insulation slowness

i was surprised to find the installation of rigid foam insulation to the exterior of the foundation a slow process. i am working with 2" 2'x8' sheets, so i rip them all into 2'x4' sheets. they have a tongue & groove edge along the 4' edge. these are then laid along the 4' tall foundation walls.

i apply spots of adhesive along the back of the panel, then stick it in place, shoving it into the adjacent groove, and against the overhanging sill plate above. the sheet is then pinned into place using whatever i can find. i've been using approx. 4' scraps of OSB to wedge the sheet upward into place, and using a chunk of CMU debris at the base to keep the bottom in.

it would go faster if i had a good way of pinning the sheets in place, rather than finding makeshift items as i go.

also, proper selection of an adhesive for this application proved to be difficult. my requirements: exterior application, adheres to polystyrene foamboard and sealed/painted concrete block. the best i could find after reading every tube's label at lowes was liquid nails. the label doesn't appear to disqualify my application, with my only concern being a recommendation of an ambient temperature of 60F for 24 hours following use. however, temps remained around 58F throughout the night, so it should be OK.

stuffs

on monday & tuesday i got a revised window quote and detailed & submitted a modified floor plan with full second bath.

on wednesday, i circled the foundation perimeter with a shovel, ensuring a slope to the drainage area in the back right corner.

yesterday (thurs), i laid the drain pipe adjacent to the footing and filled that area with gravel.

today i'll be putting up the foundation insulation and moving additional gravel.

dirt

thursday & friday i filled in the remaining spots of the floor sheathing. this involved additional blocking, as i wanted to use as much of the plentiful scrap i could. i went along in the crawl and knocked up any shiners, then pulled them and renailed those spots.

i also purchased a router and cut out the crawl access hole. first time using a router - very cool tool.

saturday, i went out to the site with shovels and rain pants. it sprinkled throughout the day. i spent a few hours picking through the giant dirt pile to remove any large chunks of CMU debris. this dirt will be backfilled against the crawl walls, and i want to minimize the possibility of any debris damaging the insulation or the wall itself.

i felt like a kid again playing in all that dirt. my hands are a little sore, but i'll get back out there today and hopefully go through alot more dirt. i'm only picking through the top half of the pile, as it'd be too much work to move the entire pile around.

floored!

hmm seems i've forgotten to post blogs for a bit.

the lumber arrived on friday the 9th, and i framed up the floor over the 12th to the 14th. rain then came in for a number of days. on the 19th i finished off framing headouts and touched up the floor nailing.

the 20th and 21st the floor was sheathed. that's ending today. there are just a few tiny pieces left to fit in.

now, to record some observations and future tips..

- built-up girder constructed in place is doable with clamps and ends bearing over columns.
- pre-cut blocking is fast, but align joists to layout marks and trim blocking frequently to maintain layout.
- try hard to use straight stock for band joists.
- if stock is all the same length, make a jig to cut off ends to length.
- take your time toenailing joists into the sill plate.
- if using T&G sheathing, take into account the tongue width when laying out.
- start sheathing from one side and take it across to the other - dont try to meet in the middle.
- ensure proper sheathing spacing, and use straight-edges (90 angles) for cuts. keep your sturd-i-floor neat.
- enerbond sf is fast, easy, & cheap adhesive
- consider some kind of rigid reference ruler for spacing, rather than a flimsy tape. maybe keep it in front of your foot, and step on it to keep it in place. something with marks specifically for your schedule would be ideal.

catch up

the walls were topped off with mortar - pops manned the mixer while i troweled the tops smooth. the anchor bolts were wirebrushed clean.

additional anchor bolts needed to be added. one due to the lengths of available sill plate, and a few due to the bolts not protruding far enough above the wall. i'll need to be more cognizant of the bolt height next time. i used HDG wedge bolts, predrilling with a masonry bit and my el cheapo hammer drill.

sill plates were purchased from wyoming mill - 2x10s. they overhang the wall by two inches to the exterior, so they will cap off the two inch thick foam sheathing which will cover the walls.

speaking of foam sheathing, i found two inch XPS at Lowes that i'll be purchasing shortly. home depot has a two in polyiso rigid foam, but polyiso isn't recommended for below grade.

so after cutting the sill plates to length, i laid sill sealer on the wall then put the plates on and bolted them down. i used a socket adapter on my cordless drill for the nuts.

then i marked out the four corners of the floor framing on the sill plates. the band joist of the floor will be set in about two inches to permit two inches of rigid foam to the band's exterior. however, the walls and thus the sill plates aren't perfectly square, so i marked out a perfect square with nails at each corner. i still need to review these marks with measurements to ensure quality layout. the rest of the house will square up to these marks.

this morning i ordered the floor framing lumber from a place in maryland. they stock #1 southern pine at great prices and using this species instead of SPF/Hemfir #2 i can downsize my joists and rafters. for nearly the same cost i get more manageable lumber sizes, a superb species, better grade of lumber, and the smaller width boards tend to be better quality. i am looking forward to meeting the lumber tomorrow ;)

also this week i applied waterproofing to the block walls. it's a cementitious product called super thoroseal which bonds to the block walls and forms a waterproof, resilient barrier. this in combination with the overlaid rigid foam boards taped at the seams will keep the crawl dry for sure.

today i found corrugated drain pipe and filter fabric at lowes, and if i find nothing better at home depot it will work fine. i need to estimate the amount of gravel needed and place that order. however, taking care of the lumber tomorrow is my current priority. i want to keep it out of the little rains we may experience the next two days.

i also need to gather remaining materials - HDG nails, shims, adhesive, sheathing - to frame the floor.