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Accent Wall Continued and New Refrigerator

Day #169

October 1, 2020 – In the morning I continued work on the accent wall. This includes installation of the sound batt insulation followed by the cement board. I am using 1/4″ Hardy Backer Board to try and keep the additional weight load to a minimum.

Just waiting on the refrigerator delivery.

Accent Wall 01

Sound batt insulation is complete in the accent wall.

Accent Wall 02

Photo above, completing the cement board on the accent wall.

Later in the morning the Lowe’s delivery guys showed up with the new refrigerator. I already took the old maggot smelling refrigerator out onto the porch. All they had to do was bring in the new fridge and take away the old one. Simple, right? I even built a ramp up and over the door sill. Much to my surprise they used some heavy shoulder straps to simply carry it in. No need for the ramp. Ah well.

Maggot Smelling Refrigerator 01
Old maggot smelling refrigerator ready to be removed.
New Refrigerator 01
Bright and shiny new refrigerator.

Accent Wall 03

After the refrigerator delivery I was able to complete the sound batt insulation and cement board on the accent wall. Next I will tape the joints and apply a thin coat of thinset mortar. When this dries I will be ready for the tile.

Accent Wall 04
Accent wall closed in and ready for taping and thinset.
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Fire Resistant Accent Wall Preparation

Day #168

September 30, 2020 – I didn’t get back down to the cottage until late in the day, but I was able to start the work on the fire resistant accent wall. Our new Quadra Fire wood stove and hearth pad will sit in front of this wall when it is complete.

Fire Resistant Accent Wall
Sound batt insulation and cement board for the fire resistant accent wall.

The installation of sound batt insulation is progressing and the cement backer board will follow. We have a nice tile picked out for the accent wall but you have to wait for a later post to see that.

I have the wood stove and hearth pad in the back of the truck. Later on in the week I am going to rent a pallet jack and off load them onto the porch. I hope to place them close to the front door. I can get the pallet jack at Penn Equipment Company up in Burnham. They are only a short drive away.

As a bonus Lowe’s of Lewistown is scheduled to deliver out new “counter depth” refrigerator tomorrow. They will be taking the old maggot smelling refrigerator with them when they leave. Oh happy day! All I have to do is remove the sliding glass panel from the front door and everything should pass right through. Until then I’ll continue work on the fire resistant accent wall. Cheers….

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Quadra Fire Wood Stove and Hearth Pad

Day #167

September 29, 2020 – Our salesperson from AES Hearth & Patio called yesterday to let us know that our new Quadra Fire wood stove and hearth pad had arrived. Today I went over to AES to pick them up.

We placed the order for a Quadra Fire model 4300 Step-Top steel wood stove with Queen Ann legs back on September 15, 2021. The hearth pad is an American Panel Volcanic SandsT2 with a Colonial edge. It’s all pretty awesome and will look great in the newly renovated Cot-Taj-Mahal.

Quadra Fire Wood Stove 01

When I got to AES they loaded the Quadra Fire stove and hearth pad into my truck with a forklift. There was a very small hole in the cardboard covering the hearth pad. It was so small that I didn’t think anything of it. (More on that later.)

Wood Stove 02
Quadra Fire Wood Stove and American Panel Hearth Pad all loaded up.

Now, I have to deliver, offload and move the stove into the cottage living room. It weighs 350 pounds so that will be no small task.

For anyone that’s interested, the old Warm Morning stove was removed way back in June of 2018.

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Paneling Installation Starts Up

Day #166

September 26, 2020 – Today I got the interior paneling installation started. It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally ready to close up some walls.

The window, electric rough in and insulation are complete at this living room wall, so it seems like a great place to start.

Paneling 01
Paneling installation in the living room.

We are using a panel made from 100% recycled wood. The manufacturer is MURdesign and it is their Shiplap/Orleans panel. We are installing the panels in a vertical direction even though shiplap is usually horizontal. My designer thinks it looks better vertical. What do you think?

Paneling 02

Paneling 03
MURdesign panels
Paneling 04
The paneling installation along the first wall is complete.

This floor in the living room is not level. It bows down near the center of this wall and as a result I have gaps at the bottom of the panels. You can see this in the photo above. Thankfully, the base trim will cover these nicely.

The plan is to continue around the living room moving to the right. The next wall is a fire resistant accent wall. It will have sound batt insulation, cement board and then ceramic tile. We are placing a new wood stove, along with a hearth pad in front of this wall. More details to follow.

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Closet Interior Rigid Insulation

Day # 164 & #165

September 22nd and 23rd, 2020 – Well, I’m back from Lowe’s with the rigid insulation for the closet interior. It’s Kingspan’s 1″ thick moisture resistant GreenGuard XPS so it is. I’ll show you the photos and I’ll get on to the next blog.

GreenGuard XPS Rigid Insulation

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Closet Interior Rigid Insulation

Rigid insulation installed in the closet interior.

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IMG_7957

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I got all the Carpenter Ant sawdust removed and the rigid insulation installed. At some point down the line, I’ll install the lauan paneling and corner trim and then the shelving and closet rod. Until then it’s back into the living room for more electric rough in and finish wall paneling.

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Wall Insulation & More Carpenter Ant Damage

Day #163

September 21, 2020 – With the completion of the kitchen and living room windows along the railroad side, I can drop back and install the wall insulation. This will only take me an hour or so. After that I will start taking the inside of the closet bump out apart. We suspect there will be more carpenter ant damage just waiting in the walls.

The wall insulation along the railroad side of the kitchen and living room is almost complete.

Wall Insulation
Wall insulation on the railroad side.

The closet bump out that I wrote about before straddles two different rooms, the living room and the first bedroom. In the image below the inside of the closet is visible on the right side of the photo.

I reframed the roof of this bump out because of carpenter ant damage to the roof joists. The ants don’t really eat the wood but they chew through it leaving sawdust behind.

Wall Insulation
The inside of the closet is exposed in the living room.

To expose any damage I removed the paneling on the inside of the closet.

Closet Paneling
Removing paneling on the inside of the closet.

Carpenter Ant Sawdust

As we suspected there were piles of carpenter ant sawdust inside each of the joist spaces.

Carpenter Ant Damage
Carpenter Ant sawdust in the joist space. Eight inches thick!
Carpenter Any Sawdust
Carpenter Ant sawdust.
Carpenter Ant Damage
Water damage and more ant sawdust.

I spent the rest of my time today removing all the paneling inside the closet and cleaning up the sawdust. With the interior framing exposed I will be able to insulate the closet interior. Unfortunately, the studs in these walls are sideways so the joist spaces are only a 1-1/2 deep. I will have to use a rigid foam insulation in these spaces.

Now I’m off to Lowe’s for rigid insulation and some lauan paneling. See you soon.

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Last Living Room Window Installation

Day # 162

September 20, 2020 – Yesterday was the last kitchen window and today is the last living room window installation. I have a little more work to do on the window opening but it won’t be bad.

I already have the temporary ceiling support installed to allow me to begin. First up, I remove the temporary plywood and framing that secures the opening.

Temporary Plywood & Framing
Removal of temporary plywood and framing.

Once the opening is open, I frame in a new jack stud on the right side of the window. The new window is not wide as the old window so I don’t have to replace the header. The new window is also slightly narrower than the old window so I have to raise up the window sill. You can see the new framing in the image below.

New Framing
Framed opening for the new living room window.

On the outside of the new framing I install some plywood sheathing to close up the side and bottom of the framed opening.

Plywood Sheathing
Exterior plywood sheathing.

With the plywood sheathing complete I set the window in the opening, level it up and nail it through the nailing flange.

Last Living Room Window
Last living room window from the inside.

After the flange is nailed the window is sealed with Pell Smart Flashing Tape.

Last Living Room & Kitchen Windows
The last living room and kitchen windows.

The windows in the kitchen and living room are now complete. I can now drop back and install the wall insulation and eventually the paneling on the railroad side.

The remaining windows are in the bathroom and bedrooms located in the rear of the cottage. They will get installed as the work progresses back through the cottage. That’s where I’m at.

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Last Kitchen Window Installation

Day #161

September 19, 2020 – Today, I am installing the last new kitchen window. This is one of the eight windows that I brought down yesterday. The framing for this window opening was complete awhile back. It is ready for the new window. The installation should be pretty straight forward.

Temporary Plywood
Temporary plywood covering the window opening.

Before I set the window in place, I remove the temporary plywood covering the opening.

Outside Kitchen Wall
Removing the plywood covering the window opening.
Last Kitchen Window
Temporary plywood removed.

Once the temporary plywood is removed I can install the Tyvek building wrap.

Tyvek Installation
Tyvek installation.

After the building wrap, I set the window in the opening. Once I have it level, I fasten it in place by nailing through the nailing flange. I complete the installation with Pella Smart Flash window and door flashing tape.

Last New Kitchen Window
The last new kitchen window is set in place.

The kitchen windows are complete. Now I will move on to the last living room window.

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Balance of New Windows Have Arrived

Day #159 & #160

September 16th and 18th, 2020 – The balance of our new windows have arrived. I picked them up at the Mechanicsburg Home Depot on Wednesday and delivered them to the cottage on Friday.

Balance of New Windows
Picking up the balance of our new windows.

There are eight (8) windows in this order. One kitchen, one living room, one bathroom, and five bedroom windows. I am working my way back to the bedrooms from the kitchen so the bedroom windows will be stored for awhile. ( Other window installation took place here and here. )

To unload the windows I pulled the trailer alongside the porch. With some 2×4’s laid down, I slid the windows over to the porch.

Unloading Rig Up
Window unloading rig up along the side of the porch.

Here are the balance of our new windows stacked against the outside wall. Simple as that!

New Windows Unloaded
New windows unloaded and stacked on the porch.

Next up, the window installation continues….