We pulled down all of the r11 insulation in the kitchen, I would have rather been handling snakes. There were a couple sections of r19 that we left up, but 4 rolls later the kitchen is insulated. We used 2 cans of foam insulation in all the little crack and seams that we could see light coming in. Total time in the project is around 20 hours, we figure each hour we do ourselves is saving us $100.
The siding was directly installed on the studs, one of the biggest wtf moments so far. I would use wood boards vertically, then the horizontal siding. Using press board will work and it's cheaper, but I don't like it. I don't want to rebuild the entire house so we aren't messing with the siding anytime soon.
The electric needed some work, and we decided to leave this to the professionals. They are there right now installing some junction boxes and an outlet. We can install lights and replace things but we've never done junction boxes or added an outlet. Sometimes it's worth paying to have it done correctly when you aren't sure.
Unfortunately, if the plumber has to pull a permit to move the baseboard heater, the electrician needs a permit as well. This means all of the kitchen wiring and the panel will need to be replaced to current code. It also means we will have to add MORE outlets. That's right, new code means adding things that aren't necessary or wanted. I don't care if the breaker box is old and above the stove, it works and I don't need anyone coming into the house inspecting anything.
The work around is doing the drywall first, then the heater moved and then having the heater inspected.... then doing what we want with the electric. I don't think moving a baseboard heater unit will require a permit, but it depends on how much the city needs tax revenue. It's highly annoying to try and live right, debt free, prepared, etc. and still be over regulated by the government when you just want to upgrade your kitchen. We don't want a crap-built new house, we don't want an electrical outlet every 5 feet. I just want a new stove.
Amazing in a sad pitiful sort of way. That sort of over regulation only encourages people to cut corners and cheat which often can have bad consequences.
ReplyDeleteI'm fucking cheating. We don't need a permit to move the baseboard heater, so no permit for the electric.
DeleteHowever we do need/want a new breaker box on the outside of the house but have to wait until the kitchen is done so there is only an inspection on the box itself and not a possible frame rebuild on the kitchen.
I was so chapped I ran out of lip balm.
Code in Tn requires lots of plugs in the kitchen, they don't want you to use extension cords in the kitchen. Some parts of the code make sense, but some of it is just overkill.
Deletei have caught up with your previous posts and wow - you guys are doing a whole heck of a lot of work! and great job so far! code stuff sucks for sure. we bought our old house in ottawa in 2005, had an inspection done by a very reputable inspector, and he found only minor things wrong with the house....stuff like we should fix a small crack in the concrete in our garage. 5 yrs later when we are selling the house - some whackjob inspector found all kinds of things wrong with the wiring. we had a licensed electrician come in and he said the wiring was fine. but the idiot who did the inspection almost scared our buyers away. dingbat.
ReplyDeletehere in cape breton the building codes and whatnot are pretty much non-existant. this crap-ass cottage that we are living in passed 2 building inspections (ya right!) and jambaloney has uncovered some really wacky wiring all throughout this place!
anyway, try and cheat if you can! good luck with all of the work! can't wait to see it when it's all finished! your friend,
kymber
It's funny that when you buy something it's perfect, when you sell it it's a nightmare.
DeleteWe have some cloth wire and all kinds of odd stuff, but it's a barn, what can we do!