Installing a Water Softener

For many years, we didn't have a water softener, and saw no need to add one.  After we bought our first lake home - a condo where all the water supplied to the unit was soft - we noticed how much cleaner clothes, dishes, etc. were with soft water.

Because we weren't sure if we'd like it at our home, we leased a unit for a few years, paying just under $30 per month for its use.  After a few years, we decided it was foolish to rent, when the purchase of a new unit would pay for itself in less than two years.  Since we already had the unit installed, putting the new one in was an easy do-it-yourself project.

When we decided to make our move, we included the softener with our old home.  Since the new house had never had soft water, the installation would be just a little bit more complicated (but still a task easily accomplished by a reasonably competent homeowner).

Before you tackle a softener installation, there's a few things you need to verify:

• How much capacity do you need?   In our old home, we had a large whirlpool tub, 50 gallon water heater, and a home that would very likely be used to raise a family at some point in the future.  Even though Theresa and I were "empty nesters", it made sense to size the softener for a family.  We bought a unit that would be adequate for up to 5 people (keep in mind, a smaller unit may still work, it would just cycle more frequently).  The new home is smaller, and, being a town home, is most likely to be occupied by folks like ourselves, so we got the next size smaller unit.  The more closely you match the capacity of your softener to your needs, the more efficient it will be.
• How hard is your water?  This goes directly back to capacity, since extremely hard water will take more conditioning.  I was able to look up Lincoln's water quality on the county's web site, but you may have to get a test kit if you don't have the data, or if you are on a private well.  In our case, Lincoln's water is "moderately hard" - probably similar to most other communities in our area.
• Do you have a good spot to install the softener?  If your basement is completely finished, it may be difficult to make your connections.  You'll also need room to locate the unit, with electrical power and access to a drain available.  It is easiest if you can put the softener right by the water supply, but not absolutely necessary.
• Is your plumbing in good enough condition to make a do-it-yourself installation feasible?  If your incoming water supply pipe is old galvanized pipe, it may be difficult or impossible for you to get it apart - or, if you do, to re-assemble it.  If you have ancient pipes, a real plumber is much better equipped to handle the issues when things start to fall apart. 

So, assuming you're still reading this, let's talk about how you actually get it done.  For the sake of this discussion, let's assume you've got rigid copper supply pipes - probably 3/4" - and plenty of room to work.  If your water lines are plastic or pex, the process is a little easier, since  you won't have to solder any pipes. 

If you, like most of us, have copper plumbing, you'll need a few tools and supplies:

• A small propane torch.
• Emery cloth, or brushes to clean inside of fittings and outside of pipe.
• Solder (Lead Free!).
• Tubing Cutter.
• Flux & application brush.
• Copper pipe and fittings as required.
• Flexible tubes for installation (not absolutely necessary, but makes your job easier).
• 2 - 12" crescent wrenches (or 1 wrench and a small pipe wrench)
• Utility knife, screwdriver, pliers, pipe clamps, and other tools and supplies based on your application.

Most softeners targeted towards homeowner installation have a built-in bypass valve (a valve so you can bypass the softener, taking it out of the plumbing system).  If your softener doesn't have this, you'll need to install one, so you can still have water service if something goes wrong with the softener.

Now, we're ready to install the softener.

Turn off the water supply to the house, and drain the pipes by opening a faucet at the highest and lowest levels of the home. 

Locate the incoming water supply pipe, and determine where to cut the pipe for the softener.  There's a right place and a wrong place to cut the pipe.  Since you don't want soft water for outside faucets, sprinklers, etc., you should locate the input for the softener AFTER the branch for outside water.  In most cases, the outside water is pulled off right after the meter, so it's no problem.  If yours is different, you may have a little bigger job.  I wanted soft water to every indoor area - if you want hard water for drinking, you may have to run a supply to your drinking faucet.  

Once you figure out where to cut your line, use the tubing cutter and cut out a section.  You'll run from the supply side to the inlet of your softener, the connect back up to the plumbing from the softener outlet.

Many of the new softeners use plastic fitting on the unit to make your connections.  These are fine, but some care is needed when hooking up your pipes.  If you use the flexible connectors, you should be able to hook it up without putting any stress on your softener.  If not, you can still do it, you just need to make sure everything lines up.  In any case, you must NOT apply heat to solder pipes without isolating the copper from the plastic fittings - the melting point for plastic is much lower than for solder!  Even if you're soldering a fitting on the other end of a copper pipe, you need to keep the end hooked up to the plastic cool while soldering by wrapping a wet rag around it.  In most cases, you're better off getting your soldering done before hooking up any of the plastic fittings.

The rest of the job is easy, you just have to apply heat to the fittings and solder them.  To get a good solder joint, you need clean connections, heat, and solder.

• You need to mechanically clean the pipes and fittings - even brand new ones.  The easiest way to do this is to use a special set of brushes made for the task, and sized for the size of pipe you're using.  If you don't have that, you can use emery cloth, or a wire brush to take a little off the surface.  When you're done with that, apply some paste flux to both fitting and pipe - that will complete the cleaning and give you a good surface for soldering.
• When you apply heat, you want to heat the pipe and fitting up - not just melt the solder.  you can tell if this is working by watching what the solder does - if the fitting is hot, the solder will be pulled into the fitting, filling the area between the pipe and the fitting.  If it isn't hot, the solder will ball up and just fall off.  I apply heat to one side of the pipe, and touch the solder to the other side.
• You don't need a lot of solder for a good joint.  If you have extra, it will just drip down the pipe and look ugly (the first joints you do will have too much solder).  Your joints don't have to look good, but you'll like them better if they do.

I've never had a soldered joint leak or come apart (although I do have some ugly ones, with way too much solder).  The most common cause of solder joint failure is a cold joint - heating up the solder instead of the pipe.  Practice on a couple of scrap pieces first, and you'll see how easy it is.

After soldering your connections, it's time to hook up the softener, connect the drain tubes, and turn the water back on.  Check for leaks, program your softener, add salt, and you're ready to go!

Lots of Catfish!

I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks, so I've missed a couple of posts.  We were at the lake in Missouri - swimming, boating, golfing, and fishing.

Fish tend to be inactive when the weather - and water - gets as hot as it does in Central Missouri in August.  Fortunately, this time of year is great for catching catfish!

Most of the Cats we caught were Blue Catfish

None of them were nearly as big as this one!

There are tons of catfish in Lake of the Ozarks.  Although we've caught channel cats and flathead cats, we've caught more - and bigger - Blue Catfish.  Blue cats can exceed 100 pounds, although huge ones like that are relatively rare.  Fish in the 30 to 50 pound range are not uncommon, but most of the fish we catch are of modest size - from 2 to 5 pounds or so, with an occasional one that may be close to 10 pounds.  A couple of years ago, we caught one that must have been around 30 pounds - a real monster in my book.

Unlike some other fish, catfish don't mind the heat.  They'll be a little deeper when it's really hot - we caught most of our fish between 15 and 25 feet below the surface.  Catfish will eat a variety of bait - night crawlers, minnows, and cut bait.  One of the best bait is cut shad - blues can't seem to resist it.

We fish with a rod and reel, of course, and we probably caught about half the fish that way.  We also fish for catfish with jug lines, or what we call "noodling".  We cut 12" pieces of "fun noodles" (foam swim aids), and tie a 25' line on the end.  We bait the hook, then throw about 30 of these set ups in the water and wait for them to pop.  When a fish hits them, the end pops up in the air - a large blue will take them completely under water!  Once they start to move, we catch them with the boat and haul them in.  It's a different way to fish, but it's fun and you usually catch a few fish.

I still prefer to catch fish the old-fashioned way, with a rod and reel, but I enjoy using the noodles, too.  Using the noodles allows us to increase our catch, and fill up the freezer so we can enjoy fish all year long.

How much success did we have?  I'm not the world's greatest fisherman, but over the three days that Liz and Carter were visiting, I cleaned about 40 catfish.  Since most of them were blues, we were close to catching our limit of five blues apiece per day (just three of us were fishing).

I always fillet our fish, so we can avoid all the bones.  Theresa soaks them in egg, rolls them in potato buds (I know, sounds crazy, but it's good), and fries them.  Few things in life are better then fried fish straight from the lake!

Movie Review - Charade

OK, I admit it, when it comes to movies, I can get stuck in the past.  I like a lot of the old movies, even some that aren't really that great, when you look at it objectively.  I like most of the Cary Grant movies, but a couple are really quite good.  Charade is one of the best - right up there with North by Northwest.

Theresa and I watched Charade on Netflix recently.  I remember seeing it years ago, when I was a kid, but I really didn't remember it at all.  I was not disappointed!  It has some interesting characters - a lot of humor, and just a little bit of suspense.  As a romantic mystery, it holds its own with many more modern movies.

I've never been much of an Audrey Hepburn fan, but she's perfect in this role - she has that fragile, aristocratic look that makes it work.  Her Regina Lambert is vulnerable and terrified, but just a little tougher than you might believe at first.

I really liked the heavies in this film, in particular George Kennedy.  He plays Scobie, missing a hand, brooding and menacing - at one point, Hepburn makes a point of mentioning his "ugly, scary face".  He's not the nastiest of the bad guys, or the toughest (that distinction almost certainly goes to James Coburn), but you've got to love a character that's so ugly he has to be evil.  His mother must be so proud!  The third bad guy - Ned Glass as Gideon - isn't big or tough, but somehow you just know he's nasty. 

Another bonus in this movie is the chance to see Walter Matthau, playing it straight as a CIA bureaucrat. 

With the three bad guys after poor Regina, she really needs a true-blue hero to watch out for her.  What she gets is Cary Grant as Peter Joshua (or whatever other name he cooks up - he has several aliases).  Joshua, or whoever he is, is charming, and he always seems to show up at just the right time and place.  The only question is, is he really there to help Regina, or is he just another crook ready to torture/kill/rob her?  You don't really THINK he's a bad guy, but you're never quite sure. 

If you're like me, you'll probably figure this out before the end of the movie, but you won't be sure about it until the very end - in this film, very little is what it seems to be. 

This is a film that could easily be made today.  Oh, there'd be some changes made - we'd have more of a physical romance between Regina and Peter, and there'd be some special effects and probably a bit more violence.  The dialog would be different.  None of that really changes anything, though.  The basic plot and characters would work as well today as they did in 1963.  It's a great movie, highly recommended.

Moving Time!

They say that every Realtor should move occasionally, to better empathize with our clients.  Since we've lived in our home for nearly 21 years, we were overdue for a move.  We're fixing that now - we've got a home under contract, and will soon put our home on the market.

Theresa has been wanting to downsize - move into a town home, with fewer responsibilities and chores.  Our home doesn't require a lot of maintenance, but it has a large, complicated yard, and there's always something that needs to be done.

I've resisted moving, mainly because I didn't think it was worth it to go to all the work and expense of selling, buying, and hauling things back and forth.  Finally, I decided it was time.

We started out looking at VERY small town homes - roughly 900 square feet, with no basement.  We made an offer on one - the seller was totally unwilling to meet us anywhere near half way on price - then settled for a less expensive alternative.  Although neither of us was crazy about the street appeal, it was OK inside, and, with a little work, had a floor plan that would work for us.  Since it was so much smaller than we were used to, we decided we'd need to enclose a sun room, and made the offer contingent on being able to do that. We were financing with a renovation loan, so we'd borrow money to do some repairs, along with the purchase.

Our first hurdle was to get permission from the homeowners association to add the room. This was a little harder than you might think - no one seemed to have a problem with it, but they didn't really think they could speak for the association.  Finally, we were able to get a consensus from the board members that they would be OK with it.

The next problem was finding out if we could get a building permit - a task made much more difficult by the small lot - there was no way we could build and meet the standard set-back requirements of our city.  After a bunch of calls, we were still not sure if we could do it or not.

The other issue that soon became apparent was that all the improvements we wanted to make would soon increase the cost of our "cheap" town home to something very nearly as expensive to live in as our home.  Even though we wanted to simplify life, this didn't seem like a smart move.  By over-improving the small property, we'd set ourselves up to be upside down in the new place for years to come.

Finally, due to all the above concerns, we decided we couldn't go through with this purchase.  We cancelled the contract, and started looking again.

The first thing we did was go back to the original town home we had liked.  It already had a sun room, and was in a great neighborhood, so it was a real possibility.  Unfortunately, the monthly association dues were very high, so this property would be expensive.  Although we were prepared to spend the money, we decided to spend a day looking at some other options.

First, we looked in some different neighborhoods.  We've lived in South Lincoln for over 20 years, but there are some nice areas on the North side of town.  We looked at a few places, but weren't bowled over by any of them - a couple were OK, but didn't really blow away our original choice.  We also went up in price a bit, even looking at some that would have no cost advantage over living in our home.  We still didn't find the perfect home.  A bit discouraged, we headed home and decided to make one more computer search - this time including town homes without an association to handle snow removal and lawn care.  One home stood out in this batch.  Even though we were both tired of looking, we decided to make one more trip.

The home we found was in a great neighborhood.  It was larger than most of the others we'd looked at - a little over 1200 square feet on the main floor.  It had a full basement - unfinished, but with some possibilities for finish in the future - and a double garage.  Not everything was exactly like we wanted, but it was close enough that we felt we could live with it until we got around to fixing it up to our tastes.  I always tell people that "perfect doesn't exist", but this was just what we were looking for.  There was no association, but the lawn is small enough that upkeep won't be a burden (and I may yet decide to have it done by a service).  As a bonus, we also found out we could install a fence in the back yard - an unexpected bonus, since most town homes don't allow it.

We quickly decided to write an offer, and, after a counter or two, reached agreement with the sellers. 

We've got inspections set up, and we're scheduled to close in a bit over a month.  We'll be getting our home on the market in the next few days, and I'm sure we'll be swamped until after we're settled.  In the next few weeks, I'll post about the process of getting our old house listed, what we did to get it ready, and what we're doing to the new home.  For now, we're excited about this new chapter in our lives, and looking forward to the day when we can start to enjoy our new-found freedom.

Lake Home Sun Room Addition - Interior finish

In my previous two posts on this project, I talked about decision and planning, as well as demo, framing, and finishing the outside.  Now, I'll discuss finishing the interior of the structure.

After some discussion, we decided to drywall all four walls.  Originally, we had planned on leaving the siding on the side of the house, but drywall would give us a more finished, nicer look.  It also made it easier to run power and install light fixtures, without running wires in surface conduit.  The ceiling would be soffit material, and we'd install some recessed lighting fixtures, as well as a couple of ceiling fans and wall sconces.  As I mentioned before, we'd also install a small through-the-wall heat pump.  The floor would be ceramic tile, to minimize maintenance.

The first step was to run the wiring.  Fortunately, I had an easy path to get power from the breaker box to the porch.  I pulled wire for one 15 amp, 120 volt circuit for lights and outlets, and one 20 amp, 240 volt circuit for the heat pump.  I put a lot of outlets in the porch - one every 4' or so on the outside wall - I figured it was easier to do that now than to have to add one later in the process.  When I finished the outside, I added a couple of boxes for outside outlets.  I wired those up, hooking them into the same circuit as the inside outlets.  For safety purposes, I ran all the outlets through a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupting  (GFCI) outlet.  I was able to wire it so that one GFCI would protect all the outlets on the circuit - the instructions in the package explains how to do it.  At this time, I installed the "can" lights, and the junction boxes that would hold the ceiling fans.  I also ran wire for a couple of motion-detector lights for the exterior - a valuable security feature.

After running all the wiring, it was time to install insulation, then drywall.  Fortunately, Carter came down to help with this part of the project, making it much easier than it would be alone.  We elected to use fiberglass batt insulation, with a heavy poly film for a vapor barrier.  Since we had 2 X 6 walls, we used 6" insulation.

 

First, we added fiberglass batt insulation, then stapled on the vapor barrier.

The ceiling was a bit different.  Since the ceiling was the floor of the 2nd story deck, covered with a waterproof coating, we didn't want to add the vapor barrier - I was worried about trapping moisture in between two waterproof surfaces.  In addition, the roof had a slight slope to it, to aid in shedding water.  Since we wanted a roof level with the rest of the room, we had to add furring strips to level it out. 

Now, we were ready for drywall!

When planning a drywall project, one of the most important things to keep in mind is to minimize the number of seams, to make finishing as easy as possible.  When you buy your drywall, buy a couple of extra pieces, just in case.  Since drywall itself is relatively cheap, you would never cut multiple pieces where one continuous piece will work.  In this case, we had a long, narrow, rectangular room with a lot of windows and doors, so we'd have enough finishing to do regardless of how well planned it was.  We could use 4' X 12' sheets for much of it, which helped.

We had decided to use 1/2" thick drywall - the standard thickness for new construction - for the new.  To cover the existing siding on the inside wall, we went with thinner 3/8" material - more than adequate for the job, since it was just covering up a solid surface.

Since we had so many windows, I decided we'd just drywall around them, with no added wooden trim.  I thought, since the wall was essentially all window, that wooden trim would be a distraction.  I figured, if we didn't like it, I could always add it later.  This turned out to be a good decision - although it added a lot of labor, it saved quite a bit in material cost, and we like the look a lot.

In the old days (the 1970's), we used nails to secure drywall.  I think they still sell drywall nails, but I don't know who would ever use them.  Today, drywall is secured with screws - typically about an inch and a quarter long, that are easily set with any driver drill.  They're easier to work with, and provide much improved holding power, compared with nails.  When I hang drywall, I try to use only as many screws as necessary to hold the drywall firmly in place.  It's also important to drive the screws to just below the surface, while making sure you don't tear the paper - there should be a little dimple at each screw, that can easily be filled with joint compound when you're finishing.

Hanging drywall goes fairly quickly, and Carter and I got it up without too much trouble.  Probably the hardest part of this was carrying the sheets down the hill!  I also caught a bug that weekend, so I wasn't as much help as I might have been otherwise (of course, I'm not much help normally anyway, so maybe that wasn't too big a deal, after all).  In any case, we had the drywall in place by the end of the weekend.

The drywall is up.  Notice the furring strips on the ceiling, which are shimmed down to make the ceiling level.

Notice the drywall around the window.  There is, however, a wooden jamb extension around the patio door.

Very few seams on this wall - we hung the drywall horizontally, to reduce finishing.  Note the seam about halfway up the support post beam

Ready for Mud!

Carter wisely elected not to come for the drywall  finishing process.  Drywall finishing isn't impossible for an amateur to do well - you just have to have a lot of patience.  It's also important to keep in mind that virtually every wall will have a few flaws in it, if you look hard enough.  If the joint looks bad before you paint, it will look worse after, so take the time to do it right.

Pros may be able to get great looking walls with two coats of mud, but I've always needed three.  The key is to use fresh mud, and broad strokes.  If you do it right, you shouldn't need to sand between coats.  If you're like me, you'll need to do some sanding and touching up after your third coat.  Here's the basic process:

• The long edges of drywall sheets are tapered, so those are the easiest joints to cover.  Have two new, uncut edges join whenever possible.
• I've always used paper tape - it's cheap and pretty easy to work with.  They make fiberglass self-stick tape, but it's quite a bit more expensive, and I've heard it is more susceptible to cracking.  If you've used it and like it, that's fine.
• Your "mud" - drywall compound - should be fairly thin.  If it seems thick, thin it with water.
• Take a wide putty knife or drywall knife - about 4" - and put down a bed of mud slightly wider than the tape.  It doesn't have to be too thick, but should be thick enough for you to embed the tape into it - maybe about 1/8" thick or so. 
• Cut a length of tape the right length for your joint, and push it into the mud at the beginning of your joint to hold it in place. With the 4" knife at a slight angle - and a small amount of mud on the blade - run down the joint, pushing the tape into the mud.  You should push out excess mud from around the tape, and end up with the tape in the mud, with a very slight amount on top.  Be careful to make sure that there is mud UNDER the tape through the whole joint - if there's a void, it will pop up and separate in the future.  You'll end up with a bunch of excess mud on you knife - put it back in the container as you go.
• Let the first coat dry completely, then knock off any chunks with the drywall knife, so it's fairly smooth (it isn't supposed to be perfect at this point, so don't be too obsessive about it).  If there's a spot that has a big lump, you may have to sand that down now.
• The second coat is put on with a wider knife - probably about 8".  Put a little mud on the knife, and draw it over the first.  The mud will be spread wider this time - you're still getting a thin coat.  Resist the temptation to glob on a whole bunch of mud - more is not better, in this case!
• Let it dry, and again knock off any chunks.  It will probably look pretty good now, but you're not done - if you paint after two coats, it will look horrible, so don't even think about it!
• The third coat goes on with the 12" knife - very thin and smooth.  After this coat, it should look pretty good - you'll have a few lines and defects, but they should be pretty minor.  You'll want to touch up any big boo boos, but minor issues will be taken care of with sanding.
• You should install metal or plastic corner beads on any outside corners - these give you a nice straight corner, and provide protection against damage.  After installing the beads, finish these with three coats, like above.
• Inside corners are tougher, but not impossible.  Look closely at your tape, and you'll see it's creased in the middle.  If you bend it at the crease, you can set it in the corner, and tape just like a flat joint.  It is easiest to use a special knife designed for inside corners to set the tape in the mud - subsequent coats are done with a flat knife - let one side dry before doing the other.
• Screw hole are filled with mud - a couple of coats are usually sufficient there.

After you're done with the mud, it's time to sand.  You can use a sponge, designed for sanding drywall, or a block of wood with sandpaper attached.  In any case, go easy!  If you use coarse paper, or sand too aggressively, you'll have to go back to applying mud again.  Be especially careful not to rough up the paper - it will show after paining.  Don't use a power sander - it's way too easy to take off too much material.  Often, a damp sponge or rag will work well for sanding.

Next up - paint!


After sanding, I applied a primer coat, then painted.  We elected to use 3 colors - the two ends were one color, and each long side was a different one.  I hate to paint, but I worked through it, and soon had it all painted.

Now I just needed to tile the floor, install the ceiling, and complete the trim and touch up.

 Carter came down for the next part - installing tile.  We borrowed my neighbor's tile saw, which helped a bunch.  Unfortunately, we picked the coldest weekend in memory to tackle this job - a major headache, since we set the saw up outside.  Since the process involves having your hands sprayed with water while you're cutting, it made cutting the tile very unpleasant.  Even with this issue, it was better to cut the tile outside, and avoid the mess inside.

Since Carter was the experienced tile setter, she laid all the tile, while I kept busy mixing thinset and cutting tiles for the edges.  We elected to go with a staggered pattern - not really any harder to set.

We started at the far end, and worked our way down.  There were doors at both ends, so we were in no danger of tiling ourselves into a corner!  Note the spacers still in place between the most recent tiles.

We liked the staggered pattern.

Once the tile was in place, it was time for grout. Grout is the stuff that goes between the tile - it's available in a bunch of different colors.  We chose a sandstone-like color for the grout.  Grout is applied with a special grout float - kind of a thin sponge bonded to a board.  You just dump some grout on the tile, and work it back and forth, forcing it into the space between the tiles.

After adding the grout, you scrub the tile clean with a sponge, and you're done.  Of course, that's a short sentence about a miserable job - the whole grout/cleaning/sealing is about the most tedious process of the whole project.

With the floor done, all that's left it the ceiling and trim.

In any case, we now had a great looking floor.  We're almost done - Next, I'll install the ceiling.

For the ceiling, I decided to use vinyl soffit material.  I had intended to use aluminum, but when I looked at it at the lumber yard, I couldn't find a single piece that wasn't dented or deformed.  I figured, if they couldn't keep it on the rack without damage, I'd never be able to get it home and installed.

The vinyl worked pretty well - I used some flat head screws, and made sure to leave them a little loose, to allow for expansion and contraction of the vinyl.  The only hard part was cutting the holes for the recessed lights, and even that was pretty easy.  The ceiling went up quickly, and looked nice when it was done.

The ceiling looked nice, when finished. 

For trim, I decided on painted pine - it's relatively inexpensive, and easy to work with.   At Home Depot, I discovered I could save a bunch of money by buying a "contractor pack" of base trim, containing at least twice as much as I needed.  The price per piece was so much less, it was a no-brainer.  Unfortunately, not having a use for the excess, I ended up throwing it away.

I also bought a power miter saw for the trim work, and quickly figured out I should have bought it at the beginning of the project - it would have been perfect for cutting all the framing.

In any case, I was able to finish the trim in relatively short order.  I painted it before installation, then touched up to cover the nail holes.  As soon as it was done, we ordered furniture.  The project was complete!

We have most of our meals at the table - we have a perfect view of the lake!

We leave the patio doors into the house open while we're there.

Kodak like it!

Our total for the project was a shade under $10,000 - much less than any of the sun room companies would have charged to do the work.  In addition, I think the results were at least as nice (actually, I like our room better.

This room isn't perfect - it's long and narrow, so it's difficult to accommodate a large group.  As a practical matter, we didn't have an option there - adding width would have increased the cost and complexity of the project exponentially.

The heat pump works well, although we don't need the air conditioning too often.  We need the heat in the winter, although the afternoon sun heats the room up quite well.  Although I did much of it myself, Carter was a huge help - several tasks would have been nearly impossible without help.  It's also nice to have someone to bounce ideas off, especially since we didn't have a set-in-stone design.

Movie Review - "People Will Talk"

I'm a big Cary Grant fan - I love all his old movies, many of which are classics - check out Father Goose or Bringing Up Baby if you want a lighthearted romantic comedy.  A couple of my other favorites are Operation Petticoat (a WWII comedy) and Arsenic and Old Lace.  Of course, my tastes run to screwball comedies.  If you like something with a little suspense, you might like North by Northwest or Notorious - they're both good, and stand up when compared to more modern movies.

I was browsing the movies on Netflix, looking for something to kill a couple of hours, when I noticed a Cary Grant movie that was unknown to me:  People Will Talk.  The movie was made in 1951, but it has the look and feel of a 40's film.  It's billed as a comedy, but it has some touching moments.

Grant plays Dr. Noah Praetorius, an doctor/teacher who is unconventional and at odds with Professor Elwell, a nasty little man who is determined to cause trouble.  Elwell is played by Hume Cronyn, a character actor that's been in a bunch of shows - you might recognize him from Cocoon.

While this is not Grant's best work, it's an interesting movie for a couple of reasons.  Most unusual for a romantic comedy of its era, the love interest (Deborah Higgins, played with some depth by Jeanne Crain) is an unmarried, pregnant woman.  The father of her child, who she "didn't know well enough", didn't know about the pregnancy, and was killed in the service.  I was shocked that this subject was handled reasonably, and without moralizing or contorting the plot to remove any responsibility for her actions.  I've never seen Crain in anything else (or if I did, I didn't recognize her), but she did a nice job here.  I loved the scene where she realizes Dr. Praetorious is in love with her - you can see her transformed in that instant from a scared girl to a woman who knows she's got him right where she wants him.  It was a small, but nice, moment in the film.

Although the romance is a big part of the story, there's no real conflict there.  From the moment you see them, you know how that part is going to turn out - and there's no "boy loses girl" part of the story.  The conflict in the plot is due to the actions of Professor Elwell, and involves Dr. Praetorius' companion, Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie).   There's something a little odd about Shunderson, and we can't quite figure it out until the climax.  I won't spoil it here, other than to say it's an odd and touching story.  Shunderson puts Elwell in his place convincingly at the end - I would have given him a standing ovation, except for the fact I was alone in my basement at the time (and, of course, being dead, Currie wouldn't have appreciated it, anyway).

If you've got a little time, and you want to watch an unusual, classic movie, give this one a try.  It's not rolling-on-the-floor funny, but you'll get a couple of chuckles.  You may also think a bit about human relationships, and just what it is that makes a person worthwhile.

Lake House Porch Addition, Step Two - Demo, Framing, and Enclosing the Room

In a previous post, I discussed the planning and decision-making process for our lake home addition.  Having made the decision, I was now ready to begin the actual work.  Plan in hand, I headed to the lake for an extended weekend of solitary work.

The old framework was in good shape, but didn't have the look we wanted for the addition.  The old
 6 x 6 support beams would stay in place.

The old porch had a 2 X 4 framework that held the screens in place.  While this framework was in good condition, it was inadequate for my needs.  Specifically, it had a few things that made it necessary to do a complete tear-out:

• Since the support beams were 6 X 6's, the smaller framework would need to be shimmed out to match the beams - a very labor-intensive process.
• The rough openings weren't exactly what I needed for the windows and doors.
• The openings weren't solid enough to provide a good mounting platform for the windows and doors.

Armed with a crowbar, hammer, and driver drill, I began tearing things down.  We weren't going to reuse anything, including the old doors, so I pulled those out and hauled them to the top of the hill. Initially, I was going to save the old lumber, but I soon decided it was more work than it was worth to remove all the nail, so I ended up just ripping it apart and piling it up, nails and all.  After the framework was gone, I pulled out some of the old electrical and fixtures, leaving some lights for the moment.  After about a half day, I was ready to start building!

A couple of things have changed since I last did any major construction project.  I had never used a pneumatic nail gun - I don't even know if they existed way back in the stone ages when I helped my father build or remodel.  Fortunately, Carter owns several nail guns, and she was kind enough to loan them to me for the duration of the project.  I soon discovered that these things are real labor savers!  You also have the ability to quickly drive nails at odd angles.  The downside?  You have to use some restraint, or you'll end up with more nails than board.

I ended up cutting all the framing lumber with a circular saw - hand measuring each board, marking it with a square, and following the line with the saw.  I'm pretty good with a circular saw, but, if I had it to do over again, I'd have bought a power miter saw, and used it to cut the 2 X 6 framing.  Ironically, I ended up buying a big saw for the trim work, not realizing it would have been perfect for the framing.  In any case, I cut all the framing with the circular saw, with no real problems.

Since I wanted the maximum glass area, my windows were custom sized.  The rough opening for each window was slightly larger than the frame size, to leave you enough room to level the windows.  I tried to get each opening as square, plumb, and level as possible to reduce issues when installing the windows.

Rough openings are an inch or so larger than the window frames

I also framed out an opening for the walk-in door and through-wall heat pump in the far end.

You can see the detail, including the "cripple" studs around the openings.  Since the support beams provide adequate strength, I didn't have to worry about structural strength of the headers.

The other end is framed for the sliding patio door.

The view from the outside - Still not much difference!

After framing, the next step was to add the sheathing.  Fortunately, Carter was able to come down to help with sheathing and window and door installation.  Sheathing adds rigidity to the structure, gives it lateral stability, and provides a smooth, solid surface.  Depending on the application, sheathing can be fiber board, foam board, or (my choice) OSB.  OSB (Oriented Strand Board) is a plywood-like material - we used to call it "chip board" - less expensive than plywood, providing a more solid, secure sheathing than foam.  Since I was planning on vinyl siding, I wanted to have a "real wall" - something that would withstand at least a little force before breaking down.  Adding foam board to the outside would provide superior insulation, but I elected not to use it for this project - the wall was almost completely glass anyway, so I didn't think it would be worth messing with.  I would, however, insulate the wall cavities, as well as the ceiling.

Protection from water intrusion is of primary importance in any home.  Years ago, I can remember using tar paper or "builders paper" over the sheathing to protect against water.  Now, you use House wrap.  I used Tyvek brand - a leading product in the industry.  Tyvek stops wind and water from coming in, while still allowing water vapor to pass through from inside the house.   We installed carefully, taping the seams with the special tape made for the job.  We took special care around the window openings, wrapping the Tyvek around the opening, then adding self-stick flashing to (hopefully) eliminate leaks.

Starting to look like a wall!

House wrap added, almost ready for windows.

The gray  tape under the window is flashing - the bottom piece is installed under the window, then more is added up the sides and on top, so water from the top will end up outside, rather than in the wall.

Once the wrap was on, we were ready for window installation.  We were using "new construction" windows, meaning they came with a mounting flange attached.  This simplifies installation - all you have to do is caulk, put them in the opening, shim until they're square, and nail them in.  Of course, that sounds a little easier than it is! 

Our windows were large and heavy, and they weren't at ground level from the outside, so we decided to install them from the inside.  This required us to remove the screen and movable glass pane, and put them through the opening from the inside.  Even nailing the fins - ordinarily the easy part - was more difficult due to the awkward reach required.

First window installed!

I had to lean out the window to fasten the flanges.

Believe it or not, I did the whole project without falling!

Almost done!

All the windows are in.

Once the windows were done, we had to install the doors.  The walk in door was easy - it was pre-hung - just set it in the opening, make sure it is plumb and square, shim, and you're done.  The sliding door wasn't hard, but it was really heavy.  Carter and I had our hands full just moving it into position! Once into position, is was a straight-forward process to level it and finish the job. 

The walk-in door at the far end, seen from the outside.  The small framed opening below the window is for the heat pump.



The patio door, installed.  Note the flashing around the door.

We now had  a completely enclosed room - if the weather turned cold, I could at least work on the inside.  The next step was to add the vinyl siding, so the outside would be completely finished and ready for winter.

I'd never installed vinyl siding before.  It's not very hard, but there are a couple of things you need to be careful of.  Since vinyl expands and contracts with temperature changes, it shouldn't be fastened too tight - it must be free to move slightly.  For this reason, fastener holes are slotted.  It's also important to cut pieces slightly smaller than the opening, to allow for expansion. 

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that the siding isn't water tight, so your fasteners need to be able to withstand exposure to the elements without rusting.  Standard galvanized screws or nails won't do - when they rust, you may get stains running down the siding.  Although I would have preferred to use screws, I had trouble finding stainless steel or other rust-free screws with the necessary broad, flat head.  I ended up using aluminum roofing nails for the siding.  Aluminum nails are very difficult to use - any slight mishit causes the soft aluminum to bend. 

To get started, you first install all the trim pieces - corners and "J Channel" around windows.  This trim covers the cut ends, giving you a nice, finished appearance.  The siding itself goes pretty quickly - starting at the bottom, you nail it up, overlapping slightly at the seams.  The next piece locks into the lower one, again making sure nothing is too tight.  The top of each side slips into a special piece of trim that holds it in place.

Here you can see how the siding, trim, soffit, and fascia combine to give a finished appearance.

The walk in door, with trim.  Note the sleeve for the heat pump on the lower left side.

Here's the look from the lake - a nice addition to our house.

I also elected to cover the soffits and fascia with vinyl.  It installs similarly to the siding, and provides a nice, clean look with very little maintenance.  All in all, I was happy with the look of the room from the outside - now, I just needed to get to work inside!

Soon, I'll post about the completion of the project.