

View without lamps because I bought the wrong type of lamp! UGH!

It wasn't easy. I thought I felt confident until I realized the old wiring didn't match the new wiring and I wasn't quite sure what to do with an extra wire. Then, of course, I realized I bought the wrong type of lamps and had to exchange those. UGH! With every electrical venture I end up bleeding. I keep stabbing myself with the screwdriver as I try to force the skinny, slippery, little wires into place. If I start to bleed, I know I'm doing it right. HA!

 

But I have electrified my closets!!  Yatna, the Courageous Menopausal Warrior is now an ELECTRICIAN!

So beauteous...like a light from heaven!

 

Next...the ceilings and walls!!

Closet Remodel: Let the Summer Projects Begin! (Part 1)

I have a list of projects I want to do this year: new heating, removing old heating, re-roof my garden shed, build a cement step, and line my closets. These are the extracurricular activities that keep me sane while living isolated in the middle of no where. My plans began weeks ago. Unfortunately it was in the middle of unloading supplies when I stopped to swing at bees and slammed my foot into the cement. Projects were delayed while the foot healed. I'm now ready to go!

This year the theme of my summer construction is: "Practice for a Tiny House." I figured since I'm not quite ready to start building a tiny house as I have no land to put it on, I'd learn some of the skills I'll need to know on my current house. I've often said this is my "practice house" and I've done some major screw-ups all in the name of learning.

 

I have two unlined hall closets at the stair landing on the upstairs level outside the bedrooms.

Right side.

 



Left side.



"Cantaloupe" (right side)



"Mango" (left side)

Yes, that slanted ceiling is the roof line and each closet has one side that is an exterior house side. Someone told me these closets were probably used for cold storage in the old days. I believe that. In the winter they are damn cold! I've never used them for anything so it would be nice to make them usable. And pretty.

When I first moved here both were lined with raw, formaldehyde-soaked, toxic fiberglass insulation although someone forgot to enclose it all with walls. I couldn't stand the thought of something so toxic so close to my sleeping area so I ripped it all out. I'm pretty sure throughout the years much of my winter heat has escaped through these closets. The floor insulation is still showing and anytime I go into the space my lungs and sinuses start hurting.

The second step was to use caulking and plug up the holes in the wood. Yep, you could see outside through the holes! They weren't big, but big enough for a bee, hornet, or spider to get through. (I can't even imagine what the rest of the house looks like!) The great thing about these old houses is they are built with good, solid, beautiful, un-treated wood. Another awesome thing about old houses is they breathe. They breathe because they aren't sealed up tight like new construction and that also makes the indoor air quality less toxic. Unfortunately, the breathability also means they lose heat and allow in all kinds of critters not to mention rain and weather. (Untreated wood means they are susceptible to house-eating bug infestations, but let's not talk about that and I'll continue to keep an eye on everything!)

My plan is to line the walls with insulation and cover it with paneling so there are real walls. Constructing walls is something I'll need to do with a tiny house so this will be good practice. I also plan to add lights to these closets. Learning electricity will be a huge challenge, but filled with enormous benefit. If I get electrically comfortable, I'll replace my own heating and not have to rely on electricians and heating guys who just don't bother showing up! I'm ready to do this! I am BRAVE!

So let's get started...

Someone on Freecycle gave me a half roll of free roofing felt/tar paper to line the walls (and to use on the garden shed roof). The cavities are all unevenly measured, something you might not find in a newly constructed house. Most houses these days are 16 on center so the 2 x 4 studs are spaced 16 inches a part. Tiny houses use 24 on center to reduce the weight of too much wood. The wall cavities in my closets are 12 inches, 14 inches, 14 1/2 inches, 15 inches, 22 inches, etc. Weirdness. Makes it really difficult to measure as there is no consistency.

Next step, add insulation. I've been reading a lot on different types of insulation. There are concerns when packing walls, floors and ceilings with filler: fire, mold, bugs, and chemical toxicity. Here are the types of insulation I've found so far and some of their properties:

Fiberglass with Formaldehyde  This stuff is as toxic as it comes, even cancer causing, but really cheap which is why it's so popular. It's also easy to install and has a ready-made plastic vapor barrier. I hate plastic. I will avoid this type of insulation.

Fiberglass without Formaldehyde This stuff is half as toxic, but I still don't want to breathe fiberglass particles. I had enough problems with my fiberglass-constructed heating system.

Cellulose Blow-in  Cellulose is made from recycled newspaper, cardboard, cotton, straw, sawdust or hemp. Yes, it's a natural product which makes it a huge fire hazard so to compensate it is treated with toxic ammonium sulfate. It also will slump in a wall cavity and mold, but I've heard it's good for flooring insulation, aside from the toxicity. It's normally blown-in so you have to own or rent a blower.

Denim This isn't recycled blue jeans that have been worn for years by people; it's denim remnants, or left over pieces of fabric from clothing manufacturers then treated with borates for fire and pest protection. I was really excited about this when I first heard. Who doesn't want to recycle? Unfortunately, I couldn't find a store that has it in stock as it must be specially ordered. What a pain. I got online and ordered a free sample swatch from a company. Then I was reading the blog of a chemically-sensitive tiny house builder who said after using this insulation she became sensitive to cotton. I've known people to be allergic to cotton, but everytime I hear of someone who says they've "become sensitive", it's usually because the cotton has been treated with chemicals rather than the cotton itself. Like my "organic" sheets. "Blue" jean material is dyed with some really nasty chemicals and then saturated, like most new clothing, with formaldehyde and other mildew resistant chemicals. This jean material wasn't well-worn and washed multiple times allowing lots of time for offgasing. It's brand new. Who knows what else they are doing to it once it's mushed up into insulation. Hmmm...I wondered about this. The sample arrived a month later. It has a nice feel and I stuck my nose into it. No strong smell, but it did give me a "ugh" feel. I also read denim insulation slumps and can have mold/mildew issues due to its weight. Tiny houses due to their small interior spaces can have condensation issues which can result in mildew/mold. It's also only 2 inches thick and most cavities are 3 - 4 inches so it doesn't seem very effective. It also comes in strange widths and some have complained trying to cut it and install it is a nightmare.

Wool  Wool is fire resistant, bug resistant, and mold/water resistant, but unfortunately it's really expensive. As high as ten times more than anything else. One company sells it for $35 - $59 (depending on the thickness) for one batt (about 12" x 22"). I think wool would be great if you had access to sheep and could get it free. I don't know if wool slumps nor if it's as effective as other types of insulation. Cob house people love using wool and it's natural.

 

Stone Wool  As I'm shopping the hardware stores, I came across Roxul Insulation. It's stone wool, or spun rock (?) with added recycled material although the type of recycled material is not listed. It's fire resistant, bug resistant, water repellent, and "planet-friendly" with certification for indoor air quality. They advertise its use for hospitals and baby rooms for noise resistance and low toxicity which caught my eye as well as having a fairly high insulating efficiency. The salesperson told me it was brand new in the store which accounts for why I've never seen it. It's also three inches thick. Great marketing campaign. Look at that sweet baby! Someone knows how to sell! So I get online to research what they might not want me to know. They use formaldehyde in the adhesives, but only 5-6% and the company claims it's is offgassed in the heating process. Right away I'm leery, but this product seems to be the most hopeful and I feel adventurous. It's about the same price as the pain-in-the-ass denim, but it's right in front of me so I don't have to special order it and of course, it's the same price as the wool insulation only I get 11 more batts! I come to the conclusion there is no perfect insulation and I'm working on these closets as an experiment so why not be brave and make some discoveries? If it all goes wrong I could rip it out and give it to someone else. I buy one bundle which is twelve 47" x 15" batts. I'm told by the salesperson to cut it with a bread knife as using an exacto knife would mangle it. Hmmm...OK. Weird, but in a cool way. I wore a mask and gloves because it still has an itchy, creepy feel. Cuts like butter, easy to install, and no smell at all! In fact, prior to its installation, being in the closet with the floor insulation made my lungs hurt, but once I got this stone wool insulation up, I didn't seem to have as much of a problem, but it still bothers me. We'll see once I get the walls up if it affects the air quality.

I pretty much gave up on getting a denim insulation sample so I bought the Roxul before it came. Here are the stone wool and denim side by side for comparison:

The denim is so much softer than the stone wool, not as scratchy and oily feeling, but it doesn't feel as strong or rigid. It's like cotton balls. Hmmm...I like it, but would it really work inside a wall? It seems to have sagging potential which I wouldn't like. The smell isn't strong, but this is a fairly small piece.

It looks like they are the same thickness, but the stone wool on is more compressed. It tends to expand more once out of the package. The denim is light and airy...like a big cotton ball. I wouldn't think it would be as efficient as the stone wool. I do like the idea it's recycled material, though.




Here is the stone wool insulation cut to perfect size and fitting snuggly. It even stands in place by itself and that makes it easier to install. I think the denim would be sagging all over making it harder to install. I think the stone wool was a good choice.

Then I had to consider what kind of wood for the lining. I didn't want anything that was treated or smelled. Everyone suggested cedar because it smells good and because of this popular for closets. Cedar is also fairly bug resistant, but I don't want smelly stuff. Cedar is also more expensive. Not only that I want to paint these closets to match the rest of the house which would negate the cedar-y smell. For a tiny house, I'd probably use knotty pine, but since these are closets I got the knotty pine panels which are a little thinner, but still wood. They are untreated and smell good to me, like wood.

Pine is so pretty! And this is without paint.

Thinner panels are cheaper, too, and cheaper means less quality, but I'm experimenting. For the second closet, I might be getting old tongue and groove oak flooring from a remodel job which I'm really excited about. I'll have to sand it down, but it's free so I'm not complaining. Of course, oak is awesome quality so I can't decide if I should use it for the second closet or save if for my tiny house. I'm interested in learning how to create a wall using tongue and groove wood, how it works, the best way to attach it, and problems I'll encounter.



See studs at sides? They don't go all the way up.

I'm already freaking out about how to attach the wood. Do I do the ceiling first or the walls?  Screws or nails? The studs up the walls are not flush with the center stud in the ceiling so how do I line up the ceiling panels? What is the best way to measure a wall that is the shape of a triangle? How do I get everything to line up so it doesn't look like crap. How do I get around the electrical wires that weren't embedded into the studs? Should I wire for lights first or do it after I install the walls? Jeez. Never fear. I am getting loads of information off the internet and I have a construction friend who is giving me advice.

 

Electrical wire and box wraps around the stud instead of through it.
I was told to leave a hole for access. Darn ugly, if you ask me.

  

Now to work out the logistics...To be continued...