Virginia Garage and House - Let the process begin.

[hcallaway]

Closing off the upstairs of the garage from the garage area was better handled with enclosing under the stairs. I also decided to put the door downstairs as it should be easier to carry items upstairs and have good clearance at the top of the stairs.
I decided to make a storage area under the stairs with a door to close it off as well.

 

[hcallaway]

The house garage. This is going to let my wife park a car in the garage for the first time in 36 years. She has been parking at the man cave under a lean to roof. She even got to experience not having snow and ice on the car in the morning this winter. I explained it is a long process to park in a garage and I did not want to spoil her too soon. That did not go over too well.
Her garage (until I have to appropriate it) is 22 x 26. It does happen to have 10' ceilings. It seems that is a good height if you needed a lift.
It will have a half bath, a gas heater and a utility sink. It is also wired for 2 ceiling fans. 16 x 8 Garage Door.

Rough in for 1/2 bath.

 

[hcallaway]

Today the sub showed up to insulate. I went there early today to seal any of the wiring from the crawl space. I should not have wasted my time as the sub was going to do it. They even sealed all wiring into the attic and a few holes I may have missed. They also sealed any framing and along the seal plate.

 

[BuilderML]

The picture with the tub i would run a 2x6 flat up along the front edge of the tub on both sides. They have a 2x4 for the lower section for the nailing flange of the tub. Adding the 2x6 will give you plenty of width for play if you ever decide to add a shower door or a rod its nice to be able to anchor into wood versus just wedge anchors or other items of the like. Looking good.:thumbsup:

 

[hcallaway]

I had already sent a text to the builder but a 2 x 6 is better. Thx

 

[hcallaway]

I had already sent a text to the builder but a 2 x 6 is better. Thx

I think I need to leave my builder alone! He seems to have it under control. Here is his text back to me.
Will be out there Monday to put backing in for shower doors toilet paper holders and towel bars and stuff like that and also to get the garage floor ready for inspection on Tuesday morning , sheetrock is coming Tuesday and the hangers are planning to start Wednesday

 

[hcallaway]

I had already sent a text to the builder but a 2 x 6 is better. Thx

I think I need to leave my builder alone! He seems to have it under control. Here is his text back to me.
Will be out there Monday to put backing in for shower doors toilet paper holders and towel bars and stuff like that and also to get the garage floor ready for inspection on Tuesday morning , sheetrock is coming Tuesday and the hangers are planning to start Wednesday

 

[BuilderML]

I think I need to leave my builder alone! He seems to have it under control. Here is his text back to me.
Will be out there Monday to put backing in for shower doors toilet paper holders and towel bars and stuff like that and also to get the garage floor ready for inspection on Tuesday morning , sheetrock is coming Tuesday and the hangers are planning to start Wednesday

All you did was ask him a question. Nothing wrong with that. To be honest the backing should have been done at the time of framing a full length 2x as the backing made into and L-shape with adjoining stud on both front edges of the tub. If framers had specs at time of framing, you just figure that kind of stuff into the layout. Everyone has a way of doing things. In the end as long as it gets done no big deal. Your spending some good coin on this build so you want to make sure your investment is well spent so do not feel bad for asking questions.

 

[s219]

I told my builder up front I'd try to leave him alone as much as possible, but being the son of a builder and now an engineer, I probably wouldn't be able to help myself from getting in the way. Having seen the builder's side of life growing up, I sure didn't want to be a "customer", since I saw my dad have to deal with picky annoying customers over the years (boy could I tell some stories....).

The builder and I ended up having a great working relationship on our house, and it was fun for both of us. I did catch a few major framing mistakes that probably saved a lot of grief. One time during framing though, he told me I had to slow down, since I was spotting potential issues before they happened. He joked that it would get in the way of their normal "f-up, fix it, fake it" routine.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

A former boss was having his home built. Many of the 2 x 4 studs used for the walls had curvature problems and he painted X's on them and told the builder he wanted them exchanged. Builder did nothing and my boss went out the next evening with a small sledge and broke the bad one's out himself, forcing the builder to replace them. They had it out and my boss told him don't try anymore shoddy stuff again. Once the builder realized that he wasn't dealing with the uninformed customer, his quality level went up a notch or two.

 

[hcallaway]

Great comments, he had framed it and the plumber setting the tub changed that stud at the front of the tub.

 

[hcallaway]

Finished up some shelving. Trimmed out the shelves with some 1 x 2. It looks better and actually helps when I load them with nail boxes and other hardware.

 

[hcallaway]

Shutters went on. They did a good job of tying the shakes with the other siding. The only thing left will be the gutters which will be black as well. The garage will get gutters when they install them on the house.

 

[hcallaway]

Screened Porch is being trimmed out.

Keeping with the theme of low to no maintenance, we went with a beaded ceiling. We installed insulation over the top of it to reduce the heat from the attic area.

 

[hcallaway]

This will be a big week. The sheet rock is going up on Wed. Another crew should tape and mud later this week. The concrete for the garage will be poured on Friday. (We had another discussion about getting the wire up in the concrete, the one area where I had some concerns.) The contractor is rolling! This makes my wife happy. I was talking with the contractor today and I told him how much I like the garage doors he had installed. The same ones are going on the garage on the house. He told me that they were more than what he had planned on spending for the installation. He said he made the mistake of asking me if I wanted glass. He had not planned on that since we never discussed it. So far he has been very fair when we talk about the smaller details that are subject to discussion. I also told him that I felt like there were times when I have asked him questions before giving him the time to finish what he was going to do anyway. He said that that was not a problem and in the end it makes it better than missing something and then being asked to go back and make changes.

 

[hcallaway]

Needed to get this gun safe installed in the Master Bathroom.


Holds 2 Shotguns and some pistols.
Only negative is keyed access if you lock it. �� Local 911

 

[hcallaway]

Sheetrock started late on Thur and the entire house was hung by Friday afternoon. They will mud and tape it on Saturday.

 

[hcallaway]

Garage was poured today. They got on it early, poured around 9 and it was floated and finished by 1. They also did my big garage. I am very happy with their work.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Garage was poured today. They got on it early, poured around 9 and it was floated and finished by 1. They also did my big garage. I am very happy with their work.

If you're happy, we're happy.

 

[EddieWalker]

One of those things that I notice when pros hang sheetrock compared to home hobbiest is if they cut out for the top corners of windows and doors, or if they but pieces up to the corners. If there is a seem at the corner of a window or door, it will crack there a lot faster and easier then if they cut it out like the two inside corners of your windows. I would have cut the sheet short above the window to get that seem on the header, or I would have started with a full sheet at the end, and had my seem between the two windows. It's more work, but it eliminates a common problem when done that way.

Eddie