Studio Build Documentation

[miroslav]

Yeah, it's actually called joint compound. LOL. But we'll let it slide.

I know, YOU know what spackle is...don't make out like you're from the younger generation that doesn't.
Dave gets a pass because he's in another country.

 

[miroslav]

We call it 'Plasterboard' which is I think properly descriptive? I tend to resist the 'Americanization' of our language but then as an old retired "Valve" amp tech you might expect that!

Cracking job by the way.

Dave.

I think maybe they might have used that term at some point...but moved away from it because it sounded like the old style of plastered wall covering.
Drywall is kinda made-up...not sure what the "dry" has to do with it, since it certainly doesn't stop moisture if exposed to it long enough.

TBH...these last few months I have been inundated with odd construction terminology that makes no sense to anyone but construction workers...but then, we all do that same with audio terminology.
At least now I can go to a construction site and understand what they are saying.

My favorite... is the numerous ways they can call a 2"x4"...or 2"x anything.
It could be a "stud"...a "joist"...a "rafter"...or just a 2"x 4". I guess until you put it in its place...it doesn't get a formal name.

 

[ashcat_lt]

I think that a 2x4 stud is different from a standard 2x4 by about 3” of length. The stud is 3” short of 8’ so that when you put it between the 2x4 base and top boards you end up with a wall exactly 8’ tall, but you use actual 2x4 on top and bottom so that it is also exactly 8’ wide. That way your drywall actually fits.

 

[miroslav]

I think that a 2x4 stud is different from a standard 2x4 by about 3” of length. The stud is 3” short of 8’ so that when you put it between the 2x4 base and top boards you end up with a wall exactly 8’ tall, but you use actual 2x4 on top and bottom so that it is also exactly 8’ wide. That way your drywall actually fits.

Well...IF you specifically need 2"x4" studs for standard 8' walls...though now days, the standard in most states is 2"x6" for walls.
Of course, it's still a "stud" even when used in bigger than 8' walls. I have both 8' and 10' walls on two side, and on the other two are gables that go up to 14'...yet all are framed using the same 2'x6" studs in different lengths.

My point was the naming conventions used in construction for the same piece of wood...and I even forgot a couple.
You also have "plate" and "sill" along with "stud", "joist" and "rafter"...all which can come from the same 2" x 6" lumber.

 

[bluesfordan]

to quote Forever Man era Clapton - "it's in the way that you use it "

 

[miroslav]

to quote Forever Man era Clapton - "it's in the way that you use it "

That's what she said.


Sorry...I couldn't help that, you set it up.

 

[miroslav]

So the drywall is moving pretty fast and good...but WOAH...what a mess!
I don't know how those guys can do that day in and day out...all that drywall dust on everything, not to mention inhaling it all day long...and they don't use masks. I bet they end up coughing up drywall bricks every so often.
It should be almost done tomorrow...and then the spackling (joint compound application ) will be less messy than hanging, until the final stage when they sand it, but they may use a wet-sanding approach...we'll see.

Spent the afternoon looking at porcelain tile for my foyer and bathroom...need to talk to my installer before ordering anything.

The bummer for the day was when my front/back entry doors were delivered. I looked at them for like 5 seconds, and could see something didn't look right, even from a distance. I though maybe they leaned them upside down against the wall...but when I looked closer, something was definitely wrong with the front door.
They built it with the sidelight on the wrong side of the door.

Even my contractor who delivered it this morning at 6:00AM while I was still sleeping (but he woke me up when he banged on the walls)...didn't believe me, and thought I had changed my mind about which side...until I took a picture and sent it to him.
He wrote back..."Yup, the sidelight is wrong"...said when he looked at it when loading it he kinda thought it was the right way, but I guess he musta looked at it upside down...which is funny, because he was the one who explained to me that you always look at doors and windows from the outside...and that's how you decide which why it opens and what goes on what side.

So...2-3 weeks to get a replacement...
I doesn't cause a big problem...he just has to hold off on finishing the front doorway wall...but I know he wasn't happy either.
I asked him if he ordered the doors from the same guy he ordered my windows......(they screwed up one of the windows...still waiting on that).

 

[mjbphotos]

Yes, drywall guys are special. When I did some walls, the dust was so thick that a mask was useless - it would clog up too quickly, I wouldn't be able to breathe.

 

[bluesfordan]

I helped build a guitar shop. To satisfy fire regulations, the back side of the wall we build (split a loft to make a separate store), we had to put 5/8th inch sheet rock. I've handled 1/2 sheet rock before, this stuff was a whole other kettle of fish. My boss and I bought it from the store and damn near hurt ourselves loading and unloading it. For those who don't know, sheetrock is sold in pairs, two sheets taped together. 5/8 doesn't sound that much more than 1/2 but when you're talking 4'x8' sheets that's a lot of extra poundage.

Hanging that stuff was going to be more than we could do so we subbed it out. The drywall guys showed up, set up the scalfolding. And proceeded to pick up a sheet of this heavy ass 5/8 sheetrock, and CLIMB THE DAMN SCAFFOLDING while carrying the sheet with one hand. I've been doing construction work for some time, I'm a fairly strong guy for somebody who isn't huge. These guys weren't overtly larger than normal but my god, to carry a sheet each and climb just blew my freaking mind. Yeah, sheetrockers are special for sure.

 

[miroslav]

5/8 doesn't sound that much more than 1/2 but when you're talking 4'x8' sheets that's a lot of extra poundage.

Hanging that stuff was going to be more than we could do so we subbed it out. The drywall guys showed up, set up the scalfolding. And proceeded to pick up a sheet of this heavy ass 5/8 sheetrock, and CLIMB THE DAMN SCAFFOLDING while carrying the sheet with one hand.:

I've got TWO layers of 5/8" drywall going up...and they didn't opt for 4'x8' sheets...they got mostly 14' sheets!!!
So I'm watching two of them on the scaffold...muscle this sheet up, then over their heads, and then push it up with their hands against the top of the ceiling, hold it there with their heads propped against it, while they reach for the guns and screws. WHEW!!!

Then they have this thing with 5 gal buckets that they do. They stack one on top of the other and use it as a stand when doing the 8'-10' walls...and then they do like twisting motion to move the buckets while on them. They don't use ladders.
When they get to the tape and spackle...they will be on stilts the head guy told me. That should be interesting to watch.

To complicate things...with the double layer, they can't put the seams on top of each other...so they have to cut the sheets at predetermined points lengthwise, so they can stagger the seams between the two layers of drywall.
If I had to do the drywall with another guy...it would probably take us 3 weeks to do what they do in 3 days.

Today I went shopping and brought them a couple of cases of the various soft drinks they seem to like....should last them for the next few days while they finish.
I've also got cases of beer for the crews, but unlike my framing crew who preferred the brews......these guys didn't want any.
The framers were funny...especially the main guy who was the lead. He's banging down a couple of Bud tall boys (his preference), and then he's up on the ladder...up on the roof.

No one was getting all lit up...most of the guys would have one beer when they stopped for lunch, or when they were done for the day.
I try to keep them happy.

 

[bluesfordan]

That's what she said.


Sorry...I couldn't help that, you set it up.

ya knocked it outta the park. Schweet.

 

[TalismanRich]

I can fully appreciate your comment about drywall dust. I just finished having a bathroom completely remodeled, and every even with that little space, there was dust EVERYWHERE!. Each night I would pull out the central vac, and get as much dust off the bedroom furniture as possible, and out of the carpets. I spent NY day doing a very thorough cleaning, after it was finished.

That was a point that I made in the discussion about Roxul and "toxic dust". That stuff is meant for installers and construction workers who do this all day, everyday. Once its in place, its all good.

 

[miroslav]

Each night I would pull out the central vac, and get as much dust off the bedroom furniture as possible, and out of the carpets.

I've given up...tried to keep the rest of my house clean...it's pointless with the amount of construction that's going on...not to mention that I am also doing a lot of work separate from the crews. The dust just comes in everywhere...and I'm sure I carry it, walking in/out...not to mention some of the crew when they have to come inside for something.

My attitude is that the more I disturb it, over and over, trying to clean up regularly, the worse it is for breathing. So I'm just letting it lay, and accumulate. The less it's disturbed, the better.

When the work is done, I will then put on a dual-filter respirator mask, which has heavy-duty filtration, but it allows you to breath freely, since it has an exhaust valve, unlike the typical paper dust masks which are both uncomfortable and to little to filter...and then I'll thoroughly clean my whole house with a high-filtration vacuum cleaner.

As soon as the drywall work is finished...I think at that point there will be little left to do that will create more dust. I've been sucking in saw dust, cement dust, insulation dust, drywall dust and just plain old dirt dust for the last 3 months now. At least I can keep the door to my living space closed...but like I said, the dust just seems to follow me in. Plus, with all the work, there is that endless "vibration" that affects the whole house to a degree...the hammering, sawing, drilling...so it just shakes whatever old dust there may be in-between existing trim and cabinets, etc.
For me, the worst has been the saw dust. Man...that stuff gets in my throat, and it just irritates worse than any of the others...but today, the drywall dust is also intense. I stood out in the work area for about an hour this morning...and I just couldn't take it anymore. I could feel it in my lungs.

 

[TalismanRich]

One tip that a friend gave me was to put a box fan with a furnace filter on it and run that. Sucks up and traps the dust in the air, or so he says. When the guy was sanding the drywall in my remodel, he had a shop vac that sucked up a lot of dust while he was doing the sanding. It probably caught 70 or 80% of the dust which helped. That probably wouldn't work too well when you are doing 14' seams, tho.

 

[jimmys69]

I've given up...tried to keep the rest of my house clean...it's pointless with the amount of construction that's going on...not to mention that I am also doing a lot of work separate from the crews. The dust just comes in everywhere...and I'm sure I carry it, walking in/out...not to mention some of the crew when they have to come inside for something.

My attitude is that the more I disturb it, over and over, trying to clean up regularly, the worse it is for breathing. So I'm just letting it lay, and accumulate. The less it's disturbed, the better.

When the work is done, I will then put on a dual-filter respirator mask, which has heavy-duty filtration, but it allows you to breath freely, since it has an exhaust valve, unlike the typical paper dust masks which are both uncomfortable and to little to filter...and then I'll thoroughly clean my whole house with a high-filtration vacuum cleaner.

As soon as the drywall work is finished...I think at that point there will be little left to do that will create more dust. I've been sucking in saw dust, cement dust, insulation dust, drywall dust and just plain old dirt dust for the last 3 months now. At least I can keep the door to my living space closed...but like I said, the dust just seems to follow me in. Plus, with all the work, there is that endless "vibration" that affects the whole house to a degree...the hammering, sawing, drilling...so it just shakes whatever old dust there may be in-between existing trim and cabinets, etc.
For me, the worst has been the saw dust. Man...that stuff gets in my throat, and it just irritates worse than any of the others...but today, the drywall dust is also intense. I stood out in the work area for about an hour this morning...and I just couldn't take it anymore. I could feel it in my lungs.

I do bathroom remodels. The best investment I have done to keep customers happy on remodel projects was a Axial fan.

Dry Air VAF-12E 12 inch Axial Ventilator

I can run 150' of 12" duct and create positive or negative airflow in a home. It makes it hard to shut an exterior door in a well sealed house. Customers can be dust free in their bedrooms while I am working in the bathroom next to them. Just takes a bit of plastic and a Zipwall and door.

 

[bluesfordan]

cool. I want one, just because.

 

[miroslav]

The best investment I have done to keep customers happy on remodel projects was a Axial fan.

Looks like a great tool...though I think it's not as applicable with larger, multi room spaces undergoing new construction....unless you run a lot of them...?
Also...how do you vent if you have to open doors windows and it's freezing 'teens outside?
Do you use ducts with it?

With a one-man operation (if that's how you generally work), it's probably realistic, because you can be neat, and clean up after youslef...but when you have multiple crews coming and going at different stages......most are not going to be bothered with that kind of stuff, especially at a new construction site. Heck...they don't bother wearing mask for their own benefit.

For me...I simply keep my main house door closed...and I have a storm door on it with glass, so I can still see out into the work area without opening it...but even with the doors closed, it's just been too much traffic, and too much work over the course of several months with the whole house project...but the real dust came over the last 3 months when the studio construction kicked in.

This drywall was/is the worst. Even today when they finished hanging it, and they did the basic, rough clean up...the entire new room, bathroom, foyer are all covered in white. It will take a good vacuum cleaning to suck out most of that.
I'm waiting until they finish with the drywall sanding that is yet to come.

So now that I have a couple of days before the taping/spackling crew shows up...I'm going to take the opportunity to caulk/seal all the corner/transition joints...and if I have enough caulk, maybe even the seems, though with double drywall and staggered seems, I may not bother with them.
I also have insert backer-rod in the floor/wall gap, and then caulk that too...but I can do that anything, since there will be no taping/spackling done there.

It's funny...before the drywall, the room sounded real nice with just the insulation...know with the drywall it sounds like shit, that heavy slap-back echo, but to be expected until the acoustic treatment goes in. I do notice though that the room is very "tight"...which I think is due to the heavier walls than what's in the rest of my house (2'x6" studs & 12" rafters, 16" OC ...VS... 2'x4" studs & 8" rafters, 24" OC)...plus the subfloor is super-solid having been screwed & glued into the cement slab. I am eager to hear it after acoustic treatment.

 

[jimmys69]

You would be surprised. There are many ways to use it depending on project.

Most times and ideally, the fan goes outside of the house as it is not quiet. Build a 'Zipwall' at the opening and place the duct in the plastic wall. Vent it through a window of any type. Just cardboard to close off the rest of the opening. In a well sealed house, the doors are hard to close at 2000 cfm. It sucks (literally) when there are open waste lines to sewer as it pulls the air out of them. Yuck!

It can also be used for 'positive pressure' by blowing air into a space and opening a window on opposite side of house. I have not done that as I usually work in bathrooms that don't typically have a window.

Like I said, one of the best purchases I have made in my construction career.

Right now I am remodeling a bathroom with no exterior window. Homeowners are still sleeping in their bed next to it with zero dust. Can't say so much for the back yard where the vent is exhausting. 100' of 12" duct.

I can take a pic Monday.

 

[Chili]

Right now I am remodeling a bathroom with no exterior window. Homeowners are still sleeping in their bed next to it with zero dust.

That's kinda creepy.

 

[ashcat_lt]

It's funny...before the drywall, the room sounded real nice with just the insulation...know with the drywall it sounds like shit, that heavy slap-back echo, but to be expected until the acoustic treatment goes in.

I’m sure I mentioned something about that a while back. Not this thread, but you were there. IDK what you’d have to do to satisfy codes, but it’s gotta be possible cause people do it all the time. I suppose you’ve got plenty of space and money, though, so...