Bringing Things Up to Code

When we remodeled our family room we wanted to do it right.  That meant bringing it up to code.  II like to share the information we find out as we fix up our house.

Fire Rated Door
The door from the garage to the house would only shut if you slammed it the correct way.  If you did not slam it, it did not shut.  So we needed a new door.  One of the code requirements it to have a fire rated door.  This means it would have a 20 minute or higher burn time (hence the picture of the side of the door).

The 2006 edition of the International Residential Code (IRC) states the following concerning doors that separate garages from living areas:

R309.1 Opening Penetration

Openings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted. Other openings between the garage and the residence shall be equipped with solid wood doors not less than 1-3/8” (35 mm) in thickness, solid- or honeycomb-core steel doors not less than 1-3/8” (35 mm) thick, or 20-minute fire-rated doors.

From Attached Garage Fire Containment - InterNACHI http://www.nachi.org/attached-garage-fire-hazards.htm#ixzz2OGxwae8g




Fire Rated Drywall
Yes, there is such a thing.  Most drywall is 1/2 in.  Fire Rated Drywall (X Rated) is 5/8 in.  This is supposed to be anywhere near where a fire could be (a.k.a. fireplace) or on the walls that attach to the drywall.

The 2006 edition of the IRC states the following concerning garage walls and ceilings:

          R309.2 Separation Required

The garage shall be separated from the residence and its attic area by not less than ½-inch (12.7 mm) gypsum board applied to the garage side. Garages beneath habitable rooms shall be separated from all habitable rooms above by not less than 5/8-inch (15.9 mm) Type X gypsum board or equivalent. Where the separation is a floor-ceiling assembly, the structure supporting the separation shall also be protected by not less than ½-inch (12.7 mm) gypsum board or equivalent. Garages located less than 3 feet (914 mm) from a dwelling unit on the same lot shall be protected with not less than 1/2–inch (12.7 mm) gypsum board applied to the interior side of exterior walls that are within this area. Openings in these walls shall be regulated by Section 309.1. This provision does not apply to garage walls that are perpendicular to the adjacent dwelling unit wall.

From Attached Garage Fire Containment - InterNACHI http://www.nachi.org/attached-garage-fire-hazards.htm#ixzz2OGySzhOH

Things to Do in Year Two

So I have to keep a list of things that I would like to get done in the house.  It is a never ending list.  There are a few common themes to my list--electrical and outdoors.  Next year I will repost the list and we will see how much of it we accomplished in a year.

Electrical

• New Entry Light
  
• New Porch/Yard Light (they are each a bit broken)
  
  
  
  
• Add Light to Dining Room (now living room)
  
• New Light in Parlor (now dining room)
  
• New Light in Main Part of Kitchen
  
• New Service Panel
  
• Remove Whole House Fan
  
• Add Ceiling Fans to Bedroom
  

Outdoors

• Start a Garden at the Back of House
  
• Make the Front Beds Pretty
  
• Add/ transfer bushes to side yard

Misc.

• Paint the inside of some closets

Wish List (These will probably not happen but a girl can dream)

• Cut down more trees ( I may cut down all the small ones myself)
  
• Get a fence
• Paint Deck

Priceless

Months Since We Purchased the House: 12

Square Feet of Wallpaper Removed: 2648

Square Feet of Paneling Removed: 352

Gallons of Paint Bought: 39

 This isn't every can.  
I put all of the empties out to the trash.  
This is the left over paint from each room for touch ups.

I know it sound high.  But imagine painting EVERY surface in your house in a year. Primer, ceiling, walls, trim, doors, kitchen cabinets, etc.....

Doors Painted: 29

Doors Replaced: 2

Bathrooms Remodeled: 1

Lights Changed: 4

Trees Cut Down: 2

Tons of Dirt Added: 4.5 tons

Making a House a Home: Priceless

What We Have Done In Year One

Here is a list of all of the things that have happened to us in Year One of us in the house and all of the things we have done to fix it.  Enjoy!

We may be watching the movie Money Pit tonight in celebration of our house!

Water Flowing in Basement

The same week we moved into the house we had a lot of rain.  Due to the rain and clogged gutters we had water in the basement.  Excuse me, a waterfall.  Since this day we have added dirt near the foundation so water flows away from the house and we have managed to keep the gutters clean.

Garage Door
We had to get a side door added to the garage.  No drama here.  It was just starting to rot and we wanted a secure door from the garage to the house.

Bees
On one peaceful May day Michelle had off work, she went upstairs and discovered a huge swarm of bees outside of the master bedroom window.  Hysterically I called Sherzinger Pest Control.  They were there in a few hours and all of the bees were gone.  The guy said that we had a massive infestation in our attic. Oh joy!  Months later I found them dead in the outlets.

Trees Cut Down

 We got two trees cut down in the year because they were A) too close to the house and B) could stab you to death.  No kidding the spikes on the tree were about eight inches long.  Yes, they are classified as spikes not thorns.  The whole process was done in a day.  The guess who did it did a great job.





Ants

This is not our house in the picture.  But every day we would wake up to find a pile of ants like this in the kitchen.  Apparently the ants did not like the fact we cut down the place they lived (the trees).  So they kept getting in the house.  So Terminix came and we have not had any bugs in the house (none-not even spiders) since they have been treating the house.




Leaking Ceiling/ Garbage Disposal/ Expansion Tank/ Dripping Faucets

I called our Home Warranty company originally because our garbage disposal stopped working.  When he was over I also asked him about the water spot in the hallway, our water heater and dripping tub faucets.  He replaced the garbage disposal and expansion tank on the hot water heater.  He tried to fix the dripping faucets but was unable to unless we wanted to pay him more money because it was not covered (ah NO).  He cut a hole into the ceiling in the hall and told us that it would not be covered to fix the crack in the shower pan.  I eventually had to call a plumber to fix the tub.  He did a great job and I will have him back if I have any other problems.

Bathroom Remodel
Because of the leak in the upstairs shower, we had to redo the bathroom.  Well we had to redo the entire shower are (pan, tile, etc) so why would we have a beautiful shower with the rest of the bathroom looking ugly.  It turned out to be beautiful!  And (God willing) will not need to be redone for a long time or ever.









Attic Ventilation/ Bathroom Vents/ Gutters/ Sewage Vents
In February we called a roofing company because we were hearing dripping at night.  We also knew that we needed to add ventilation to our attic (because we had no attic ventilation).  While at the house they also told us that we should:

1. To fix the dripping they would need to seal a gable vent and repair the rotted wood.
2. Replace the vents because they were deteriorating
3. Add ventilation from our bathroom fans (they did not vent out of the house)
4. Add gutters to the front porch (it was causing damage to the brick and band board; and many companies told us to not add gutters)
5. Re-slope the gutters so they would drain (they were holding standing water)

Family Room Rehab

The paneling in the family room had to go.  We took down the paneling and added drywall.  We changed all of the outlets (plugs would not stay in them), installed a new door from the house to the garage (you had to slam the door in a specific way to get it to close) and painted the fireplace.  The room looks much so much better!







Wallpaper Removal
Michelle, stop boring us with all of the wallpaper stories.  I know, I know.  But it was a huge accomplishment to dewallpaper approx. 2500 sq. ft. of wallpaper.  We had a person give us a quote on dewallpapering 3 bedrooms and a bathroom and they were going to charge me $4000.  I cost us nothing to take it down.  Maybe a bottle of wine or two. :)





Paint

And of course after you take the wallpaper down you have to paint.  Our house was built in 1974 before the 1978 stopage of lead paint.  So we may have lead paint we may not.  No matter though.  I have painted over almost ever inch of my house.  And should someone chew on a wall with lead paint, they have more issues than lead paint.