Aparto II - 2012 Update

let me tell you, 1" thick plywood makes VERY stout floors, but that stuff is HEAVY to move around, even in the smaller 6'x3' sheets

Not one sheet went down unaltered, they all to get a notch or two (or three!) cut in them, or the end trimmed a bit off square etc, as the room is NOT square

Things went well, but even with the AC on, it is HOT and HUMID here now, can we stay "Sticky"

I started to move stuff over to the new floor, so I can get the plumbing, and electrical going in the kitchen.

On the old floor, in the living room area, if I jumped up and down, the whole house shook, seriously, but now, with the structural work we did above, and the rock solid floor I'm building, I jump now and nothing shakes, except me , but that is more of a "Jiggle"

Cheers!

Lookin good!

Hey, that looks like the older style Hitachi SCMS in the pix. I thought you had the more compact 7¼" version - or is that just your jobsite saw and you're keeping the good one in the dungeon?

Jim DeLaney said:

Lookin good!

Hey, that looks like the older style Hitachi SCMS in the pix. I thought you had the more compact 7¼" version - or is that just your jobsite saw and you're keeping the good one in the dungeon?

Click to expand...

Yep, good eye!

That is my old Hitachi SCMS, it is a beast compared to the new compact one, but as a jobsite saw, it works just fine! I was going to sell it, but newer versions of this saw used were going for about $150, so I figured I'd keep it for now.

Cheers!

That is one major transformation thus Far Stu. I'm sure the help that Jake supplied made the demo work on this aparto much more pleasurable if you want to call it that. Out of curiousity, is there any reason that you didn't stagger the joints on the subfloor by half a sheet instead of lining them all up?

As far as the jiggle it can,t be that much losing almost 27 lbs. I jusy recently had to punch a new hole in my belt cause of losing weight and I'm about ready to do that again. It sure does feel good. Keep up the excellent work

Alan Bienlein said:

That is one major transformation thus Far Stu. I'm sure the help that Jake supplied made the demo work on this aparto much more pleasurable if you want to call it that. Out of curiousity, is there any reason that you didn't stagger the joints on the subfloor by half a sheet instead of lining them all up?

Click to expand...

I did not see the point, the sheets are so freaking solid, and they are blocked on the joints, so they cannot move. The room is only two sheets long, so I would just be making more work for myself, IMHO.

Alan Bienlein said:

As far as the jiggle it can,t be that much losing almost 27 lbs. I jusy recently had to punch a new hole in my belt cause of losing weight and I'm about ready to do that again. It sure does feel good. Keep up the excellent work

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I still have another 70 or 80 pounds to lose, I should be around 185lbs, I'm about 272 lbs now, way too much, but it is good that it is coming off.

Good luck on your belt punching program!

Last time I saw 185 lbs I said I do to loml. That was 25 years ago. I'd be happy to be back at about 240 which is what I averaged for about the first 14 years of our marrige.

Stuart Ablett said:

Unfortunately I still have another 70 or 80 pounds to lose, I should be around 185lbs, I'm about 272 lbs now, way too much, but it is good that it is coming off.

Click to expand...

Keep it up, Stu! I'm 6'3" and the scale said 185 the other night... I should probably weigh a bit more -- but only if I can put it on as muscle. It's too easy to put it on as tummy flab, and I've been closer to 200 before, and glad to be down where I am.

I think that gaining weight is just like smoking; it's better to never start. And I have huge respect for people who manage to quit and/or lose weight. It's a hard, hard thing to do! Which reminds me I should make sure I get in a 50k bike ride on Saturday morning! (with the weather finally getting hot here, that should be a good way to sweat and get a workout!)

Oh yeah, great job on the aparto, and look at it this way... if you ever want to put in ceramic tile, you've already got the right base down!

Why is the corner of that closet cut off on the angle like that? I thought that this aparto was pretty much rectangular like the other one, so I'm not sure where the angle would come in.

best,
...art

Art Mulder said:

.................Why is the corner of that closet cut off on the angle like that? I thought that this aparto was pretty much rectangular like the other one, so I'm not sure where the angle would come in.

best,
...art

Click to expand...

The land is angled like that.

This aparto was extended out on two sides to fill up the land, I guess they decided a yard was too much trouble

When I got to the Aparto this morning, just down the street, there was a little bit of a drama on the go


From what I could see, there were four vehicles involved, you can see the little black car #1 was traveling towards us, the silver car #2, was traveling away from us. The larger silver van, #3, was parked, they are working on the house there. I could not see exactly what the #1 black car had hit

Then I got a look, later after the cops had left, and this is what I saw...........



....... This black car, which I could NOT see form the first pictures point of view. It looks like the little black car hit the planter and then the black car (#5) and pushed it into the silver #3 van.

How this happened, I don't know, but he must have hit the #5 black car hard to move it sideways 3 feet or so.

Anyone want to bet that the guy driving the #1 little black car was on his cell phone?

Back to the Aparto...........


...... I got the living room subfloor done

There was much rejoicing

Next up.............

.......... the kitchen area

I cleaned up the kitchen area, I'll do the vapour barrier next up, but today, I did get a bunch of the structural upgrade brackets done.......



Look at the size of some of them screws

I honestly do not know how much these metal upgrade brackets will do, but they are recommended to be used, in both new and old houses, so I figure what the heck, they are NOT expensive.

Once I get the vapour barrier done, then I'll be working on the plumbing and the electrical.

Cheers!

Stu, I'll bet the upgrade straps are mostly for seismic events. Having a little bit of flex (slop) can be a good thing when turf surfing. I notice a lot of extra little metal bits in framing around here, too.

Is that an electrical outlet in the closet?

Vaughn McMillan said:

Stu, I'll bet the upgrade straps are mostly for seismic events. Having a little bit of flex (slop) can be a good thing when turf surfing. I notice a lot of extra little metal bits in framing around here, too.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I realize that, but for me, my concern is that with that many BIG screws going into one piece of wood, I worry that the screws themselves compromise the structure of the wood
But, that do I know, guys a lot smarter than I have engineered these bits to add to existing building.

Art Mulder said:

Is that an electrical outlet in the closet?

Click to expand...

Yep, it is, but it is NOT live, it is from before the last reno, maybe two renos ago

More stuff to attend to this AM, but I did get in there for a few hours.

I replaced that one last beam that was rotten near the bath room door....


..... I got a good tight fit, I had to be careful, I did not want to shake all of the tiles off the wall doing this. It is all secured with long 3.5" stout screws, but I'll most likely put some steel brackets of some sort on it too.

I did a rather unenjoyable job next.....

.... sprayed everything within 18" of the dirt with the anti-termite spray. This time I got the "Low Odor" stuff, and it sure was a lot better, but still, windows open, and I left soon after spraying.


I also brought my workmate clones, to raise my workbench/SCMS station to a reasonable height.

Getting it done!

Looking good Stu, I like the way you think and work. Keep it up still watching and learning.

Thanks Rob!

You know, I just went and looked at the before pics of that rotten floor beam by the bath room door........


Boy that was bad!

Amazing- your MIL is getting one *heckuva* deal.

Thank you Charlie

I got the rest of the vapour barrier done, sure glad that is done, no more dirt in the Aparto!


Yep, nice to have that done!

OK, now onto the plumbing

I'm using this snap together stuff, the various pieces are not cheap, but it sure looks like it will save me a lot of time, and that is what I need more than anything right now.........

Just a mock up, to make sure I have all the bits I need, don't want to buy a few extra, as the cheapest nipples cost $8 each

I sure hope to do this part of the plumbing quickly, I'll also have to do the drains. I guess a trip to the DIY shop is in order.

Cheers!

You are doing great at staying committed to this Stu. That type of project can really wear on you. You're a good man.

glenn bradley said:

You are doing great at staying committed to this Stu. That type of project can really wear on you. You're a good man.

Click to expand...

Thanks Glenn!

I do have a tenant to move in at the beginning of September, so I am motivated!

I looked at the calender today, and working 6 days a week, with no breaks, I'll have max another 50 days to get this done, so if I put in 4 or 5 hours a day, I should be able to get this done.

I next need to get a few things lined up, doors,　water heater etc, so I don't get stuck waiting on something.

Cheers!

Hello Stu.

On the water line mock-up I didn't see a hot water line going to the washing machine. Does it heat up its own water?

I am amazed at how light your framing requirements are in Tokyo. Here in California I don't think any of it would pass inspection.

I hope you keep your momentum through the summer humidity.

Cheers.