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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Raising The Floor And A New Front Door

Today is the day….it's all or nothing.  We are going to take the sliding doors out without knowing what we will find and hopefully we can raise the floor and get a new door in before nightfall.



Mike trying to get the first door out of the track.  Yeah right….it takes two of us and a crow bar to finally get it out.  The track was bowed and it gave us a delay:




Second door coming out…we hope, lol:




Man those are some heavy double paned glass doors.  Too bad we can't use them.  After the doors are removed Mike works on the frame:




That's out:)  Sadly the original metal frame from a previous door is also in place.  Mike works on that frame:



OK…doors and frames are out…time to take the tile up.  So far that was the easiest thing in this house to remove, lol.




This is it…there is no turning back.  Uh oh now we did it.  We are wide open and now we have to get closed up before the night:


We decided to make a wood floor for our time frame.  If we did a concrete floor we would have had to use about 46 sixty pound bags of concrete and it would have taken days to get it finished.  Why we didn't think of wood earlier is beyond me, lol.



Now that the door, frame and tiles are out it's time to refigure.  We have to raise this floor before we can install the new door:




Mike has it figured out….he cuts a strip of 3/4" PT plywood to fill the space where the door plate was:



Adding glue to that section:



Board is in and Mike is drilling in the concrete screws:




Next up…time to cut all of the cross boards for the base of the floor.  It was really nice of our neighbor to give us his table saw:)  We may have to buy it from him after all.  Mike has to cut each one on an angle as one part of the floor is lower than the other:




The floor base boards are in place:



Mike nailing in all the PT 2x4s:




Now for the plywood top:




After the first 8 foot section we worked on the rest of the hallway.  Mike doing the last of it:)



Yay we are level with the rest of the house:):)


It has been a long day so far but we got enough in to get the new door in.  Next up…the door is taller than our opening.  Mike has to use the reciprocating saw the cut the top of the doorway out…through wood, concrete and wire lath.  Ugh…I feel bad for Mike.  It was really rough on him I even volunteered to "try" to cut it but he said there was no way I would be able to do it.  




He got it all cut out and now it's time to add some framing for the door:




The new door going in:




That's it.  That took us all day and it is starting to get dark and we don't want to make any mistakes.  We stapled some paper over the sides of the door for the night.  We are done for the day.  Mike's arms need a break.





We are just happy to get that much done and now we can rest.  Mike and I have been planning and shopping.  I will tell you more and post more pictures on Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Lisa:)

12 comments:

  1. It might be a good time to install a couple of ceiling lights in that front foyer, hall and maybe one outside in the front area in the ceiling or front exterior wall? I recommend a couple more studs at the door opening, will help beef up that area and firm up the wall as well..
    Gary

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Gary. We added on ceiling light to the side of the front door on the inside. We thought it would be in the way if it as where the door opens. We have lights on the corner coming into that alcove.

      The floor should be fine. At least what we have on the wall is lighter than it was before:)

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  2. Really enjoying catching up with y'all! :)
    Kats

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  3. As usual you two do not stop. I like the look of that door, are you putting glass on the sides of it?

    Sandy

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    Replies
    1. Ha…we would be bored if we stopped, lol.

      Yes…glass going in the sides for the view and the light.

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  4. LilyLady (or Kathy B)November 21, 2014 at 9:13 AM

    That was a lot of work. You two are really something to watch. I often can't see the desired result in my mind so when you get a job finished, I'm always amazed at how it looks!

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    Replies
    1. Hi LL…it is so good to see you here:) I'm glad you like our visions. This house has been harder to figure out even for us but we are almost there…well as far as the major change part.

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  5. Looking at that opening on each side of the door, seems to be begging for windows there! It would really brighten up that foyer. Not sure if full height windows would be in order, or just install a half-wall with windows, but you can figure that out.....and probably already have, since we are getting "last weeks news"..LOL!!!

    If you can't sell or donate the old slider, you might want to bring it back with you up to TN......or at least the glass portion, as they would make for a great green house wall or even just a "hot box" for the seedlings in the spring.

    Once again, you have done a great job. I agree that you will want to double up those studs on the sides of the door, though I don't know how much weight is on the top of it, but it's a good building practice. (again, you have probably done all that already)

    So, what kind of flooring is going to go on the plywood? I was just thinking....you could have made the wood and plywood floor about an inch lower, and then poured concrete over that, to keep the concrete flooring though out....but it would have required a lot less Sakrete....but would still be a bigger job than you had....

    Can't wait until the next installment, to see how it turned out.........is the boat still in the garage??

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    1. We will be adding glass on the sides.

      I would rather sell it. That door is really really heavy. I hate moving heavy things.

      Not mush weight on top at all. It's just the vinyl(?) eaves and a few shingles.

      We are having issues with our flooring choices. We have not made a firm decision on the floor as Mike and I don't like anything we see…ugh!! It seems we are rather picky, lol.

      Sadly yes the boat is still in the garage. We have been invited out on our neighbors boat tomorrow. If it doesn't rain. We need to meet the neighbors:)

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  6. It's a shame we don't live closer...I've got an old Table Saw that I'm about to donate to the Habitat for Humanity Store in town....I've actually got 2 table saws, so only need one. You would have been more than welcome to the older one.
    I'm kind of surprised that Mike didn't have one already....they make some nice tabletop models.

    Isn't it great to have nice neighbors?

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    Replies
    1. We used to have one but that was years ago.

      Nicole woud love to have your old saw….where are you, lol?

      Nice neighbors are great…and if they can't be close friends with you at least don't give me the nasty ones lol.

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