House update: Tuesday

[electricland]

My aunt reports:

Today for lunch, Dan, John and I had tuna casserole and salad.

Dan worked on the vapour barrier on the first floor.

William worked on third floor finishing drywall. Very soon, William would
like one person to help him--and Dan--with ceiling drywall.*

John was at home working on Centennial's computer glitches for his course.

Liz, the next door neighbour, is selling her house and moving to Glen
Manor (a detached we trust). The agents' open house is Friday 11:30, the
buyers' open house is Saturday 11:30, and she hopes to have it sold by
Tuesday. She asks that we make as little noise as possible during those
times, and do what we can with the front yard.

Cheers, Helen

*I'm tempted to take tomorrow off for this. Hm.

Comments

[raithen.livejournal.com]

crankygrrl should buy Liz's house!!

::raises hand::

[claris.livejournal.com]

Okay, I gotta ask - can the next installment of the house status include an explanation of what on earth a vapour barrier is? I realize I could look it up on Google, but hey - you're right here. *g*

also, I so totally wish I could come help you with this. I've been repressing the urge to strip all the cabinets in my apt. for three years, but they've been painted over so many times that I'm afraid I'll discover there isn't any actual wood in the center anymore... ;)

Re: ::raises hand::

[raithen.livejournal.com]

vapour barrier: plastic, goop. Seals house from outside moisture. (I am 98% sure it goes between the insulation and the drywall. And it is, as I understand, over-eager inspector's fault and overkill because their insulation is ALSO a vapour barrier....)

But look at me, butting in and talking about things I only know a little about....

Re: ::raises hand::

[nellisir.livejournal.com]

Vapor/our barrier is usually plastic sheeting or something similar. In cold climates it's fastened to the exterior walls (& sometimes ceilings) between the insulation and the drywall, on the "warm side" of the insulation. Because warm air has more moisture than cold air, this keeps the warm/moist air in the house from penetrating into the insulation and freezing or condensing when it hits the colder outside, which would make your walls soggy.

I believe in warmer climates it's installed outside the insulation (if any). The difference between a warm climate and a cold climate is how much time you spend heating your house vs cooling it.

[nellisir.livejournal.com]

I'd totally encourage you to take the day off and help...if I were hanging the sheetrock. As I'm not, and so will suffer no penalty if you go to work and make money to pay for the sheetrock instead, I'll say this: Only go if you've got good shoulders and like holding your hands over your head. It's fun for 5 seconds, and then stuff starts to ache. Make sure you have a good stepstool you can easily move around and won't fall off of (sheetrock buckets are bad to stand on), or alot of staging (planks) that you're comfortable standing on (not too narrow, you'll want your feet about a shoulder's width apart).

If you've done all this already and are perfectly fine with it, then just ignore me.

Actually...are they doing the ceiling last?

[raithen.livejournal.com]

*hee*

I SOOO feel your pain. One of the things I love most about my Dad and Mom is how they "vetted" my first serious boyfriend. He came home with me for a week between Christmas and New Years. We were adding a storage room in the garage. We were drywalling when he arrived. It was just expected he help (that is how things are Done in our fambly - you pitch in or you get gone ;). Oh. my. GOD. the whining. He lasted a while longer, but we ain't together anymore ;). I call it the "drywall test" and should I ever be close to getting engaged again, I think *I* shall enact it ;).

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Cousin Jen is going instead. She has more accumulated time off than me, also less to do at present. I'll call and warn her of all this, since it sounds like just the thing to do her joints in. Although Dan is 6'7" and handy for this kind of thing.

They're doing the ceilings first. Bill William has a Plan.

Re: ::raises hand::

[electricland.livejournal.com]

you are entirely correct on all points!

Re: ::raises hand::

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I was just wondering if they used it in warm climates! Those Californians may know nothing about all this insulation business...

Re: ::raises hand::

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Yup, what they said.

And hey, any time you're in Toronto... I confidently anticipate many more months or possibly years of doing stuff to the house, so you're MORE than welcome to come and lend a hand!

[nellisir.livejournal.com]

Ah, good. Ceilings first is The Way The Professionals Do It. Then the sheetrock on the wall helps support the ceiling, and makes for a cleaner corner....

Re: ::raises hand::

[nellisir.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how common insulation is in warmer climes. Certainly less common in the past, probably more common now. It works both ways, after all -- an insulated house can keep hot air out just as easily as it keeps hot air in.

Re: ::raises hand::

[electricland.livejournal.com]

true -- it was amazing how much cooler our house was in the summer once the insulation was in!