Jeepers, time flies! I've had so many distractions this year that I wasn't able to get done all that I wanted to on the garage. I did get a few things done, though.
I finished repainting the red barn, and put a lattice screen around the bottom. There's some black, 1/2" hardware cloth behind the white lattice to keep the critters from trying to take shelter under the barn.
And I got all my valuable junk moved in that would have just taken up a lot of my floor space in the garage.
I had hoped to have the new room above the garage insulated and the ceiling in by now, but it didn't get done so I need to get things ready for another winter of closing it off from the rest of the house. I needed to make a change to the way the ridge beam was supported at the end closest to the house. When we were building this last year, there was so much mess and chaos outside that we really didn't want to open the wall up between the house and the new room. A temporary support was used on this end instead.
Upstairs, the 6x6 supporting this end of the ridge beam is sitting on top of the double header that was above the two large windows that were in this wall. The plan is to remove the short 6x6, cut the header, and put a longer 6x6 in that is long enough to sit on the top plate of the first floor wall.
In preparation for that, I've got a beam sitting across five of the roof rafters, and a bottle jack lifting the ridge beam so we can get it out.
I've also got a long pole jack sitting right over one of the beams supporting the floor, helping to support the ridge beam.
The first floor wall was made using 2x6's, but they are on 24" centers which is too far apart I think.
The plan down here is to put another 2x6 between the studs that are already there, and install a 6x6 post directly under the ridge beam of the room over the garage. I used a 4x4 and another bottle jack to lift the top plate slightly, so the new 6x6 would actually be carrying some weight. There used to be a window in this wall, which is why there are horizontal boards in the area next to the 6x6.
The new post and studs are installed, and a little damage to the sheetrock has been patched.
And the new post is installed upstairs. A small hole was cut in the subfloor to allow the 6x6 to extend through to the top plate below it. The wall to the left of the 6x6 will be rebuilt full height. The wall to the right of the 6x6 is just temporary, until the room is insulated and the mini-split A/C-Heatpump is installed. Then it will be removed and rebuilt either as a half-height wall with turned supports above it, or possibly just a banister railing with a couple of supports integrated into the design. The boss liked the view when the wall was opened, and it helped her decide what it needs to look like.
The entry into the room will remain where it is now, but may get a foot or two wider. There will be a closet in the far right corner. The wall has been re-insulated for the winter, and the openings on each side of the support post closed with sheetrock.
The wall downstairs has also been re-insulated, and I've got some OSB sheathing and foam board to hang now.
I'm also about 2/3's done with painting the stairs in the garage with spar-urethane. I'll post a picture of them when I'm done. They look really good.
:):)
