Kitchen Addition Archives

December 10, 2020July 6, 2021

Level 21 Stink Bug Barrier

Day #139

June 27, 2020 – Just a short blog. Today I put up a Level 21 Stink Bug Barrier along the open gable end in the kitchen. Otherwise known as 6 mil Black Plastic Sheeting, our hope is that it will slow down or possibly stop the invasion.

Up to this point I’ve been focusing on completing the new roof. As a result, the inside of the kitchen is wide open and exposed to the attic. Since the temperature has been rising, we have thousands of Stink Bugs coming to life. They crawl out of the spaces between the roof planking, fly thru the attic and land on the new kitchen windows . They see the morning sunshine and are trying to get out. It’s disgusting!

Stink Bug Nest

Robrandi asked me if there was anything I could do to slow them down. Well, back in May I rigged up a homemade Stink Bug Trap. We put it on at night and the bugs fly to the light, drop into the water and drown. It actually works pretty good but there is just to many of them so I have to move to phase two, the Level21 Stink Bug Barrier.

Level 21 Sting Bug Barrier — 6 mil Black Plastic Sheeting

6 mil Black Plastic Sheeting

August 22, 2019July 6, 2021

Another New Kitchen Window

Day #86

August 9, 2019 – Today we started the demolition and re-framing that is necessary to install the third new kitchen window. This window is located over the outside pump house. I am not ready to remove the pump house so this will be a challenge installing new framing and sheathing in this area.

Old Kitchen Window — Old kitchen window over the pump house.

Before we can install any new framing, the existing siding, window and sheathing must be removed. Over the years, this corner of the cottage has undergone attack by wood boring bees and woodpeckers. I am afraid to see what the studs are going to look like after the siding is removed.

Woodpecker & Boring Bee Damage — Woodpecker and Boring Bee damage on the corner of the kitchen.

Between banana and coffee breaks the demolition went very well. We striped off the siding, removed the window and some of the 1″ oak plank sheathing. It was a surprise to see the Woodpeckers and Boring Bees did not make it through the layer of roofing felt on the wall. The studs and sheathing are still sound.

New Kitchen Window — Coffee-Banana break and demolition of old kitchen window.

No woodpecker or boring bee damage on the wood framing.

After completing the demolition, we framed in the rough opening for the new window and installed the exterior plywood wall sheathing. At the end of the day we had the building wrap on this section and we are ready to set the new kitchen window.

New Kitchen Window Demo Complete — Demolition for new kitchen window complete.

First thing tomorrow we will set the new window. With this window installed, there remains only one more old window in the kitchen. We are coming forward into the 21st century slowly but surely.

August 21, 2019July 6, 2021

Birds Nest, Again!

Day #85

August 8, 2019 – I’ve been away the past two weekends. It was a nice break, but now, back to the renovation.

Hoping to get a jump on the weekend I came down a night earlier than usual. This allows me to get all my “weekend” stuff moved in and set up so I’m ready to go to work in the morning. Entering the cottage, once again, I found a birds nest inside. This time is was on top of the refrigerator inside a plastic bag from the Giant. It had four eggs inside.

Amazing what they can do in a couple of days. Them birds are busy!

Birds Nest — Birds nest with 4 eggs on top of the refrigerator.

I really have to get the cottage closed in to stop this nonsense!

So….. once again, I have to be the bad guy and remove the nest and the eggs. Sorry little birds but you need to pick a better nesting site. Bye now….

Eggs, Nest & Feathers

After relocating the birds nest I chilled out for the rest of the evening.

Jess showed up later in the evening and we went out to Wingman’s for some dinner. It was nice. After dinner we headed back to the cottage. Tomorrow we will replace another old kitchen window. It will be a good day.

PS: We have our share of pests at the Cot-Taj-Mahal. Here is an interesting photo of another one of our unwelcome guests – Carpenter Bee

July 23, 2019July 6, 2021

Kitchen Sink Drain Line & New Windows

Day #80

July 13, 2019 – Yesterday I ran out of daylight before I could get the kitchen sink drain line completed. This morning I checked the slope and alignment of the piping that I had roughed in. I still have an 1/8″ per foot slope to the tie in point.

After I glued everything together I installed the galvanized pipe supports and double checked the slope. Everything looks good. Now that the kitchen sink drain rough in is complete the porch decking can continue.

Smoking Pipe — Smoking drain line installation.

Completed Drain Line — Completed drain line with cleanout.

Before the deck installation continues, we felt the installation of some of the new windows would minimize the chances of any breakage. Two of the rough openings are ready. One above the kitchen sink….

Kitchen Sink Window — New window above the kitchen sink location.

Exterior - New Kitchen Sink Window — Exterior view of the new window over the kitchen sink location.

…. and one along the side of the new addition. It didn’t take very long at all to put these in place. They are leveled, fastened and taped off.

New Kitchen Side Window — New window in the side wall of the kitchen addition.

Exterior Side Wall Kitchen Window — Exterior view of new window in the kitchen addition side wall.

The third new window also gets installed in the side wall. Before we can set it, I need to remove the old existing window and re-frame the opening to the correct size and height. This is a future project.

Today was a pretty productive day. We finished the kitchen sink drain line rough in and managed to set two of the three new windows. Tomorrow I will continue the Trex decking install.

July 22, 2019July 6, 2021

Hurricane Ties, New Windows & Drain Piping

Day #79

July 12, 2019 – Today is another miscellaneous work day. I have hurricane ties, that I purchased from Fasteners Plus, to install on the first porch roof section. Thankfully, I made it all the way to the cottage with the three new windows without any breakage…so there’s that. Before I can continue anymore Trex decking I have to install the drain line for the kitchen sink.

First up, the Hurricane Ties. They are easy to install and help prevent lateral movement and uplift from strong winds.

Hurricane Ties

I was able to unload the windows buy myself without breaking anything.

New Windows — New windows safely unloaded.

After the hurricane tie installation and the window unloading I started the drain line installation. I did a quick take off of the material and headed out to Lowe’s to purchase what I needed.

Plumbing Supplies — Gathering plumbing supplies at Lowe’s.

Back at the cottage I started the drain line. I am basically working between two fixed points. The underside of the floor framing at the kitchen addition, and the existing tie in under the bathroom. I began by putting in the drop at the kitchen sink.

Kitchen Sink Drop — PVC drop and 90° sweep for the kitchen sink drain.

With the drop in place, I cut aligned and glued an elbow at the tie in.

Drain Tie In — Drain tie in point under the bathroom.

Working between these two points I laid out and blocked up the pipe to the proper pitch. I was hoping to get 1/4″ per foot slope but I was only able to get the minimum, an 1/8″ per foot.

At this point I was running out of daylight so I decided to complete the drain line tomorrow, in the morning.

July 15, 2019July 6, 2021

Three New Windows for the Cot-Taj-Mahal!

Day #78

July 11, 2019 – I picked up the three new windows for our Cot-Taj-Mahal renovation project. They are going home with me tonight and then on to the cottage tomorrow morning. I have them tied down pretty well. Fingers crossed that we make it in one piece.

We choose Anderson Composite (Fibrex) windows for their maintenance free performance and durability.

These are for the new kitchen addition. Very exciting. I think they are the first new windows the cottage has had in like seventy-five years.

July 9, 2019July 6, 2021

Roof Sheathing & Felt Paper – New Porch Addition

Day #73

June 30, 2019 – Woke up to a beautiful morning. Perfect time to continue the plywood roof sheathing and felt paper installation. I will need to hustle to get this all done in one day. If I make it, the blue tarps will be moved to the next roof section.

Blue Tarp — Blue traps covering the kitchen addition.

For the roof sheathing in this section I estimated and purchased twelve (12) sheets of plywood. I already had several rolls of felt paper from a previous project and a big box of 1″ plastic cap nails. I had everything I needed so I didn’t loose any time running out.

Porch Roof — Roof rafters and ceiling joists over the new porch.

Roof Sheathing

The plywood installation went very smoothly. I hoisted the sheets up one at a time. Using my Rigid framing nailer I fastened them down with 8d ring shank nails.

New Porch Roof — Starting the second row of sheathing.

Between the roof rafters I installed plywood H-clips. H-clips provide additional stiffness between the edges of the roof sheathing and make for a stronger roof.

Felt Paper

After completing the roof sheathing I immediately started the felt paper installation. I had several rolls of felt paper. Some of them were 15 lb and some were 30 lb. I doubled up the 15 lb layers so, for the most part there is 30 lb felt paper over the entire section. One inch plastic cap nails hold the roof felt down.

I am happy to report that this section of the roof was dry by about 4:00 PM. I made it in one day. Hooray!

Roof - Kitchen & Porch Sides — Roof over the kitchen and porch additions.

Next weekend is the 4th of July. We are expecting to have the Trex decking delivered on the Thursday the 4th. That is the delivery date we got from Lowe’s. We are skeptical but we will see.

July 3, 2019July 6, 2021

Miscellaneous Roof Framing

Day #72

June 29, 2019 – Just a short blog today. We had some rain that slowed the construction but I completed two more porch roof rafters. Between the rain drops I also completed some miscellaneous roof framing. We are now ready for roof sheathing and felt paper on the roof over the new kitchen addition and the first section of the porch roof.

Miscellaneous Framing — Old meets new. Miscellaneous roof framing at living room.

Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be beautiful. We will be starting the roof sheathing. If we get the sheathing done we will immediately start the felt paper installation. Looking forward to a dry roof!

July 3, 2019July 6, 2021

Gable End Framing & Plywood Sheathing

Day #71

June 28, 2019 – Continuing the dry in process I completed the gable end framing and plywood sheathing. This closes in the end wall of the new kitchen space.

Plywood Sheathing — Installation of plywood sheathing on the gable end of the new kitchen addition.

With the gable end framing completed, tomorrow I plan on installing two more porch roof rafters on the living room side. This will give me a total run of 16 feet of roof to close in. This makes it a lot easier when estimating and purchasing roof sheathing and felt paper. Once I complete these rafters and a little bit of miscellaneous roof framing we will be ready for roof sheathing.

Once again I got cleaned up and went to Angelo’s Restaurant for dinner. Tonight I had one of their Super Salads with grilled shrimp. The salad was good. They have a awesome house dressing!

July 3, 2019July 6, 2021

Living Room & Kitchen Wall Demo Complete

Day #70

June 27, 2019 – When I arrived this morning I was happy to see the dumpster had been emptied and returned. This gave me a place to put the remaining studs and debris from the old living room and kitchen wall demo.

Old Studs — Demolition of the old exterior kitchen wall.

Old Kitchen Wall — Old exterior kitchen wall completely removed.

Old Living Room Wall — Demolition of the old exterior living room wall.

Removing the old living room and kitchen walls completely establishes the new kitchen space. It looks awesome! It is big, and it is just what we need.

To finish out the day I installed some wood blocking above the new kitchen wall. This closes off the outside and keeps the porch ceiling joists aligned.

Tomorrow I will be completing the gable end framing and plywood sheathing on the end wall of the kitchen addition.

After I got cleaned up I went out to Angelo’s Restaurant for dinner. It’s a local favorite located on route 103 in Lewistown. I had a Angelo’s Salad with bread sticks and a warm doughnut with Bud Light and A1 Steak Sauce. Yummy!

Home Made Doughnut — Warm, homemade doughnut.