Smurftastic

There is one hilarious downside to using Bluwood - it will slowly turn anyone that's using it to various shades of blue.

I've got the blues

Made some serious progress on framing the basement yesterday. I started out by lowering the sill for the window by 1.5" so that I could finish up the framing for that section, which went well. Had some difficulties getting the nailers installed onto the back of it though due to the tight fit of the wall, and the many hanging electrical wires, but with some muscle and some rather creative strings of curses, even if I do say so myself, the wall found its way to completion, and was put in place.

Section I complete

The wall currently being framed is the long wall of the basement. It runs 23.75", and will be done in three eight-foot sections (I could not get 12' Bluwood lumber, which would have been my first choice). Unfortunately, none of the sections are simple - they all have something that needs framing-around. Section II will frame around a bulkhead.

Section II

This section presented no issues, and went in without much difficulty. Most of the studs were nailed in on the floor to minimise the number of screws needed, which was good. I've been going through screws like it's nobody's business - there are already upwards of 500 fasteners in these here walls! Next, was the final section for the long wall, which will frame around the second window.

Section III

Having learned my lesson from the first window, I managed to get this sill set to the right height the first time. This wall had almost no studs set in place on the floor, and so many a screw was employed to fasten studs to plates, and kings to jacks.

Getting screwed up

This is also the first blue wall that will be attached directly to the floor joists above rather than nailed into the concrete. Section I has a cold air return duct directly above it, which is why the nailers are being used for it. This section will employ the "ladder" solution that mom suggested way back during demolition.

Time to turn the corner now that the long wall has been framed. Finally, I will have something to attach the top plate directly into since the floor joists will run perpendicular to this wall. It is the only wall with that luxury. The joys of renovating. This first section is also a simple wall, with nothing to be framed around, so it went up fairly quickly.

Turning the corner

I'm quite happy with yesterday's progress. I started out with the intention of framing around the corner, and I managed to meet that goal in time for dinner. Plus, I must be having fun, because Lesley caught proof of me smiling (between curses, no doubt).

In denial...

We've now basically run out of wood. There are a handful of studs left, but not enough to complete the final section of wall, and we still have some corner studs and some jack studs to install. I'm not overly surprised as I suspected this might happen shortly after we began. The original order was calculated as the number of studs required to frame up the existing lengths of wall, plus ten percent for framing around obstacles. Close, but no cigar, Unfortunately, only Lowe's in Orleans carries the Bluwood, so it'll be a bit of a trip to get out there for the wood we need to finish the job.

Despite running out framing lumber, there are still plenty of jobs to be done, not the least of which is building a new step, a new bulkhead, and filling the gap between stairs and studs. Today will see the accomplishment of some of these items - time will tell how much progress is made.